Google Gets Easy Section 230 Win in DC Circuit–Bennett v. Google
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled. Also, I have several other Section 230 rulings to blog that I’ll get to eventually.] I previously described the facts of this case: Dawn J. Bennett was…
Design Principles for Consumer Protection Legislation (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Samuel Becher, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand [Eric’s note: I’m pleased to share this guest blog post from Prof. Samuel Becher, whose work has been mentioned on this blog before. This post is based on Prof. Becher’s new article, Unintended Consequences and the Design of…
In-Line Linking May Be Copyright Infringement–Goldman v. Breitbart News
Ugh, this decision is bad. How bad is it? It makes me sympathetic to Breitbart, and I didn’t even know that was possible. You may want a box of tissues nearby before reading this. The TL;DR: for over a decade, in-line linking has been treated…
Roundup of Materials from HTLI’s Content Moderation & Removal Conference
On February 2, 2018, the High Tech Law Institute held a groundbreaking conference, “Content Moderation and Removal at Scale.” The conference explored how Internet companies operationalize their content moderation and removal processes. Over 200 people attended the conference in person, and hundreds more watched…
Brief Roundup of Three Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Developments
1) Xymogen, Inc. v. Digitalev, LLC, 2018 WL 659723 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 1, 2018). This appears to be a typical competitive keyword advertising case, with the twist that the plaintiff also alleges counterfeiting. The defendant moved to dismiss. First, the court finds jurisdiction…
Copyright Owner Can Serve DMCA Counter-Notifier by Email–Epic Games v. Mendes
DMCA counter-notifications are rare, and litigation over them is even more rare. So my curiosity is piqued that this is the second 512(g) case I’m blogging in a week (the other: DMCA Counternotification Doesn’t Create Personal Jurisdiction in Copyright Owner’s…
Twitter Didn’t Cause ISIS-Inspired Terrorism–Fields v. Twitter
[It’s impossible to blog about Section 230 without reminding you that it remains highly imperiled.] The Ninth Circuit issued its ruling in Fields v. Twitter, the first appellate ruling to address if and when social media services like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube can be…
Displaying Emoji Evidence in Judicial Opinions
This is another outtake from my Emojis and the Law paper. I’m nearly done with a massive rewrite of the paper, and this passage appears destined for the cutting-room floor. So I’m sharing it here: ___ Judicial opinions rarely provide…
DMCA Counternotification Doesn’t Create Personal Jurisdiction in Copyright Owner’s Home Court–Real v. Matteo
This case combines one of my favorite Internet Law topics, 17 USC 512, with one of my least favorite, personal jurisdiction. TL;DR: if a foreign national submits a 512(g) counternotification, it doesn’t ensure the copyright owner can sue in its home…
Call for Papers: IAMCR 2018 in Oregon
I’m passing along this request from Loreto Corredoira, a communications and Internet Law professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, about the annual conference for the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The deadlines are approaching fast (sorry), so act promptly if…