You Can’t Buy A Copyright Just To Bury It–Katz v. Chevaldina (Forbes Cross-Post)
In the United States, copyright law principally serves as an economic policy by protecting creators’ ability to recoup the investments they make in generating new works that have value to society. As a result, copyright law gets weird when it’s…
Qualified Immunity Bars Claims Based on Search of Student’s Facebook Account and Discipline for Private Messages
MJ was a high school student and cheerleader. On a school trip to a local news station to promote a charitable cause, the squad was told to be quiet by the cameraman. MJ apparently did not, and the captain of the…
Grieving Parents (Still) Can’t Sue Topix For Son’s Oxy Overdose–Witkoff v. Topix (Forbes Cross-Post)
Is it possible to find illegal drugs using the Internet? Sure. But when illegal drug transactions occur, or worse, the drugs lead to tragedy, who should bear the blame? An appellate ruling involving Topix.com reiterates that user-generated content websites aren’t…
Local Hosting and the Draft “Trade in Services Agreement” (Guest Blog Post)
by Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble The leaked draft of the Trade in Services Agreement (“TiSA”) – the agreement that is being negotiated by a number of countries, including the United States – has attracted intense criticism: Glyn Moody on ArsTechnica UK…
9th Circuit Sides With Fair Use in Dancing Baby Takedown Case
The 9th Circuit was shockingly quick in issuing its opinion in the “dancing baby” case. The key holdings in Lenz: a person sending a takedown request under section 512(c) must consider fair use fair use is either not an affirmative…
Another Tough Section 230 Ruling For Ripoff Report–Vision Security v. Xcentric
Maybe Ripoff Report’s luck in court is finally running out. I recently blogged on a bizarre case in Iowa where the court held that Ripoff Report couldn’t claim Section 230 protection for contributions made by a guy named Meade. I…
59 Legal Scholars Sign Letter Supporting SPEAK FREE Act To Create Federal Anti-SLAPP Law (Forbes Cross-Post)
The First Amendment plays a crucial role in protecting free speech in our country, but the Constitution only sets a floor, not a ceiling, for what legislatures must do to promote free speech. Legislatures can, and do, go further to…
Court Says Yelp Reviewers Aren’t Employees (Forbes Cross-Post)
Way before sharing economy labor practices fueled presidential candidate soundbites, there have been allegations that users contributing content and services to websites were employees. For example, an employment lawsuit over AOL’s “Community Leader” program from the late 1990s led to…
Big Fee Shift in Unsuccessful Copyright Lawsuit To Suppress Unflattering Photo–Katz v. Chevaldina
This is the latest update in the long-running case involving a real estate mogul, Raanan Katz, who didn’t like a photo taken of him in public. Katz bought the copyright to the photo and then sued a blogger for republishing…
Backpage Gets Bummer Section 230 Ruling in Washington Supreme Court–J.S. v. Village Voice
I have conflicting feelings about the legal efforts to eliminate online prostitution advertising. I’m aware of the critical role that online advertising can play in human sex trafficking and other associated crimes. However, it’s less clear to me whether shutting…