Buyers of Michael Jackson’s Assets from a Storage Locker Auction Can’t Set Up Paywalled Tribute Website–Branca v. Mann
[Post by Jake McGowan] Branca v. Mann, CV 11-00584 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 10, 2012) When a celebrity goes bankrupt or forgets to pay a bill for his/her physical-space storage locker, opportunists may swoop in and purchase the goods so they…
Is a Website “Published” for Copyright Law Purposes?–Rogers v. BBB of Houston
[Post by Jake McGowan, with comments from Eric] Rogers v. Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston, H-10-3741 (Aug. 15, 2012) Vicente Barcelo Varona / Shutterstock.com In the realm of copyright law, evolving technological perceptions have led to doctrinal questions that…
Fight Over Access to Log-in Credentials for Blog Does not Trigger Copyright Preemption – Insynq v. Mann
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Insynq, Inc. v. Mann, 3:12-cv-05464 RBL (W.D. Wash.; Aug. 29, 2012) Insynq is an application service provider that “provides virtual desktops and remotely hosts applications for accountants and small business owners.” Mann…
Google Tries Again to Respond to Judge Alsup’s Shill Disclosure Order. Now, How About Oracle?
By Eric Goldman Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., 3:10-cv-03561-WHA (N.D. Cal. Aug. 24, 2012) In the ongoing saga about Judge Alsup’s requests that Oracle and Google disclose possible shills, Google filed a supplemental disclosure that listed 13 individuals/organizations. There’s…
Why Did Google Flip-Flop On Cracking Down On “Rogue” Websites? Some Troubling Possibilities (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, Google announced that it may downgrade search results for a website if Google receives a high volume of “valid” takedown notices against the website. Google’s move has confused many Google-watchers, largely because the exact…
Judge Alsup Tells Google to Try Harder With Its Shill Disclosures
By Eric Goldman Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., 3:10-cv-03561-WHA (N.D. Cal. Aug. 20, 2012) I can’t imagine Google is surprised that Judge Alsup did not like its response to his request that Google and Oracle disclose potential shills in…
Oracle and Google Make Unenlightening Disclosures of their “Shills”
By Eric Goldman In Oracle v. Google, Judge Alsup recently ordered the parties to: [f]ile a statement . . . identifying all authors, journalists, commentators or bloggers who have reported or commented on any issues in the case and who…
Six-Month Retrospective of SOPA’s Demise [Forbes Cross-Post, A Month Late!] + SOPA/PROTECT-IP/OPEN Linkwrap #3
By Eric Goldman [This post is composed of three parts. The first part, all 2,700 words of it, is a cross-post from Forbes last month assessing where we stood 6 months after January 18, 2012. Sorry it’s taken me so…
No Liability for Takedown Notice that Results in Termination of Facebook Page — Lown Cos. v. Piggy Paint
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Lown Companies v. Piggy Paint, LLC, 1:11-cv-911 (W.D. Mich.; Aug. 9, 2012) Lown and Piggy Paint are squabbling over “piggy paint” trademarks. Lown has a registration for “PIGGY POLISH,” and alleges that…
Breastfeeding Mom Can Sue Video Producer Despite Signing a Blanket Release–Sahoury v. Meredith
By Eric Goldman Sahoury v. Meredith Corp., 2:11-cv-05180-KSH-PS (D. N.J. Aug. 2, 2012) Sahoury consented to being video-recorded while breastfeeding for inclusion in an instructional video. She claims that the video producers orally agreed to two conditions: (1) the instructional…