Pointing Out Possible Hypocrisy by a Self-Claimed Sextortion Expert Protected by Anti-SLAPP Laws–Backlund v. Stone
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Backlund v. Stone, B235173 (Ca. Ct. App.; Sept. 4, 2012) When is it OK to tweet a threat to expose seminude photographs of a teenage girl? When you’re a law student? When you’re a self-professed expert…
Another School Violated a Student’s First Amendment Rights by Disciplining Her For Facebook Posts — R.S. v. Minnewaska Area School Dist. No. 2149
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] R.S. ex rel. S.S. v. Minnewaska Area School Dist. No. 2149, 2012 WL 3870868 (D.Minn. September 6, 2012) R.S. was a twelve year old student at a Minnewaska Area middle school. She posted a message to…
Buyers of Michael Jackson’s Assets from a Storage Locker Auction Can’t Set Up Paywalled Tribute Website–Branca v. Mann
[Post by Jake McGowan] Branca v. Mann, CV 11-00584 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 10, 2012) When a celebrity goes bankrupt or forgets to pay a bill for his/her physical-space storage locker, opportunists may swoop in and purchase the goods so they…
Florida Judge Disqualified Over Facebook Friendship With Prosecutor -– Domville v. Florida
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Domville v. Florida, No. 4D12 556 (Fl. Ct. App.; Sept. 5, 2012) I blogged briefly about a Florida ethics opinion that prohibits judges from friending lawyers who appear before them. (“Is the Florida Bar Taking Facebook…
Ongoing Website Editing Doesn’t Trump Single Publication Rule–Yeager v. Bowlin
By Eric Goldman Yeager v. Bowlin, No. 10-15297 (9th Cir. Sept. 10, 2012) The single publication rule says that the statute of limitations starts with the first publication of the work, and so long as the work doesn’t change, further…
Courts Allows Text Spam Class Action Against Voxer, a Cell Phone Walkie-Talkie App — Hickey v. Voxernet
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Hickey v. Voxernet, C12-373 MJP (W.D. Wash.; Aug 13, 2012) Voxer is an app that turns your cell phone into a walkie-talkie. Plaintiff sued on his own behalf and on behalf of a putative class, alleging…
Is a Website “Published” for Copyright Law Purposes?–Rogers v. BBB of Houston
[Post by Jake McGowan, with comments from Eric] Rogers v. Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston, H-10-3741 (Aug. 15, 2012) Vicente Barcelo Varona / Shutterstock.com In the realm of copyright law, evolving technological perceptions have led to doctrinal questions that…
Fight Over Access to Log-in Credentials for Blog Does not Trigger Copyright Preemption – Insynq v. Mann
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Insynq, Inc. v. Mann, 3:12-cv-05464 RBL (W.D. Wash.; Aug. 29, 2012) Insynq is an application service provider that “provides virtual desktops and remotely hosts applications for accountants and small business owners.” Mann…
Lawyer Who Advised Brother-in-Law Regarding the Use of Spyware on His Wife Disqualified in Ensuing Privacy Dispute — Zang v. Zang
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Zang v. Zang, 11-cv-00884 (S.D. Ohio; Aug. 30, 2012) This is another case involving surreptitious monitoring in the context of a divorce. I’ve half-jokingly mentioned that people who deploy monitoring or tracking software should seek the…
Barnes & Noble’s Online Contract Formation Process Fails –Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, 12-cv-0812-JST (RNBx) (C.D. Cal.; Aug. 28, 2012) Plaintiff tried to purchase an HP “TouchPad” tablet that was on sale because the model was being discontinued by HP. According to plaintiff, he…