2H 2019 and Q1 2020 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright, E-Commerce, Advertising)
Copyright * In re DMCA Subpoena to Reddit, Inc., 2020 WL 999788 (N.D. Cal. March 2, 2020). Court quashes 512(h) subpoena because the underlying publications were protected by fair use. This is your reminder that 512(h) subpoenas routinely unmask individuals…
Another Terrible Copyright Ruling on IAPs’ Liability for Users’ File-Sharing–Warner v. Charter
This is a copyright infringement lawsuit against Charter, an Internet access provider, for users’ copyright infringements by file-sharing. I comprehensively blogged the magistrate report in this case back in October. In that blog post, I described the magistrate’s report as…
TheDirty Easily Defeats Another Defamation Lawsuit–Laake v. Dirty World
It’s been 6 years since I’ve blogged a case involving TheDirty, and I’m amazed that the site is around–and that people are still suing it. Well, maybe I’m not that surprised people are still suing the site if it’s still…
Instagram’s TOS Authorizes Third-Party Embedding of Photos–Sinclair v. Mashable
Sinclair is a professional photographer. Like many photographers, she posts photos to Instagram. Mashable wished to use a photo of Sinclair’s and asked for a license. Sinclair declined. Using Instagram’s API, Mashable then embedded the photo into its story. Sinclair…
Another Court Significantly Limits the Scope of Criminal CFAA–Sandvig v. Barr
The plaintiffs want to create fake job profiles to research algorithmic discrimination. Fearing that their research activities would expose them to criminal CFAA prosecution, they challenged the CFAA as violating their First Amendment rights. Venkat blogged a preliminary ruling in…
U.S. Supreme Court Confirms that States Have Sovereign Immunity from Copyright Infringement Suits–Allen v. Cooper
by guest blogger Tyler Ochoa On March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Allen v. Cooper, No. 18-877, that states have sovereign immunity from claims of copyright infringement, and that 17 U.S.C. § 511, which purports to waive…
Judge Isn’t Impressed By Lawyer’s Purported Unfamiliarity With LinkedIn–Reyes v. Tanaka
Juror #1 was empaneled on a trial. Myles Breiner is one of the plaintiff’s lawyers. On the 6th day of trial, Breiner sent Juror #1 an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Out-of-court interactions between jurors and the litigating lawyers is…
Humvee Can’t Stop Depictions of Its Vehicles in the ‘Call of Duty’ Videogame–AM General v. Activision Blizzard
It has unexpectedly turned into Videogame Law week here at the Technology & Marketing Law blog. This is my third videogame IP blog post this week. See my prior posts on tattoo copyrights and signature moves. All three rulings are…
Ninth Circuit Rallies in Defense of a Parody Dog Toy–Bad Spaniels v. Jack Daniel’s
So we are back to litigation over dog chew toys. The case involves the “Bad Spaniels” dog toy, part of a “Silly Squeakers” line from the smartly-branded enterprise “VIP Products.” The dog toy intentionally riffs on the Jack Daniel’s brand…
Videogame Can Replicate Musician’s “Signature Move” (Unless It’s a False Endorsement, Which It Isn’t)–Pellegrino v. Epic Games
Pellegrino is a saxophone player with “externally rotatable feet,” which has helped him develop a nifty “signature” dance move while playing. The videogame Fortnite sells “emotes,” optional customizations for players’ digital avatars. Pellegrino alleges that the “Phone It In” emote…