Offering P2P File-Sharing Software for Downloading May Be Copyright Inducement–David v. CBS Interactive

By Eric Goldman David v. CBS Interactive Inc., CV 11-9437 DSF (C.D. Cal. July 13, 2012). The complaint. When the Grokster Supreme Court opinion came out in 2005, there was a lot of confusion about the relationship between copyright “inducement”…

No Negligence Claim for Infringement via Shared Internet Connection (Preempted by Copyright Act) – Liberty Media v. Tabora

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Liberty Media Holdings, LLC v. Tabora & Whetstone, 12 Civ. 2234 (LAK) (S.D.N.Y.; July 9, 2012) A question that was floating around in the blogosphere was whether you can be sued for maintaining an open wi-fi…

H1 2012 Quick Links, Part 2 (Copyright)

By Eric Goldman * The scandal continues: Techdirt reports the Dajaz1 seizure was held up for months because the government was waiting for the RIAA to provide supporting evidence that never materialized. Wait, ICE seized an asset (that is used…

Photographer’s Suit Against Client for Republishing Photos on Facebook Proceeds – Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena, Ltd., 2012 WL 2116136 (M.D. Fla.; June 11, 2012) This seems like a run-of-the-mill dispute between a photographer and client, but I think it contains some helpful…

Can Korean Copyright Owners Sue Australian Defendants in California? Judges Disagree–DFSB Kollective v. Bourne

By Eric Goldman DFSB Kollective Co. Ltd. v. Bourne, 2012 WL 2376209 (N.D. Cal. June 22, 2012). DFSB Kollective is a Korea-based copyright owner and a leading producer of Korean music. It went on a litigation tear on March 7,…

First Post-Viacom 512(c) Opinion Doesn’t Look Much Different–Obodai v. Demand Media

By Eric Goldman Obodai v. Demand Media, Inc., 2012 WL 2189740 (SDNY June 13, 2012) This is the first substantive ruling I’ve seen interpreting the Second Circuit’s Viacom v. YouTube ruling. (The Viacom ruling was also discussed in the Ouellette…

“Hot Topics in Internet Law” Talk Slides

By Eric Goldman This weekend I presented on “Hot Topics in Internet Law” at the San Francisco IP Law Association’s Spring Seminar in Healdsburg. My talk slides. A few photos from the trip. As I’ve mentioned before, I find “hot…

Java APIs Aren’t Copyrightable–Oracle v. Google (Guest Blog Post)

By Tyler Ochoa (see some of Tyler’s other posts) with comments from Eric Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 3:10-cv-03561-WHA (N.D. Cal. May 31, 2012). On Thursday, Judge William Alsup concluded the district court phase of the Oracle v. Google…

Granick on CISPA’s Deficiencies (With Some of My Own Comments)

By guest-blogger Jennifer Granick (with comments from Eric) [Eric’s introduction: Some guest visitors to the blog need no introduction, and that surely describes Jennifer Granick (her Wikipedia page). She’s cast huge shadows over cyberlaw in her various stints, including being…

The Dangerous Meme That Won’t Go Away: Using Copyright Assignments to Suppress Unwanted Content–Scott v. WorldStarHipHop

By Eric Goldman Scott v. WorldStarHipHop, Inc., 2012 WL 1592229 (S.D.N.Y. May 3, 2012) Copyright law wasn’t designed as a privacy enhancing doctrine, but sometimes plaintiffs try to repurpose copyright law anyway. This case is an interesting illustration of how…