Social Media Producer’s Counterclaims Based on Website Ownership Rejected – Ardis Health v. Nankivell
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ardis Health v. Nankivell, 11 Civ. 5013 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 23, 2012) One of the many social media ownership disputes we blogged about was Ardis Health v. Nankivell, where a company sought, among other things, social media…
Plastic Surgeon Owns Copyright in Before-and-After Photos of Patient–Denenberg v. LED Technologies
By Eric Goldman Denenberg v. LED Technologies, LLC, 11-cv-03155-RBJ (D. Colo. Sept. 28, 2012) Dr. Steven Denenberg is a facial plastic surgeon. Like many doctors performing elective procedures, he takes before-and-after photos of his patients and publishes some of them…
Overreaching Anti-Circumvention Claim Shut Down–DISH Network v. World Cable
By Jake McGowan Dish Network L.L.C., et al, v. World Cable Inc., 11-CV-5219 (E.D.N.Y. 2012) In the hopes of ratcheting up damages, plaintiffs often try to assert any possible claim in their arsenal. In the realm of copyright law, this…
Consumer Review Website Isn’t Liable for Users’ Copyright Infringement–Ripoff Report v. ComplaintsBoard
By Eric Goldman Xcentric Ventures, LLC v. Mediolex Ltd., 2012 WL 5269403 (D. Ariz. October 24, 2012). The initial complaint. This is a long-running and ill-advised lawsuit by Ripoff Report against ComplaintsBoard for allegedly infringing Ripoff Report’s purported copyright in…
Photographer Who Sued Twitter For Copyright Infringement Voluntarily Dismisses Lawsuit — Boffoli v. Twitter
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Boffoli v. Twitter, 12-Cv-0154-RSL (W.D. Wash. Oct. 25, 2012) (Notice of Dismissal) Several months ago, a photographer (Christopher Boffoli) sued Twitter for allegedly not taking down his images that others posted and retweeted. The lawsuit received…
Blogger Can’t Defeat Copyright Infringement Claim on Motion to Dismiss–Katz v. Chevaldina
By Eric Goldman Katz v. Chevaldina, 2012 WL 5245401 (S.D. Fla. October 5, 2012). The original complaint. This is a high-profile case (and part of an ongoing litigation battle between the parties). Raanan Katz is a Florida real estate developer…
Does the Supreme Court Have a Free Policy Choice in Wiley v. Kirtsaeng? (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble Does the Supreme Court Have a Free Policy Choice in Wiley v. Kirtsaeng? (A Template for an Interpretation of the Copyright Act that Ignores the Place of Manufacture and Provides a Free Choice between the…
Q3 2012 Quick Links, Part 2 (Copyright)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan * Horrifying video evidence that the police probably grossly misused their police power to arrest Kim Dotcom. Related: Timothy Lee: Feds: We Can Freeze Megaupload Assets Even if Case Dismissed. My prior blog post….
Judge Dismisses Claims Against Pandora for Violating Michigan’s Version of the VPPA – Deacon v. Pandora Media
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Deacon v. Pandora Media, Inc., 2012 WL 4497796 (N.D. Cal.; Sept. 28, 2012) The plaintiffs sued Pandora for improperly disclosing their “listening history” and related information (bookmarked tracks, stations, recent activity, and bookmarked artists). Plaintiffs alleged…
Recent Ruling in Triple Town/Yeti Town Game App Dispute Provides Cautionary Lessons for Both EA and Zynga (Partial Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Spry Fox LLC v. Lolapps, Inc., 2:12-cv-00147-RAJ (W.D. Wash. Sept. 18, 2012). The complaint. Even with all of the media coverage over EA’s ($EA) recent copyright infringement lawsuit against Zynga ($ZNGA) (including my blog post on the case), there was…