Freelancer Loses Copyright Claims Against Licensee Who Posted Photos to Facebook – Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena, Ltd., 12-cv-60-T-30MAP (M.D. Fl. June 27, 2013) This is a case involving a long-running relationship between Tampa Bay Arena and its freelance photographer. (We previously blogged the ruling on the arena’s…
No New Trials When Jurors Haven’t Adequately Disclosed Facebook Friendships
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Three recent cases all raise the same issue: does an undisclosed Facebook relationship between a juror and someone involved in the case warrant a new trial. In several recent cases, the answer was: no. McGaha v….
Why Craigslist’s ‘Casual Encounters’ Is A Bad Spot To Catch Predators (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Venson Villapando had, in the words of his psychologist, a “normal” heterosexual interest in “adolescent and adult females.” In 2009, he logged into Craigslist’s “casual encounters” section and responded to an ad with the headline “looking to get…
H1 2013 Quick Links, Part 4 (Miscellaneous)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan CFAA/Trespass * My colleague Kyle Graham traces the early history of California Penal Code Sec. 502. * Andrew Sellars on the Aaron Schwartz prosecution and Rep. Lofgren’s proposed Aaron’s Law. Related blog post. Consumer Protection * Interesting…
H1 2013 Quick Links, Part 3 (Social Media and Content Regulation)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Facebook * Growing Facebook fatigue? * The FDA thinks that a pharma company liking a comment on its Facebook page constitutes an endorsement of the comment contents. * WSJ: More questions about how Facebook handles…
H1 2013 Quick Links, Part 2 (Privacy, Search Engines)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Privacy * Transcript of court hearing in California v. Delta Airlines. Judge’s ruling starts p. 20. The case archive. * Fleischer v. NYP Holdings, Inc., 2013 WL 1105005 (N.Y.A.D. Mar. 19, 2013): “Plaintiff’s third and…
H1 2013 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Copyright * France is scaling back its three-strikes policy because “suspending Internet connections was incompatible with the French government’s hopes of spurring growth in the digital economy.” Given its horrendous track record of anti-Internet regulations,…
“FTC Regulation of Social Media” Talk Slides and Recording
By Eric Goldman Last week, I spoke at the 16th Annual FDA-OCRA 2013 Educational Conference in Irvine to an audience of medical device and pharmaceutical compliance professionals. My topic was how the FTC regulates social media, with an emphasis on…
Independent Contractor Relationship Between Sender and Advertiser Dooms Spam Claims – Kramer v. NCS
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Kramer v. NCS, 12-1956 (8th Cir. May 28, 2013) Kramer, who operated an internet service provider in Clinton, Iowa, filed an ambitious–and as it turned out, ultimately quixotic–lawsuit over spam emails. He initially sued 300 unnamed…
Facebook Posting of Criminal Trial’s Witness List Isn’t a “True Threat”–US v. Amaya
By Eric Goldman U.S. v. Amaya, 2013 WL 2548393 (N.D. Iowa, June 11, 2013) This is a quite lengthy sentencing opinion following Amaya’s meth conviction, a not uncommon circumstance given the disproportionately high meth sentences produced by the sentencing guidelines….