New Draft Paper on Emojis and the Law
I have posted a draft article, entitled Surveying the Law of Emojis, to SSRN. I will be posting excerpts from the article here over the next few weeks. I would gratefully appreciate your comments on the draft. I am also…
A Photographer Sued a (Former) Student Over a School Project. Guess How That Turned Out–Reiner v. Nishimori
In 1997, TC Reiner worked with SuperStock to create a photo entitled “Casablanca.” If I understand it correctly, Reiner and SuperStock put significant time and money into creating the photo on spec, with the hope that a future advertiser would…
Will Technology Destroy Our Democracy–or Save It? A Series of Papers at The Atlantic
The decade-old book The Victorian Internet recaps the rise and fall of the telegraph. The telegraph was supposed to connect people together, but instead it played a crucial role facilitating ever-more-destructive wars. The author wrote: “That the telegraph was so…
Catching Up On Some Recent Click Fraud Rulings
After all of the excitement over click fraud a decade ago, we don’t often see click fraud cases any more. However, just in the past couple months I’ve seen 3 rulings that I wanted to share with you. Wickfire, LLC…
New Draft Article: “Judicial Resolution of Nonconsensual Pornography Dissemination Cases”
I’ve posted to SSRN a new article titled Judicial Resolution of Nonconsensual Pornography Dissemination Cases. I co-authored it with Angie Jin, a recent Cornell Law alum. The paper is in draft form, and we would gratefully welcome your comments. The…
How Should a Lawyer Respond to a Yelp Review Calling Him “Worst. Ever.”?–Spencer v. Glover
(Spoiler alert: suing the client is not the correct answer). The Opinion Glover hired and then fired Spencer as his divorce lawyer. Glover then posted this Yelp review: Worst ever. Had to fire him after I gave him a chance…
Can Your Employer Fire You For Posting Vacation Photos to Facebook?–Jones v. Accentia
I posted about this case a year ago at Forbes, and it remains one of my most-read blog posts of all time. The legal question is simple: can an employer fire an employee because of the employee’s vacation photos posted…
Dozen Amicus Briefs Oppose the Worst Section 230 Ruling of 2016 (and One Supports It)–Hassell v. Bird
You surely recall the Hassell v. Bird ruling from last year. A lawyer was unhappy with a Yelp review about her. The lawyer sued the putative author (with dubious service of process), got a default ruling that the review was…
FTC Explains Why It Thinks 1-800 Contacts’ Keyword Ad Settlements Were Anti-Competitive–FTC v. 1-800 Contacts
As you may recall, the FTC is pursuing 1-800 Contacts for antitrust violations based on 1-800 Contacts having sued and then settled with competitors who bought keyword ads on 1-800 Contacts’ trademarks. Recently, the FTC filed its “Complaint Counsel’s Corrected…
Plaintiff Can’t Erase Court Order From the Internet–Nelson v. Social Security Commissioner
The Commissioner of Social Security ruled that Nelson’s disability ended in 2010 and terminated benefits. In 2014, Nelson filed a federal lawsuit contesting that determination. In 2014, the judge ruled in her favor. In 2016, Nelson went back to court….