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,…
Are Parents Liable For Their Children’s Online Pranks?–Boston v. Athearn
Dustin Athearn, who was 13, decided to “have some fun” at a “friend’s” expense. He did what any modern teenager does to poke fun at someone: he created a fake Facebook page in their name. Along with a friend Melissa,…
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…
Another Messy Employee-Employer Dispute Over Facebook Page Ownership
Courtney Austin managed the Preston County Animal Shelter. She was initially hired on an hourly basis but converted at her request to salary. Shortly after she was hired, she created a Facebook page for the shelter, and she sought and…
Hertz Faces Negligence Suit For Employee’s Facebook Bashing of a Customer–Howard v. Hertz
Maurice Howard is a Hertz customer who alleged that a Hertz employee (Shawn Akina) posted the following comment about Howard on Facebook: I seen Maurice’s bougie ass walking kahului beach road . . . n*** please! A number of Akina’s…
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…
When Does Online Criticism Become “Stalking”?–Ellis v. Chan
This is an online harassment dispute. Ellis, the plaintiff/petitioner, is the author of a poem called “The Dash”. She has achieved some degree of public figure status through the poem’s notoriety. The poem is about a person who speaks at…
Q3 2014 Quick Links, Part 2 (Content Regulation)
* United States v. Valle, 2014 WL 2980256 (S.D.N.Y. June 30, 2014). The highly unusual facts of this case reflect the Internet age in which we live. To prove the kidnapping conspiracy alleged in Count One, the Government relied on…
Q3 2014 Quick Links, Part 1 (RTBF, Reviews, IP & More)
Right to Be Forgotten * U.S. Attitudes Toward the ‘Right to Be Forgotten’: 1. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe some version of the right to be forgotten is necessary. 2. Thirty-nine percent want a European-style blanket right to be forgotten,…
Washington State Supreme Court Hears an Interesting Privacy Case: Dillon v. Seattle Deposition Reporters
This is a super interesting case that’s working its way through the courts in Washington. In a nutshell, T-Mobile was a defendant in a breach of contract lawsuit brought by NetLogix in the Western District of Washington. T-Mobile was represented…