Section 230 Doesn’t Create a Cause of Action–Goodman v. Sharp
The underlying dispute involved a copyright and trademark enforcement action against Goodman over a parody/satire video. The court summarizes Goodman’s arguments in this collateral lawsuit: Plaintiff alleges that Defendants abused process and engaged in attorney misconduct when the Academies sued…
Announcing the 2022 Edition of My Internet Law Casebook
I’m pleased to announce the 2022 edition (13th edition) of my Internet Law casebook, Internet Law: Cases & Materials. The book is available as a PDF at Gumroad for $10, a Kindle ebook for $9.99, a softcover version for $20,…
Quick Links from the Past Year, Part 7 (Section 230)
* FTC v. Match Group LLC, 2022 WL 877107 (N.D. Tex. March 24, 2022). A rare and surprisingly bad loss for the FTC on Section 230. The FTC alleged that: from 2013 to mid-2018, nonsubscribers were unaware that “as many…
Snapchat Isn’t Liable for a Teacher’s Sexual Predation–Doe v. Snap
A high school teacher allegedly used Snapchat to groom a sophomore student for a sexual relationship. (Atypically, the teacher was female and the victim was male, but the genders are irrelevant to this incident). Among other defendants, the victim sued…
Sixth Circuit: Government Official Can Freely Censor Constituents at his Public Facebook Page–Lindke v. Freed
James Freed is city manager for Port Huron, MI. (It appears this is an appointed, not elected, position). He had a personal Facebook profile that, over time, exceeded the 5k friend cap. Freed converted the profile to a public Facebook…
Court Quashes 512(h) Subpoena on First Amendment Grounds–In re 512(h) Subpoena to Twitter
This case involves a pseudonymous Twitter account, “@CallMeMoneyBags.” The account tweeted some remarks, including photos, critical of billionaire Brian Sheth. Soon after, an entity called Bayside asserted copyright ownership of the photos and sent 512(c)(3) takedown notices to Twitter followed…
Third Circuit Declares Copyright Independence for Fireworks Systems–Pyrotechnics v. XFX
This case involves copyright protection for fireworks systems–a relevant topic for July 4th! 🎆 Pyrotechnics (under the “FireOne” brand) claims to be the “world leader in digital pyrotechnic firing systems.” The system involves a central unit, field modules, and software…
Quick Links from the Past Year, Part 6 (Defamation & Much More)
Defamation * US Dominion Inc. v. Fox Network News LLC, No.: N21C-03-257 EMD (Del. Superior Ct. Dec. 16, 2021). Dominion’s defamation lawsuit against Fox News for its role in the “Big Lie” about the 2020 presidential election results survives Fox…