Another Rough Copyright Ruling for Internet Access Providers–Bodyguard v. RCN
This is another lawsuit against IAPs for subscribers’ BitTorrent activity. As I wrote previously: lawsuits against IAPs are problematic for many reasons, including the failure of 512(a), the danger of assuming that notices of claimed infringements (NOCIs) actually reflect infringing…
New Paper: “Assuming Good Faith Online”
As part of a symposium, I was asked to write a short paper about how the Internet has changed since the mid-1990s when Section 230 was adopted. I chose to address the 1990s stereotype that most early Internet users were…
Yet More Evidence That Keyword Advertising Lawsuits Are Stupid–Porta-Fab v. Allied Modular
Porta-Fab and Allied Modular compete in the modular building space, which has an average sales price of $32k. Allied purchased “PortaFab” as a broad match for keyword ads, showing ads like this (highlighting added): As you can see, Allied’s ad…
Snap and Airbnb Aren’t Liable for Tragic Shooting–Jackson v. Airbnb
This case involves a tragedy of a minor shooting another minor (the shooter and the victim’s family disagree about whether it was accidental or intentional). The shooter acquired the gun via Snapchat, and the shooting took place at an Airbnb…
Court Again Rejects Lawsuit Over YouTube’s Allegedly Discriminatory Content Moderation–Divino v. YouTube
LGBTQ+ content creators “claim that despite YouTube’s purported viewpoint neutrality, defendants have discriminated against them based on their sexual or gender orientation, identity, and/or viewpoints by censoring, demonetizing, or otherwise interfering with certain videos that plaintiffs uploaded to YouTube.” In…
A Hospital Mailed a Patient’s Confidential Diagnosis to a Rando. You’ll Never Guess What Happened Next–ZD v. Community Health
The facts in this case are so bizarre and outrageous that I had to read them several times: On September 30, 2018, Z.D. underwent an examination and medical testing in the emergency department of a Community facility in Indianapolis. Afterward,…
“Liking” a Facebook Post Isn’t Defamatory–Gallagher v. MaternityWise
[WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY THANKSGIVING] In 2018, Young posted a Facebook review accusing plaintiff Gallagher of being a sexual predator. Defendant Croudace allegedly “liked” Young’s post. The court says the “threshold issue is whether, as a matter…
How Copyright Law Fosters Anti-Competitive Behavior, Part Infinity–Bayam v. ID Tech
Bayam and ID Tech run rival online jewelry businesses. Both use Shopify as a service provider. ID Tech believed that Bayam copies too much of its copyrighted website content and pursued a whirlwind of enforcement activity, including filing two lawsuits…
A 5 Month Check-In on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB)
I prepared these statistics on November 18, 2022, roughly 5 months after launch. Total number of cases: 247. This continues to imply a run rate of about 600 cases per year, or less than 2 cases per day. According to…
Review of the “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” Netflix Documentary
In the mid-1990s, at the height of the Cola Wars, Pepsi ran an ad to introduce its “Pepsi Stuff” loyalty program, including a featured prize of a Harrier Jet for 7M points–a ridiculously high number that was supposed to signal…