A ‘Juicy’ Supreme Court Case On Food Labeling Regulation–Pom Wonderful v. Coca-Cola (Forbes Cross-Post)
[Note: I wrote this as a preview to the oral arguments at the Supreme Court. I wasn’t sure how to read the tea leaves from oral arguments, but Rebecca thinks the justices asked harder questions of Coca-Cola than of Pom.]…
Defendant Gets Attorneys’ Fees For ‘Frivolous’ DMCA Copyright Management Information Claim
In March, a district court in Virginia examined in-depth the justifications for awarding attorney’s fees with respect to weak copyright and DMCA claims. Background Ross Builder and Boathouse Creek Graphics (BCG) are custom home designers. In 2010, Ross filed a…
Another Questionable IP Lawsuit Over a Derogatory Twitter Account
Uli Behringer is the the CEO of “Music Group,” a company I had not heard of prior to this lawsuit. Apparently ticked off at the antics of “@NotUliBehringer” and “@fakeuli,” Behringer and his company tried to get Twitter to take…
Siblings Use Publicity Rights To Try To Block Sister From Blogging About Mom–In re Reynolds
For lawyers, family feuds are gold. There’s nothing quite as vituperative as family members squabbling in court. For the lawyers, familial acrimony translates into irrational overspending on legal fees. Ca-ching! Today’s family feud involves a mom, Lois Reynolds, and her…
How To Get Your Clickthrough Agreement Enforced In Court–Moretti v. Hertz
So, by now, you know that if you want an enforceable online agreement, you need to implement it as a mandatory clickthrough. With that settled, it’s time to address an advanced topic: what evidence can you offer a judge to…
Minnesota Supreme Court Reverses Conviction for Assisting Suicide Online
This is a case involving some dark behavior by William Francis Melchert-Dinkel, who visited forums frequented by suicidal individuals and encouraged at least two people to commit suicide. In one case, a 32 year old from England hanged himself sometime…
Q1 2014 Quick Links, Part 2
Social Media * Collins v. Louisiana State Police, No. 13-412 (La. Ct. App. Oct. 23, 2013): a person’s online life depicted in social media is commonly not intended to reflect reality as much as it is intended to engender discourse. Therefore,…
Q1 2014 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP)
Copyright * Perfect 10, Inc. v. Giganews, Inc., No. 11-7098 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2014). Upholding Giganews’ policy of terminating repeat infringers. The ruling also is critical of Perfect 10’s method of sending takedown notices, saying that Perfect 10 may have had…
Ripoff Report’s Latest Section 230 Win–Seldon v. Magedson
It’s been a while since I blogged a Ripoff Report case. I’m sure you’ve missed hearing about them, but their litigation docket has calmed down somewhat since their heyday. This pro se lawsuit, rehashing tired arguments that have failed repeatedly…
Some Thoughts On General Mills’ Move To Mandate Arbitration And Waive Class Actions
I sent the following email to a reporter covering the fallout from General Mills’ amended legal terms to mandate arbitration and the The New York Times’ coverage, When ‘Liking’ a Brand Online Voids the Right to Sue (and see the…