Republishing Litigation Brief Is Fair Use–White v. Westlaw
It’s a perennial question in copyright law: to what extent does copyright law protect attorney-drafted documents such as litigation briefs or contracts? Despite the venerability of the issue (I tested on copyrightability of contracts in my 2002 copyright class), we…
Griping Blogger Can Show Photo Of Griping Target–Katz v. Chevaldina
Chelvadina griped about Raanan Katz on her blog. As is common practice for bloggers, Chelvadina included a headshot photo of Katz. The court says the photo is unflattering (I’ll let you decide). Chevaldina found the photo on an Israeli website…
How The DMCA’s Online Copyright Safe Harbor Failed
[Eric’s introductory note: I’m continuing my Spring housecleaning of blog posts that got stuck in draft mode for more than a half-year. I wrote this post in September intending it for Forbes, and some of it got obliquely incorporated into…
Fair Use Protects Video Republication To Demonstrate Speaker’s Inconsistent Statements–Caner v. Autry
As recounted by the court’s order, Caner was raised in Ohio. His father was a devout Muslim. After his parents divorced, Caner “spent weekend visitation at the mosque in Columbus, Ohio.” At some point, Caner started attending a church and…
Another Attempt to Scrub Unflattering Posts Fails
This is another social media defamation case. (Last week’s edition: Another Questionable IP Lawsuit Over a Derogatory Twitter Account.) Plaintiffs were husband and wife. One of the plaintiffs (Hassan Miah) was involved in a business dispute involving a business he founded…
Defendant Gets Attorneys’ Fees For ‘Frivolous’ DMCA Copyright Management Information Claim
In March, a district court in Virginia examined in-depth the justifications for awarding attorney’s fees with respect to weak copyright and DMCA claims. Background Ross Builder and Boathouse Creek Graphics (BCG) are custom home designers. In 2010, Ross filed a…
Q1 2014 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP)
Copyright * Perfect 10, Inc. v. Giganews, Inc., No. 11-7098 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2014). Upholding Giganews’ policy of terminating repeat infringers. The ruling also is critical of Perfect 10’s method of sending takedown notices, saying that Perfect 10 may have had…
Internet Law Professors File Amicus Brief in ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Case–Garcia v. Google
I’m sure you are familiar with Garcia v. Google, the copyright lawsuit against YouTube over the Innocence of Muslims video that led to a fatwa being issued against Garcia, an actress in the movie. In a truly awful opinion from…
Xcentric Ventures Chips Away at Small Justice’s Copyright Workaround to Section 230
Goren is a lawyer. Dupont made a less than flattering post about Goren to the Ripoff Report site, which is famous for not removing posts even at the request of the author. (Ripoff Report is one of the most successful…
IP Battle Between Jumpy House Manufacturers Isn’t Bounced – WhatRU Holding v. Bouncing Angels
At any moment, a product manufacturer can find itself trapped in a tangled nightmare of IP infringement claims. In WhatRU Holding, LLC v. Bouncing Angels, Inc., a district court in Minnesota found personal jurisdiction over a defendant company that sold…