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…
Teacher Who Blogged Pseudonymously About Students Being “Rat-Like” or “Dunderheads” Loses Appeal
This case involved a teacher who maintained a pseudonymous blog that, along with her personal observations and musings, chronicled some of her frustrations with students. One post in particular talked about her challenges with providing tailored feedback for her students,…
The Long-Term Promise of Privacy Federalism, Part 2
Yesterday, guest blogger Bilyana Petkova summarized some of her arguments in favor of “privacy federalism,” i.e., temporary state-level regulation of privacy matters, a topic she addresses more fully in a forthcoming article on SSRN. In helping her prepare her post,…
Sisterly Online Squabbling Isn’t Criminal Stalking
This is a stalking and harassment case. The complainant’s allegations are below: I observed a photograph of a telephone number and a caption stating, “Found on the street. No.callme # anytakers? # foragoodtime.” posted on Instagram by username “[NAME REMOVED]*,”…
The Long-Term Promise of Privacy Federalism, Part 1 (Guest Blog Post)
[Eric’s introduction: as I’ve remarked previously, the academic and policy discourse about privacy focuses principally on the substantive legal boundaries of privacy law and pays comparatively little attention on which policymakers are best positioned to develop and supervise those rules. The…
Two Tough Section 230 Rulings From Last Week–General Steel v. Chumley & Xcentric v. Smith
Last week, we saw two Section 230 losses. Initially I was troubled by this confluence, but after digesting these opinions, I’m pretty certain they both involve unusual facts that limit any real damage to Section 230’s immunity. However, as usual…
City Can’t Use Copyright To Censor Critical Videos–Inglewood v. Teixeira
Joseph Teixeira lives in Inglewood, California, and he’s not a fan of Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts, Jr. (In a sign of remarkable judicial restraint, the judge doesn’t crack a single “butt” joke or pun). Teixeira blogs his objections about…
Keyword Ad Lawsuit Isn’t Covered By California’s Anti-SLAPP Law
The plaintiff, Los Angeles Yellow Cab, and defendants compete in the taxi industry. The defendants bought keyword ads at the search engines, such as the following triggered by the search “Yellow Cab Los Angeles”: Yellow Cab Los Angeles—Call 800–521–8294 or…
Angie’s List Must Defend Fraud Charges Over Pay-to-Play Review Manipulation (Forbes Cross-Post)
U.S. law is clear that consumer review websites aren’t liable for their users’ reviews. However, plaintiffs are increasingly challenging how review websites publicly describe their review databases. A recent court ruling against Angie’s List highlights how plaintiffs are tendentiously parsing…