Photographer’s Suit Against Client for Republishing Photos on Facebook Proceeds – Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena, Ltd., 2012 WL 2116136 (M.D. Fla.; June 11, 2012) This seems like a run-of-the-mill dispute between a photographer and client, but I think it contains some helpful…
Court Refuses to Dismiss Claims Against Alleged Twitter-Bot Spammer–Twitter v. Skootle
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Twitter, Inc. v. Skootle Corp., et al., 2012 WL 2375486 (N.D. Cal.; June 22, 2012) Twitter sued several alleged spammers, including (1) those who provided software for the use of automated account creation and tweeting, and…
University of Alabama Can’t Stop Paintings of Famous Crimson Tide Football Moments–University of Alabama v. New Life Art
By guest blogger Deborah Gerhardt [Eric’s introduction: Deborah Gerhardt is a law professor at University of North Carolina. She is part of the 3G team (including myself and Leah Chan Grinvald) working on the trademark policing article I mentioned last…
First Circuit Rejects Data Insecurity Claims on the Basis of Article III Standing–Katz v Pershing
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Katz v. Pershing, 11-1983 (1st Cir.; Feb. 28, 2012) [This is an old catch up post that fell by the wayside.] Pershing provides services to brokerage firms, and it makes available a platform (NetExchange Pro) for…
The Dangerous Meme That Won’t Go Away: Using Copyright Assignments to Suppress Unwanted Content–Scott v. WorldStarHipHop
By Eric Goldman Scott v. WorldStarHipHop, Inc., 2012 WL 1592229 (S.D.N.Y. May 3, 2012) Copyright law wasn’t designed as a privacy enhancing doctrine, but sometimes plaintiffs try to repurpose copyright law anyway. This case is an interesting illustration of how…
Franchisor Really, Really Unhappy With Franchisee’s Co-Promotion With a Topless Bar–Capriotti’s v Taylor
By Eric Goldman Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Inc. v. Taylor Family Holdings, Inc., 2012 WL 1448514 (D. Del. April 25, 2012). The complaint and exhibits A-D, E-H and I-O. Some background. Capriotti’s is a franchised fast-food sandwich chain, with its signature…
Comments on the Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Ruling in U.S. v. Nosal
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] US v. Nosal, 2012 WL 1176119 (9th Cir. Apr. 10, 2012) Nosal was a Korn/Ferry employee who, after his departure, convinced some remaining employees to provide him with confidential information to help…
Misuse of Family Photograph by Photo Studio Supports Misappropriation Claim–Lee v. Picture People
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lee v. The Picture People, Inc., K10C-07-002 (RBY) (Del. Sup. Ct.; Mar. 19, 2012) Plaintiffs had their two year old’s picture taken at The Picture People, a store engaged in the business of family photography. At…
SuperPoke! Pets Virtual Gold Dispute Worth Over $5 Million–Abreu v. Slide
By Eric Goldman Abreu v. Slide, Inc., 2012 WL 1123367 (N.D. Cal. April 3, 2012). The Justia page. Google bought Slide, which operated the SuperPoke! Pets online game. Wikipedia has some of the game’s history. As part of the gameplay,…
Facebook Beats Class Certification in Click Fraud Case
By Eric Goldman In re Facebook, Inc., PPC Advertising Litigation, 2012 WL 1253182 (N.D.Cal. April 13, 2012) I don’t know what I like less: click fraud, or bogus lawsuits over click fraud. This three-year-old case (see my initial blog post…