512(f) Once Again Ensnared in an Employment Ownership Dispute–Shande v. Zoox
DMCA Section 512(c), the notice-and-takedown provision, codifies a simple paradigm. Copyright owners are in the best position to spot and redress infringement, so they should identify alleged infringement to services and seek intervention when they see infringements. This paradigm, however,…
LawTuber Loses Defamation Case–Broughty v. Bouzy
Broughty, using an alias, runs the “Nate the Lawyer” channel, part of the LawTube community, with over a quarter-million followers and 27M views. Like many other LawTubers, he sided against Heard in his coverage of the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial….
Another Doctor Learns Why It’s Unwise to Sue Patients
Dr. Wilbur Hah is a board-certified cosmetic surgeon in Texas. In 2020, he performed procedures for four patients, Chesson, Gage, Melton, and Robinson (tragically now deceased). All of the patients signed a “Contract of Reasonable Expectations” that restricted “post[ing] any…
More Chaos in the Law of Online Contract Formation
Another 3k+ word post about the jurisprudential chaos in online contract formation law. You’ll notice that this post gets increasingly surly as the cumulative effect of the judicial inanity weighed on me. Two top-line takeaways you might get from this…
Instagram Account Termination Case Fails–Johnson v. Instagram
This is yet another account termination case. I just blogged one involving LinkedIn yesterday. Different social media service, same result–case dismissed. Johnson’s Instagram account, @LICKMYKAKEZ, had 2.8M followers. She ran a business selling adult toys and promoted the business on…
Another LinkedIn Account Termination Case Fails–Gundogdu v. LinkedIn
Another account termination case. The plaintiff shared “her religious conservative opinions” on LinkedIn. LinkedIn closed the account because she allegedly shared misleading COVID information. “Plaintiff claims that her beliefs against the COVID-19 vaccines are rooted in religion.” She also claims…
Announcing the 2023 Edition of My Internet Law Casebook
I’m pleased to announce the 2023 edition (14th 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, and a hardcover…
How A Century-Old Insight of Photography Can Inform Legal Questions of AI-Generated Artwork (Guest Blog Post)
A new breed of artists is using generative artificial intelligence tools like DALL·E, Midjourney, Firefly, and ChatGPT to create artistic works. Do these creations belong to the artists or the public domain? Do creators who use generative AI maintain copyright…
Ninth Circuit Reaffirms the “Server Test” for Direct Infringement of the Public Display Right — Hunley v. Instagram, LLC (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa Recently, the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed what has become known as the “server test”: in order to be held directly liable for violating the public display right, the alleged infringer must have a fixed “copy” of…
Section 230 Immunizes Facebook’s “Design and Architecture” Choices–M.P. v. Meta
This case involves the murderous attack by Dylann Roof against the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., killing nine African-Americans. A victim’s daughter sued Facebook, alleging that Facebook’s “design and architecture” radicalized Roof, and that should disqualify Facebook for Section…