“Does the U.S. Patent System Stifle Innovation” Notes
Last night, I moderated an Oxford-style debate at Zero1, which describes itself as “where art meets technology to shape the future.” The debate motion was “Does the U.S. Patent System Stifle Innovation,” and the two “pro” speakers were UCLA professor…
Police Officers Lean on School to Fire Social Worker for Facebook Post–and May Have Violated First Amendment
Perez v. Tedford, SA 13-CV-429-XR (W.D. Tx. Oct. 22, 2013) Plaintiff was a case manager at Communities in Schools of San Antonio. She was aware that an individual was subject to a protective order that prohibited contact with a student,…
No One Owns The Number ‘3.95%’ (We Think)–Banxcorp v. Costco (Forbes Cross-Post)
Banxcorp v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 09-CV-1783 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 17, 2013). Who owns a single number, such as 3.95%? The question probably sounds crazy. Numbers are just facts, and the Supreme Court said in 1991 that facts aren’t copyrightable. So of…
Sexting a Minor Isn’t a Crime in Texas
Ex Parte John Christopher Lo, No. PD-1560-12 (Oct. 30, 2013) The highest criminal court in Texas struck down a portion of a Texas statute prohibiting “communicating in a sexually explicit manner” with a minor with the intent to arouse. (Section…
Google Wins Cookie Privacy Lawsuit
In re Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation, MDL Civ No. 12-2358 (D. Del. Oct. 9, 2013) [pdf] The factual background in the court’s order is fairly brief. In a nutshell, plaintiffs sued Google, along with advertisers and networks,…
Want To Avoid Defaming Someone Online? Link To Your Sources (Forbes Cross-Post)
Adelson v. Harris, 2013 WL 5420973 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2013) When you are tweeting or Facebooking, you probably don’t think much about your risk of being sued for defamation. Fortunately, such lawsuits are rare. Unfortunately, even quickly written and seemingly…
Landlord May Be Liable When A Tenant’s Facebook Harassment Leads To A Rape (Forbes Cross-Post)
Lindsay P. v. Towne Property Asset Management, 2013-Ohio-4124 (Ohio Ct. App. Sept. 23, 2013). If you’re a landlord, what should you do if you learn that a resident is harassing another tenant on Facebook or other social media websites? If…
Police Officer’s Facebook Venting Isn’t Protected By The First Amendment–Gresham v. Atlanta
Gresham v. City of Atlanta, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 20961 (11th Cir. Oct. 17, 2013). [Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Gresham was a law enforcement officer. She complained on Facebook about the alleged unethical interference by a department investigator in an…
Check Out the New Blog Design!
By Eric Goldman Over the weekend, we converted the blog from Movable Type to WordPress. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the new page layout, I encourage you to do so. You can see the difference by…
Some Exciting Changes to the Blog–PLEASE READ
I don’t often make purely administrative posts, so let me start by thanking you for reading the blog. Whether you’re a long-time reader or a relative newcomer, it means a lot to me that you’re willing to share a portion…