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…

Lawyer Who Advised Brother-in-Law Regarding the Use of Spyware on His Wife Disqualified in Ensuing Privacy Dispute — Zang v. Zang

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Zang v. Zang, 11-cv-00884 (S.D. Ohio; Aug. 30, 2012) This is another case involving surreptitious monitoring in the context of a divorce. I’ve half-jokingly mentioned that people who deploy monitoring or tracking software should seek the…

Barnes & Noble’s Online Contract Formation Process Fails –Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, 12-cv-0812-JST (RNBx) (C.D. Cal.; Aug. 28, 2012) Plaintiff tried to purchase an HP “TouchPad” tablet that was on sale because the model was being discontinued by HP. According to plaintiff, he…

Another Case Says No Liability for Linking to Allegedly Defamatory Content, Plus a Recap (Guest Blog Post)

Vazquez v. Buhl, 2012 WL 3641581 (Conn. Super. July 17, 2012) [Eric’s Note: Sam Bayard is an associate at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in New York. I got to know him during his stint at the Citizen Media Law Project….

Family Court Says Facebook Photos of Grow Operation Wrongly Admitted in Termination Proceeding – In re A.D.W., et al.

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re A.D.W., A.L.W., and X.M.M., No 2-648 / 12-1060 (Iowa Ct. App.; Aug. 8, 2012) [pdf] This is an action to terminate parentage. The father and mother have a long and difficult history dealing with…