Some 47 USC 230 Cases From the Past Year You Might Have Missed (Because I Didn’t Blog Them)
By Eric Goldman How do you celebrate the Fourth of July? I spent the holiday thinking about how 47 USC 230 enhances my freedoms. However, I’ve been feeling a little guilty because I try to blog every Section 230 case…
After “Bellwether Trial,” Court Says Malibu Media Isn’t Copyright Troll – Malibu Media v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Malibu Media v. Does, 12-2078 (E.D. Pa. June 18, 2013) [pdf] In a somewhat bizarre ruling, a district judge in Pennsylvania held, following a “bellwether trial” that Malibu Media was not a “copyright toll.” In a…
“Heisman Pose” Photographer’s Lawsuit Whittled Down–Masck v. Sports Illustrated
By Jake McGowan Masck v. Sports Illustrated, et al., 2:13-cv-10226-GAD-DRG (E.D. Mich. June 11, 2013) Back in February, we blogged about photographer Brian Masck’s Shakespearean complaint, asserting copyright infringement claims (and others) against numerous defendants for using his famous “Heisman…
Freelancer Loses Copyright Claims Against Licensee Who Posted Photos to Facebook – Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena, Ltd., 12-cv-60-T-30MAP (M.D. Fl. June 27, 2013) This is a case involving a long-running relationship between Tampa Bay Arena and its freelance photographer. (We previously blogged the ruling on the arena’s…
H1 2013 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Copyright * France is scaling back its three-strikes policy because “suspending Internet connections was incompatible with the French government’s hopes of spurring growth in the digital economy.” Given its horrendous track record of anti-Internet regulations,…
Craigslist’s Anti-Consumer Lawsuit Threatens to Break Internet Law–Craigslist v. 3Taps/Padmapper (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Craigslist, Inc. v. 3Taps, Inc., 2013 WL 1819999 (N.D. Cal. April 30, 2013) Craigslist is one of the best examples of the Internet’s sharing economy. Craigslist improves markets by helping buyers and sellers find each other. Remarkably, it…
Second Circuit Summarily Affirms 512(c) Dismissal–Obodai v. Cracked
By Eric Goldman Obodai v. Cracked Entertainment Inc., 2013 WL 2321420 (2d Cir. May 29, 2013). I blogged this case last year. My understanding is that a user allegedly posted copyright infringing material to Cracked.com, and the purported copyright owner…
Talk on Designing Optimal Safe Harbors and Immunities
By Eric Goldman Recently, I posted a Forbes article entitled “Designing Optimal Safe Harbors and immunities.” Based on the feedback I got to the article, I plan to convert it into a full-blown law review article eventually (i.e., it could…
Perfect 10 Gets a Surprising Partial Sumary Judgment in 512 Case–Perfect 10 v. Yandex
By Eric Goldman Perfect 10, Inc. v. Yandex N.V., 2013 WL 1899851 (N.D.Cal. May 7, 2013) Few names strike as much fear–and derision–among Internet lawyers as Perfect 10. Perhaps the quintessential Internet Law plaintiff of the 2000s decade, Perfect 10…
Copyright Trolling Is Really Hard to Do Profitably–Righthaven v. Hoehn
By Eric Goldman Righthaven LLC v. Hoehn, 2013 WL 1908876 (9th Cir. May 9, 2013) It’s been a rough week for copyright trolls. First, Judge Wright destroyed the Prenda Law enterprise in a sanction-filled opinion. Second, today the Ninth Circuit…