More Teenagers Mistakenly Think “Private” Chat Conversations Will Remain Private–People v. JP
This is a story of four teenage girls and one teenage boy. The girls use the aliases “7Up” (a/k/a JP, the defendant in this case), “Lady Gaga,” “Dream Ruiner,” and “Me.” The boy, called S, allegedly engaged in anti-social behavior…
Partial Screenshot Qualifies as Fair Use (on a Motion to Dismiss)–Yang v. Mic
We’ve blogged about a few cases involving screenshots of newspaper pages consisting of copyrighted photos, including Clark v. TransAlt and Hirsch v. Complex Media. This case adds to that canon, but not in a particularly enlightening way. The screenshot at…
Section 230 Helps Search Engine Defeat “Right to Be Forgotten” Lawsuit–Mosha v. Yandex
Looking holistically at the broad arc of Internet Law history, I could make a good case that the EU’s Right to Be Forgotten marked the beginning of the end of the modern Internet. It was the first time that a…
“Copyright Troll” Lawyer Gets Sanctioned (Again)–Sands v. Bauer Media
Attorney Richard Liebowitz has filed more than 1,100 lawsuits since the beginning of 2016, a campaign this judge calls a “downpour.” This initiative has not gone smoothly. The court recaps: Mr. Liebowitz has been sanctioned, reprimanded, and advised to “clean…
Competitor Gets Pyrrhic Victory in False Advertising Suit Over Search Ads–Harbor Breeze v. Newport Fishing
The litigants compete in the whale watching industry in LA/Orange Counties. The plaintiffs operate out of Long Beach/San Pedro, the defendants out of Newport Beach. If you’re not familiar with the geography, Long Beach and Newport Beach are about 20…
IP/Internet/Antitrust Professor Amicus Brief in 1-800 Contacts v. FTC
Prof. Mark Lemley (Stanford Law) and I filed an amicus brief in 1-800 Contacts v. FTC with the Second Circuit on behalf of 29 professors of intellectual property, Internet law, and antitrust. The abstract: The case involves 1-800 Contacts’ settlement…
Terrible Ninth Circuit 230(c)(2) Ruling Will Make the Internet More Dangerous–Enigma v. Malwarebytes
The Ninth Circuit has issued a Section 230(c)(2) opinion that creates significant problems for anti-spyware/spam/virus vendors (I’ll call them “anti-threat vendors”). The ruling will paralyze their decision-making, expose them to greater legal threats, and reduce their ability to protect consumers…
And At the End of the Day, the CCPA Remains Very Much the Same (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Tanya Forsheit I am back to provide a post mortem on what many have portrayed – inaccurately – as a long and successful battle by business interests to gut the CCPA. The legislative session is over and,…
Court Enforces Arbitration Clause in “Modified Clickwrap”–Chen v. Sierra Trading Post
This case doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s typical of what I’m seeing. The plaintiffs claim that the retailer Sierra Trading Post (STP) provides misleading comparison prices. STP sought to send the case to arbitration based on its TOU…
Section 230 Applies to Facebook’s Post Removals and Account Suspensions–King v. Facebook
The court summarizes the facts: King alleges Facebook removed multiple posts by him, and temporarily suspended his Facebook access on several occasions in 2018, for posts that Facebook deemed a violation of its terms of service (“ToS”). The crux of…