Mixed DMCA Online Safe Harbor Ruling in Cloud-Based Music Locker Case–Capitol v. MP3Tunes
By Eric Goldman Capitol Records, Inc. v. MP3Tunes, LLC, 2011 WL 3667335 (SDNY Aug. 22, 2011). Background. This case involves MP3Tunes.com and Sideload.com. MP3Tunes is a music storage locker. Small lockers are free, but more storage is available at a…
Consumer Reviews at “Local” Review Sites Don’t Support Jurisdiction–Wilkerson v. RSL
By Eric Goldman Wilkerson v. RSL Funding, LLC, 2011 WL 3516147 (Tex. App. Ct. Aug. 11, 2011) It doesn’t bring me a lot of joy to blog another Internet jurisdiction case, but the dispute’s substantive issues are important enough to…
Federal Geolocation Bills Differ on Scope and Damages (Guest Blog Post)
By Sonya Ziaja [Sonya is an American attorney and MSc. candidate at University of Oxford. She writes regularly for LegalMatch and Shark. Laser. Blawg.] Congress will be considering at least two geolocation privacy bills this term. The bipartisan Geolocation Privacy…
Backpage Gets 47 USC 230 Defense for Prostitution Ads–M.A. v. Village Voice
By Eric Goldman M.A. v. Village Voice Media Holdings LLC, 2011 WL 3607660 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 15, 2011) M.A. was the victim of a convicted sexual trafficker, Latasha Jewell McFarland. M.A. alleges that McFarland created child pornography of M.A., posted…
A Close Look at Missouri’s “Amy Hestir Student Protection Act” (Guest Blog Post)
By guest blogger Sydney Muray, Certified Paralegal In the 1980s, a 12-year-old girl named Amy Hestir was manipulated by her seven-grade music teacher into an abusive sexual relationship that lasted over a year. While Amy suffered severe emotional trauma as…
Racy Teen Photos Posted to Facebook Are Constitutionally Protected Speech–TV v. Smith-Green
By Eric Goldman T.V. v. Smith-Green Community School Corp., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88403 (N.D. Ind. Aug. 10, 2011). It appears we will get a steady stream of legal rulings about teens being teens while playing around with Facebook accounts….
Catching Up on 4 Months of Online Copyright Cases–Myxer, Hotfile, Megaupload, Flava Works, Zediva, Blue Nile, Perfect 10, Rojadirecta
By Eric Goldman Online copyright cases have been coming at such a furious pace that I haven’t had a chance to keep up. This blog post wraps up the last 4 months of decisions. Arista Records v. Myxer, Inc., 2:08-cv-03935-GAF-JC…
Defamation Claim Over Stock Board Discussion Easily Dismissed–Desai v. Clark
By Eric Goldman Desai v. Clark, 2011 WL 3359971 (N.D.Cal. August 2, 2011) I’ve been seeing a steady stream of defamation and related claims over discussions in stock message boards. This case is representative of what I’m seeing. Ketan Desai…
Google Gets Default Injunction Against AdWord Gamers–Google v. Jackman
By Eric Goldman Google v. Jackman, 2011 WL 3267907 (N.D. Cal. July 28, 2011) This is a default ruling, so the facts are based on Google’s allegations. The defendants ran AdWords campaigns for online pharmacies that sold anabolic steroids. This…
TheDirty Defeats Publicity Rights Claims–Gauck v. Karamian
By Eric Goldman Gauck v. Karamian, 2011 WL 3273123 (W.D.Tenn. July 29, 2011) TheDirty.com has an increasingly active litigation docket. This case comes from Lauren Lee Gauck Giovanetti, a TV news reporter for Fox 13 in Memphis, Tennessee. She sued…