October 2010 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Copyright * Greg Sandoval discusses copyright trolls with Cindy Cohn. You may recall I had an “interview” with Cindy as a guest lecture in my Internet Law course. And a belated congratulations to Cindy for her recognition…
Spam Filter Excuse for Missing a Deadline Flies in the Northern District of Illinois — Pace et al. vs. AIG
[Post by Venkat] Pace et al. vs. AIG, 8 C 945 (N.D. Ill.; Nov. 1, 2010) As the court notes in this case, ‘I missed a deadline because I did not receive electronic notice of a filing’ is becoming the…
Facebook Not Liable for Account Termination–Young v. Facebook
By Eric Goldman Young v. Facebook, 2010 WL 4269304 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 25, 2010). The initial complaint. Kashmir Hill covered the initial complaint filing in this case, and you should start with her post. The short story is that Facebook…
Plaintiff-Side Briefs in Rosetta Stone v. Google Appeal
By Eric Goldman Rosetta Stone and five amici groups have filed their briefs in the Fourth Circuit appeal in Rosetta Stone v. Google. The filings: Rosetta Stone’s opening appellate brief. It appears Rosetta Stone has new appellate counsel: Terrence Ross…
It May be Best to Shut Down Your Facebook Account While You are on Probation — State v. Altajir
[Post by Venkat] State v. Altajir, AC 31375 (Conn. Ct. App. Sept. 14, 2010) Defendant (Altajir) was involved in an accident in 2004, and pleaded no contest to one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and…
Auction Platform Protected by 47 USC 230 for a Rogue Auction–Simmons v. Danhauer
By Eric Goldman Simmons v. Danhauer & Associates, LLC, 2010 WL 4238856 (D. S.C. Oct. 21, 2010) Proxibid provides an online auction platform similar to eBay, except that Proxibid vets auctioneers before they can conduct an auction. Danhauer used Proxibid’s…
Message Board Operator Fights Discovery Order Requiring Disclosure of Identities and Private Messages — Concerned Citizens for Crystal City v. City of Crystal City
[Post by Venkat] Concerned Citizens for Crystal City, et al. v. City of Crystal City, et al., No. ED 94135 (Mo. Ct. App.; Oct. 26, 2010) In 1991, Pittsburgh Plate and Glass Company shut down a factory in Crystal City…
Political Campaigns and Copyright Infringement
By Eric Goldman I might be wrong, but my unscientific impression is that political campaigns are encountering copyright issues more frequently than in the old days. Initially, I had hoped to catalog all of the recent incidents, but I realized…
My RapLeaf Profile is Amusingly Mistaken. This is What the Fuss is All About?
By Eric Goldman The latest in the Wall Street Journal’s “scare journalism” series of privacy articles is a hatchet job on RapLeaf. I don’t know much about RapLeaf, but at conferences, privacy advocates frequently invoke RapLeaf as an omnipotent, omniscient…
Court Orders Disclosure of Facebook and MySpace Passwords in Personal Injury Case — McMillen v. Hummingbird Speedway
[Post by Venkat] McMillen v. Hummingbird Speedway, Inc., et al., Case No. 113-2010 CD (Pa. Ct. of Common Pleas) (Sept. 9, 2010) There have been several recent cases dealing with discovery of social networking evidence in a civil dispute. A…