Accessing an Employee’s Facebook Posts by “Shoulder Surfing” a Coworker’s Page States Privacy Claim — Ehling v. Monmouth Ocean Hosp.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ehling v. Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Cop., 11-cv-3305 (WJM) (D.N.J.; May 30, 2012) The extent to which employers demand social media credentials of their current and prospective employees is unclear, but employers do get in trouble…
Java APIs Aren’t Copyrightable–Oracle v. Google (Guest Blog Post)
By Tyler Ochoa (see some of Tyler’s other posts) with comments from Eric Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 3:10-cv-03561-WHA (N.D. Cal. May 31, 2012). On Thursday, Judge William Alsup concluded the district court phase of the Oracle v. Google…
PissedConsumer Denied Section 230 Immunity and Can’t Shake Extortion Claim—Vo v. Opinion Corp.
By Eric Goldman Vo Group v. Opinion Corp., 8758/11 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. May 22, 2012) PissedConsumer is a consumer review site occupying the same market niche as Ripoff Report. It only wants negative consumer reviews of businesses (as signaled by…
Is SOPA’s “Follow the Money” Meme Infecting Anti-Spam Litigation? – Project Honey Pot v. Does
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Illinois Supreme Court Says Woman Deceived by Fake Online Relationship Can’t Sue for Misrepresentation -– Bonhomme v. St. James
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Bohomme v. St. James, 2012 IL 112393 (May 24, 2012) Most people take for granted that people aren’t 100% truthful when interacting online. On one end of the spectrum, people make misstatements that are widely acknowledged…
Google Wins Trade Secret Lawsuit Over Ill-Fated Coffee Meeting–Booloon v. Google
By Eric Goldman Booloon, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 2012 WL 1898937 (Cal. App. Ct. May 25, 2012) Qin Zhang is a technology entrepreneur and an attorney (meaning she’s joined the illustrious–and burgeoning–club of lawyers-as-plaintiffs who have sued Google). Zhang claims…
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…
LLC Members in Online Store Venture Bound by Partnership Fiduciary Duties — Health and Body Store v. Justbrand Limited
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Health and Body Store, LLC v. Justbrand Limited, 11-4132 (3d Cir.; May 11, 2012) *Sigh.* Another group of people attempt a web venture with zero documentation and end up in court. One of the many perennial…
What Are Appropriate Compensatory Damages for 3 Fake Competitor Reviews? The Surprising Answer–Fireworks Restoration v. Hosto
By Eric Goldman The Fireworks Restoration Company v. Hosto, ED97181 (Mo. App. Ct. May 9, 2012) Hosto and Mitchell formed two companies together. Eventually, the relationship soured, and they acrimoniously split their empire. Still grousy, Hosto (pretending to be former…
Facebook Post and Blog Entry About Judicial Endorsement Held to be Defamatory — Lewis v. Rapp
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lewis v. Rapp, COA11-1188 (N.C. Ct. App.; May 1, 2012) Lewis was a senior judge in North Carolina who was running for re-election. Lewis was also a vocal supporter of William Rabon who was a state…