Software Vendor Trumps First Sale Doctrine via License–Vernor v. Autodesk
…is transferred. A 2001 report issued by the Copyright Office which looked at, among other things, first sale in the digital context (“Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Executive Summary“) makes this…
Yelp Wins 47 USC 230 Dismissal of Dentist’s Lawsuit–Reit v. Yelp
…tried without success in several Ripoff Report cases, and the argument fails here as well. Instead, the court (citing the pretty analogous Shiamili case) effectively says that third party content…
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 2
…a report on news aggregators. * F.B.T. Productions v. Aftermath Records (9th Cir. Sept. 3, 2010). An interesting opinion with possible implications for the First Sale doctrine as well as…
Ripoff Report Defeats Extortion Claim, But Plaintiffs Keep Trying–AEI v. Xcentric
…reviews that Ripoff Report will not remove plus Ripoff Report’s Corporate Advocacy Program (which offers to help businesses rehabilitate their reputation for a substantial fee) equals extortion, a predicate for…
Online Video Publisher Learns Why You Should Register Your Copyrights Early–LTVN v. Odeh
…they would have charged the defendants for use of their videos.” In other words, the defendant’s alleged ripoff won’t cost it any more than if it had taken the license…
OECD Project on Internet Intermediaries, Part 2
…day’s proceedings. As part of the workshop, in April, the OECD issued a report entitled “The Economic and Social Role of Internet Intermediaries.” I’m not sure what to say about…
Must-Read Empirical Study of 47 USC 230 Jurisprudence by David Ardia
…or the author takes the content down him/herself (or, in some cases, the court ordered the takedown). This brought to mind the Ripoff Report’s refusal to remove content at the…
Contributory Copyright Infringement Claim May Need Direct Infringer as a Defendant to Succeed–Miller v. Facebook
…this. The court apparently treats the case as a source code ripoff, but Yeo’s game could infringe Boomshine’s display/look-and-feel, and Yeo’s testimony isn’t critical to a look-and-feel comparison. Furthermore, in…
FTC Busts Check-Issuing Website for Unfair Practices–FTC v. Qchex
…to deposit a small amount in a bank account and then require the accountholder to report that amount back to Qchex to authenticate the account. For a variety of reasons,…
MySpace Profile Evidence Inadmissible to Show Defendant Committed ‘Gangster Style’ Robbery — U.S. v. Phaknikone
…‘gangster style’ in his left hand. The government sought to admit defendant’s profile page, subscriber report, and two photographs, all from his MySpace account. Defendant’s profile name was listed as…