When Does Social Media Chatter Become Criminal? Previewing The Supreme Court’s ‘Elonis’ Case (Forbes Cross-Post)
Social media combines the power of printed words with the immediacy of oral conversations. While social media frequently enriches our lives, it also enables incivil behavior such as the threats of violence against others. Should we interpret a social media…
Lawsuit Over User-Posted Celebrity Photos Survives Dismissal–BWP v. Hollywood Fan Sites
The plaintiffs own copyrights in celebrity photos. The defendants run the Hollywood.com “fan site network” with 1,500+ websites dedicated to celebrities, TV shows, etc. The complaint alleges that the entire fan site network is predicated on republishing stolen photos, and…
Perfect 10 Loses Copyright Suit Against USENET Service Provider–Perfect 10 v. Giganews
Giganews acts as a USENET service provider. Perfect 10 is the litigious pornographer that has helped define Internet copyright law for the last 15 years. It sued Giganews because Perfect 10’s copyrighted images are distributed on USENET. After over three…
PissedConsumer Defeats Preliminary Injunction–Roca v. Consumer Opinion Corp.
Roca makes and sells dietary supplements. They’ve made a series of legally dubious choices, but I think their problems start with their desire to suppress negative consumer reviews. The court describes that: [Roca’s] Purchase Agreement requires customers to agree that,…
Fifth Annual Internet Law Work-in-Progress Conference: Initial Participant List
On March 7, 2015, Santa Clara University will be hosting the Fifth Annual Internet Law Work-in-Progress conference. Over 50 Internet Law scholars from around the globe have signed up to come. If you’d still like to join us, please contact…
Bleg: Help Us Prepare For the Blog’s 10 Year Blogiversary
This blog launched on February 8, 2005, meaning that our 10th anniversary is just a couple of months away. Where did the time go??? With our big milestone looming, we’re cooking up some special features to help celebrate in style. It…
Manuel Noriega Loses Right of Publicity Suit Against Activision (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Tyler Ochoa What does former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega have in common with former NFL running back Jim Brown and a host of former college athletes? All of them are suing videogame companies for using their likenesses…
Duplicitous Competitive Keyword Advertising Lawsuits–Fareportal v. LBF (& Vice-Versa)
OK, let me offer a proposition that seems so obvious to me that I feel silly saying it. If you buy your competitor’s trademarks as keywords, it’s not advisable to sue your competitors for buying your keywords. Yes? Are you…
Instagramming For Freebies? Those Photos Are Ads…To The FTC (Forbes Cross-Post)
Wouldn’t it be sweet if someone gave you a free helicopter ride, a free 3 year lease for a Mercedes-Benz car, or a free trip to Iceland? As recounted in this recent New York Times article (“Your Instagram Picture, Worth…
The New U.K. Online Gambling Law: Cyberlaw 3.0 – or a Return to Cyberlaw 2.0? (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Marketa Trimble The new amendments to the U.K. gambling law in the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 will take effect on November 1, 2014, following a U.K. judge’s rejection of a challenge to the validity of…