Blogiversary: Readers’ Favorite Topics, Posts, and Memes (Part 4 of 10)

I’m continuing my coverage of the blog’s 20th blogiversary. I asked readers to share their favorite blog topics, posts, and memes.

Readers’ Favorite Topics

“the emoji law genre. Because who doesn’t love emoji? 😉…Emoji law always crack me up. It amuses me to see the often whimsical world of emoji juxtaposed with the stereotype of stodgy, old fashioned courts. But I also appreciate the cases that revolve around consumer protection – such as the click wrap cases.”

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“your exposure of what you so aptly named the SAD Scheme”

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“I like the frequent and long running reporting of internet keyword cases. I have routinely done searches of all the blog posts on this to make sure I am up on the latest way courts are dealing with this issue”

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“Some stuff isn’t as relevant to me in my day to day (terms of service cases for example) but overall, I find it helpful to learn about everything you address. I can speed read through the cases that aren’t as relevant to my practice.  In addition to Section 230, I like the cases that report on greedy idiots filing and litigating cases over “who cares” nonsense like one photo or keywords…The cases about interpretation of emojis and memes are also fascinating to me…I like how you acknowledge the “bad facts” but focus on the real implications of holding a platform responsible for the shitty things some creeps do or the dumb things teenagers do”

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“I’ve been enjoying all the coverage on ToS formation lately. The fiction of mutual agreement is intriguing.” [For more on the crisis of online contracts, see this short piece.]

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“I analyze everything you post and often apply those insights to my work—especially topics like Section 230 of the CDA, privacy issues, and e-commerce.”

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“I’ve always turned to your blog when SCOTUS copyright decisions come down. Your analysis is always top-notch and incredibly helpful. In fact, I think the first time I came across your site was in the Grokster aftermath…” [See my coverage and the commentary roundup back when the discourse took place in the blogosphere and not social media.]

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“I like Internet liability trademarks and advertising law.”

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“One topic you focus on that I find really compelling is the SAD scheme….All of your work on emojis is fascinating as well. And I don’t entirely get Section 230 but I find those posts very interesting too. Most relevant to my work…are your thoughts on keyword ads and initial interest confusion…It’s such an interesting combination of assumptions about consumer behavior, understanding how the internet and searching work, and the underlying suggestion that use of another’s marks is inevitably free riding. With that topic and others, I really admire your straightforward take on what’s going on and where the courts should be going.”

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“certain series of posts or topics stand out, like your writing about developments regarding Section 230, state privacy laws, and the Copyright Claims Board….Section 230 writing because of how it relates to so many of the online/Internet service providers we each use and the ongoing challenges of abusive user-generated content on the Web. I think Section 230 is more applicable to my personal reading of the blog than professional – we have a very limited (but non-zero) relation to 230 here, in my opinion, because we accept and render very little user/customer-provided content and it’s rarely or never the contentious or abusive type of content that triggers action. But I enjoy reading anything on the blog that enhances my understanding of the legal workings of our society. I’ve really enjoyed the surprises like the VPPA or how the Copyright Claims Board maybe isn’t working as one would hope.”

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Some topics where I usually blog every case I see:

• Section 230 cases
• Section 512 safe harbor cases (but these are quite rare) and 512(f) cases (though these are all pretty similar now)
• Constitutional challenges to Internet censorship laws
• Keyword advertising cases
• Emoji law
• Copyrights and tattoos
• Consumer Review Fairness Act and California “Yelp Law” cases

Some topics that I also prioritized in the old days that have faded over the years because I rarely see interesting cases any more.

• Spam
• Adware and spyware cases
• Lawsuits over teenagers making teen mistakes online

Readers’ Favorite Posts

A professor writes: “I’ve been using this for teaching for 15 years….”

A lawyer writes: “In my role I spend a lot of time thinking about arbitration and ToS. I’ve reposted one of my favorite passages of yours below. It always makes me laugh and I may or may not send it to lazy business partners when they don’t listen to (or loop in) my product legal counterparts…:)

I don’t know how this UI got approved, either from an aesthetic or legal standpoint. Did the lawyer cut corners? Was the lawyer out-of-date on best practices? Did the marketing team ignore the lawyers or, worse, proceed without legal support? UIs like this are a minor tragedy because TOS formation problems are so easily avoided–and so important to avoid. You can definitely do better than this!

A professor writes: “The one I have referred back to and sent to the most people (students) is the “don’t call it soft ip” post.”

A litigator writes: “I liked when you said nice things about the opinion in a case I argued to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals (Marshall Locksmith v. Google).”

A professor writes: “the NetChoice write-ups about the recent Texas and Florida laws were especially useful and helped me prepare my own talks about them.”

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Some posts that I repost almost every year:

• For Pi Day (3/14): “Irrational Copyright Lawsuit Over “Pi Symphony” Gets Sliced–Erickson v. Blake” (I’m not a punner most of the time, but I fully indulged in this one)
• For April Fool’s Day: “Bloggers’ April Fools Jokes” (from my personal blog)
• On the anniversary of my mom’s death: “My Mom Died: Gail Schlachter Hauser, 1943-2015” (from my personal blog)

I’m proud of almost all of my blog posts, but I’ll highlight some posts that stand out as “exceptional” to me among the thousands of posts I’ve made:

• “Is There Any Way to Cure An “Accidental” Download of Child Pornography?”
  An all-time leader in search referral traffic for obvious reasons.
• “Wikipedia Will Fail Within 5 Years.” A prediction from 2005 that didn’t quite come true LOL.
• “Facebook Rant Against ‘Arial’ Font Helps Reverse Sex Offender Determination.”
• The DC v. RR saga, such as this post.
• Let’s Stop Using the Term “Soft IP”. A dozen years later, I’m still fighting this nomenclature battle LOL.
• “Can Your Employer Fire You For Posting Vacation Photos to Facebook?–Jones v. Accentia.” At my Forbes Tertium Quid blog, this knock-it-out post went unexpectedly viral, with over a quarter-million views.
• From my personal blog: “Wisconsin’s Diploma Privilege Draws More Questions.” This hastily drafted post was cited by the famed Judge Posner in a 7th Circuit opinion.

Readers’ Favorite Memes

Only two nominations from readers:

and

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Some of my nominees:

[This is my GIF of choice for CPRA cases because the CPRA came rolling in hot at the same time Trump was plotting his insurrection.]

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Coverage of the 20 year blogiversary:

Part 1: Celebrating the Blog’s 20th Blogiversary
Part 2: How Has the Blog Changed Over the Past 20 Years?
Part 3: Who Reads the Blog, and Why?
Part 4: Readers’ Favorite Topics, Posts, and Memes
Part 5: How the Blog Helps Readers
Part 6: Jess Miers Reflects on the Blogiversary
Part 7: Ethan Ackerman Reflects on the Blogiversary
Part 8: Guest Bloggers of the Technology & Marketing Law Blog
Part 9: How Information Consumption Habits Have Changed Over the Years
Part 10: What Will This Blog Look Like in 10 Years?

Coverage of the 10 year blogiversary:

Part 1: Happy 10th Blogiversary!
Part 2: The Blog’s Impact
Part 3: The Blogosphere’s Evolution
Part 4: Changes in Internet and IP Law
Bonus: A Video Interview About the Blog