Q2 2015 Quick Links, Part 2 (Censorship and More)
Content Regulation * Oxera: The economic impact of safe harbours on Internet intermediary start-ups * South Korea is mandating that all cellphones sold to minors have an app called “Smart Sheriff” that censors their online experience. What could possibly go…
Q2 2015 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP, Marketing and More)
Copyright * The dominant media storyline about the Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match was the fight’s widespread illicit availability on the livestreaming apps Periscope and Meerkat. But this should have been the dominant storyline instead: An estimated 4.4 million viewers paid a…
When Can Defendants Defeat A Criminal Threat Prosecution By Claiming They Were Joking? Not Often
The “Twitter joke trial,” where a UK man was prosecuted for joking about blowing up an airport, made waves and resulted in widespread criticism, but recent cases in the US show that prosecutions for jokey threats over social media are…
North Carolina Cyber-Bullying Statute Survives First Amendment Challenge
Defendant was accused of cyberbullying over posts he made about (and to) his high school classmate (Dillon) on Facebook. The opinion is unclear on the precise nature of the original post and whether defendant initiated the post, or offered comments,…
Court Rejects First Amendment Challenge Against Cyberharassment Charge
Defendant worked at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He pled guilty to bribery, mail fraud, and conspiracy related to his allocation of printing contracts at LLS. He was sentenced to five years. John Walter, then LLS’s CEO, apparently provided information…
Competitive Keyword Advertising Permitted As Nominative Use–ElitePay Global v. CardPaymentOptions
I know, it’s getting repetitive blogging about competitive keyword advertising cases failing in court. But trademark owners keep bringing them, so I’ll keep blogging them. The Ruling The trademark owner does business as ElitePay Global. It provides “merchant payment solutions…
Section 230(c)(2) Gets No Luv From the Courts–Song Fi v. Google
This is one of several pending cases where a video poster sues YouTube for allegedly wrongful takedown of the video. I find these cases fascinating because I always wonder how there’s enough money at issue to justify litigation. Unfortunately, I…
eBay Must Disclose User Identities In Response To 512(h) Subpoenas
Barry Rosen is a photographer (especially of dogs) and repeat copyright enforcer (see, e.g., our previous coverage of his litigation here and here). His lawsuit against eBay produced an interesting 512 safe harbor ruling earlier this year. Meanwhile, eBay and…
Google And Yahoo Defeat Last Remaining Lawsuit Over Competitive Keyword Advertising (Forbes Cross-Post)
Keyword advertising using competitors’ trademarks is now so well-accepted, it may be hard to remember that the practice used to generate serious debate among lawyers and ethicists. In particular, the search engines drew substantial legal fire from trademark owners for…
Sixth Circuit Says Informational Fax Isn’t an “Ad”–Sandusky v. Medco
Medco is a “pharmacy benefit manager” (an intermediary between employers/health plan sponsors and drug companies). It sent two faxes to Sandusky Wellness Center, a health care provider, advising that many Sandusky patients had adopted Medco’s formulary, and encouraging Sandusky to…