Another Blogger Wins a Fair Use Defense For a Photo–Leveyfilm v. Fox Sports
Danielle Wysocki blogged at “The Jersey Catcher,” a sports blog for women. On December 6, 2010, she blogged about a lawsuit over the 1985 novelty rap song “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” sung by members of the Chicago Bears football team….
Four Unanswered Questions From Aereo’s Supreme Court Loss (Forbes Cross-Post)
The Supreme Court ruled that Aereo infringed broadcasters’ copyrights by transmitting, in near-real-time, the stream of over-the-air television broadcasts, even when it did so at viewers’ direction. Adopting a pragmatic and functional assessment of Aereo’s activities, the majority held that…
Want To Encourage Gossipy Content Online? Go For It–Jones v. TheDirty (Forbes Cross-Post)
In 1996, Congress enacted a crucial Internet law, 47 USC 230 (Section 230), which says that websites aren’t liable for third party content. This law, though sometimes counterintuitive, has played a huge and helpful role in the Internet’s growth by…
Section 230 Immunizes Website For Super-User’s Doxxing–Internet Brands v. Jape
Internet Brands runs a UGC website for boating enthusiasts. It gives some super-users the power to delete promotional posts, but “Spam deleters are not authorized to ban users, remove posts or delete discussion threads,” and they don’t get paid. Although…
Another Section 230 Win For Ripoff Report–Torati v. Hodak
Daniel Hodak posted negative comments about Hezi Torati to Ripoff Report. Torati sued Hodak and, in this ruling, asks for permission to add Ripoff Report and Ed Magedson as defendants. The court quickly shuts down this request. The court first…
Software Manufacturer Denied Section 230 Immunity–Hardin v. PDX
Hardin suffered significant personal injuries due to the drug Lamotrigine. Hardin bought the drug from the grocery store Safeway’s pharmacy department. She claims that Safeway provided her with a partially redacted “monograph,” the lengthy “drug information pamphlet” that pharmacies provide…
Facebook Gets Easy Section 230 Win in DC Circuit–Klayman v. Facebook
A Facebook user posted an anti-Semitic page entitled “Third Palestinian Intifada.” Many people objected to the page, but Facebook allegedly dragged its feet before eventually removing the page. For reasons I’ve never fully understood, Klayman (a lawyer, naturally) felt wronged…
Texas Appellate Court Erases Court Order To Erase Google Search Results
The Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline initiated a proceeding against lawyer Calvin Jackson of League City, Texas, but the commission later changed its mind and dropped the suit. Jackson then asked to expunge the action (what the court calls “expunction,”…
How The DMCA’s Online Copyright Safe Harbor Failed
[Eric’s introductory note: I’m continuing my Spring housecleaning of blog posts that got stuck in draft mode for more than a half-year. I wrote this post in September intending it for Forbes, and some of it got obliquely incorporated into…
Want To Scrub Google Search Results In The US? Tough–O’Kroley v. Fastcase
I’m choosing to live in a parallel universe where the ECJ’s Google scrub-search-results ruling simply doesn’t exist. I know it’s a fantasy world, but I’m happier there. Fortunately, here in the US, the ECJ ruling couldn’t happen. The First Amendment…