When a Copyright Owner Gets Only a $1,000 Judgment in Federal Court, They’re the Real Losers–McDermott v. KMC
Matthew McDermott is a freelance photographer. The New York Post hired him to take photos of NYC police commissioner Keechant Sewell, paying him a day rate of $470. McDermott kept the copyright to those photo and granted NY Post a…
Call for Papers/Participation: the revived Internet Law Works-in-Progress Conference, SCU, March 8, 2025
We invite your in-person participation in the Internet Law Works-in-Progress conference, to be held at Santa Clara University School of Law in Santa Clara, California on March 8, 2025. This conference series took a multi-year hiatus due to the pandemic,…
Section 230 Immunizes OnlyFans for User-Uploaded Video–Doe v. Fenix
[Trump came close to repealing Section 230 in the 2020 lame-duck Congressional session (while he was also busy fomenting the J6 insurrection). With him returning to the presidency, the odds are extremely high that he will finish this project and…
Can EdTech Vendors Force Parents into Arbitration?–Shanahan v. IXL
IXL Learning sells edtech subscription services to schools. The plaintiffs claim that IXL “collected and monetized the data of millions of school-age children who used the IXL platform without parental consent,” in violation of the ECPA and state law. IXL…
Will Judges Become More Skeptical of Joinder in SAD Scheme Cases?–Dongguan Juyuan v. Schedule A
[Like many of you, I am still trying to make sense of the election results. I’ll restart my normal blogging, but I’m having trouble focusing.] This is a design patent SAD Scheme case before Judge Jeremy C. Daniel in the…
Another “Sign-in-Wrap” TOS Formation Process Fails–Morrison v. Yippee
When properly implemented, “sign-in-wraps” support TOS formation. Unfortunately, some websites make dubious choices in their implementation, even though the protocols for proper formation seem so simple to me. Courts are also struggling with how to compare “sign-in-wraps” to “clickwraps,” which…
CA Anti-SLAPP Law Applies to #MeToo Instagram Post–Nelson v. Bridgers
This case involves three people: Chris Nelson, “a well-established music industry entrepreneur.” Emily Bannon, an alleged former girlfriend and victim of Nelson’s behavior. Phoebe Bridgers (photo on the right), “a singer, songwriter, and guitarist” with a large Instagram audience. Nelson…
Virtual Casino’s “Sign-in-Wrap” Formation Fails–Kuhk v. Playstudio
This case involves the following screens: You may need to enlarge the images to see the purported call-to-action. In the top image, it’s purple lettering on a purple background. Serisouly, who does that? The green one is only slightly easier…
Ticketmaster’s Attempt to Game Arbitration Services Fails–Heckman v. Live Nation
In an effort to curb mass arbitration, Ticketmaster sought to switch arbitration service providers to New Era ADR, including for past ticket purchases. New Era incorporated some defense-favorable provisions to its mass arbitration provision. The Ninth Circuit holds those provisions…
What Is It With “Kennedy” Politicians Bringing Weak Lawsuits Against Facebook?–Baldwin-Kennedy v. Meta
Ronda Baldwin-Kennedy, a lawyer, ran for the US Senate in Nevada as a Republican. She got less than 2,000 votes in the June 2024 primary. Now, she’s suing Meta for a variety of gripes related to her Facebook and Instagram…