Equivocal Email Exchanges Don’t Transfer Copyright Ownership
The Tjeknavorians collaborated with Mardirossian to make a film about the Armenian genocide. They never signed a paper agreement, although they had a bunch of correspondence regarding the film. Mardirossian contributed funds to the project on an ongoing basis (up…
Hertz Faces Negligence Suit For Employee’s Facebook Bashing of a Customer–Howard v. Hertz
Maurice Howard is a Hertz customer who alleged that a Hertz employee (Shawn Akina) posted the following comment about Howard on Facebook: I seen Maurice’s bougie ass walking kahului beach road . . . n*** please! A number of Akina’s…
The New U.K. Online Gambling Law: Cyberlaw 3.0 – or a Return to Cyberlaw 2.0? (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Marketa Trimble The new amendments to the U.K. gambling law in the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 will take effect on November 1, 2014, following a U.K. judge’s rejection of a challenge to the validity of…
Food Flavor Can’t Be Trademarked (Even If The Baked Ziti Is Delicious)–NY Pizzeria v. Syal (Forbes Cross-Post)
You may remember the advertising campaign for Coke Zero from almost a decade ago. The gag is that Coke Zero allegedly tasted so much like “real” Coke that one division of Coca-Cola threatened to sue another division for “taste infringement.”…
Android ID Isn’t Personally Identifiable Information Under the Video Privacy Protection Act
This is another Video Privacy Protection Act lawsuit. The Cartoon Network has an app on the Android platform. Plaintiff (not a minor) downloaded the app. He complains that The Cartoon Network’s disclosure of his viewing history to a third party…
Court Rejects Argument That ECPA Does not Apply to Spousal Interception of Email–LaRocca v. LaRocca
Eloisa LaRocca alleged that her former husband installed spyware on her computer and intercepted emails she sent. The ex-husband moved for summary judgment on the basis that ECPA did not apply to spousal interceptions of electronic communications. The ex-husband also…
Congress Is Considering A New Federal Trade Secret Law. Why? (Forbes Cross-Post)
[Two brief introductory notes: (1) the trade secret bills have been dormant in Congress pending the November elections, but don’t rule out the possibility of them roaring back immediately thereafter, and (2) I have uploaded an expanded version of this…
When Does Online Criticism Become “Stalking”?–Ellis v. Chan
This is an online harassment dispute. Ellis, the plaintiff/petitioner, is the author of a poem called “The Dash”. She has achieved some degree of public figure status through the poem’s notoriety. The poem is about a person who speaks at…
Q3 2014 Quick Links, Part 2 (Content Regulation)
* United States v. Valle, 2014 WL 2980256 (S.D.N.Y. June 30, 2014). The highly unusual facts of this case reflect the Internet age in which we live. To prove the kidnapping conspiracy alleged in Count One, the Government relied on…
Call for Papers/Participation, 5th Annual Internet Law Work-in-Progress Conference, SCU, March 7, 2015
We invite your participation in the Fifth Annual Internet Law Work-in-Progress conference at Santa Clara University School of Law on March 7, 2015. The conference series is co-sponsored by the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of…