Court Rejects VPPA Claim Against Viacom and Google Based on Failure to Disclose Identity
I blogged before about the privacy lawsuit against Viacom and Google over the disclosure of the viewing habits of minors. The court previously rejected the claims on the basis that the disclosure of user attributes (such as demographic information, unique…
Another Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Fails Badly
This case is so pathetic, it probably only warrants a tweet. The TL; DR version: another trademark owner initiates a lawsuit over keyword advertising and gets crushed in court. The end. The antagonist is a Florida van rental service operating…
Vonage Isn’t Liable For Disclosing ‘Unlisted’ Phone Number
Miller is a psychologist who undertakes efforts to keep his phone number unlisted. As part of his work, he evaluated the mental health of criminal defendants. (For various reasons, his family wished to keep the number unlisted as well). He…
No Personal Jurisdiction Over Nasty Facebook Post–Burdick v. Superior Court
Let me see if I can sum up all of my knowledge about Internet jurisdiction in a few pithy bullet points: * Motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction often lose, so why should we get too wrapped up…
Police Officer’s Facebook Post Criticizing Chief’s Budget Decision Justified Termination–Graziosi v. Greenville
This is an appeal involving a police officer who was fired for criticizing the chief and a budget decision he made. Specifically, the chief decided to not make available official transport so that officers could travel to attend the funeral…
Safeway Can’t Unilaterally Modify Online Terms Without Notice
This is a lawsuit against Safeway alleging that it charges slightly different (and higher) prices for items ordered online than purchased in-store. The court previously denied Safeway’s motion to dismiss and now grants summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs on…
Another Failed Doctor Lawsuit Against a Patient For Online Reviews–Brandner v. Molonguet
This is another lawsuit by a doctor over a patient’s negative online reviews. Dr. Brandner is an oral surgeon in Louisiana. In 2005, he treated Molonguet. Molonguet protested Brandner’s fees, but a court ruled for Brandner. In response to that…
Robert Half Can’t Stop Former Employees From Telling The World Where They Used To Work (Forbes Cross-Post)
As the saying goes, a business’ most important asset is its people. That maxim applies with extra force in the staffing industry, where people literally are its business. Perhaps that explains why Robert Half, a leading staffing company, uses an…
Employee Terminated For Ill-Advised Facebook Post Gets Unemployment Benefits
This is an unemployment benefits case. Sarah Black, who was employed by Puget Sound Security Patrol made the following post to her Facebook account in February 2012: u kno wat, I do not give a f[* * *] about a…
Top 10 Fair Use Cases of 2014 (Guest Blog Post)
[Eric’s introduction: in my blog post on the copyrightability of resumes, I observed that “2014 has been a terrific year for fair use” and mused that “It would be great if someone did a ‘top 10 fair use rulings of 2014’…