New Internet Law Work-in-Progress Series

By Eric Goldman Announcing a New Internet Law Works-in-Progress Series and Call for Participation The High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law and the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School are…

Company Not Responsible for Harassive Comments by Coworker on Personal Facebook Page — Amira Jabbar v. Travel Services

[Post by Venkat] Amira Jabbar v. Travel Services (D.P.R.; Sept. 10, 2010) (Order on reconsideration) Plaintiff brought a hostile work environment claim against her employer. Plaintiff alleged, among other things, that the employer failed to properly investigate derogatory comments made…

Facebook Friendship May Undermine University Disciplinary Board Decision — Furey v. Temple Univ.

[Post by Venkat] Furey v. Temple University, Civ. No. 09-2472 (E.D. Pa.) (Aug. 3, 2010) The Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently concluded that a Facebook ‘friendship’ between a Temple University disciplinary board member and a witness may have procedurally undermined…

Ca. Appeals Ct. Affirms Conviction For Fake MySpace Emails Intended to Influence Custody Dispute — People v. Heeter

[Post by Venkat] People v. Heeter, B213696 (Cal. Ct. App.) (Aug. 2, 2010) Background: In a criminal prosecution stemming from false evidence used in a family law dispute, a defendant was convicted of sending fake emails to herself with the…

Internet Law Syllabus and Reader for Fall 2010

By Eric Goldman I have posted my syllabus for this semester’s Internet Law course, my 16th year teaching the course. This blog post describes some of the latest developments with the class, including the changes from my 2009 course reader….

Steps to ‘Internet-Proof’ Your Cease and Desist Letter

[Post by Venkat] I posted a ways back at Avvo’s blog about how the internet increasingly affects litigation by shining the light on abusive lawsuits or those that overreach. I didn’t mention something related that has become fairly common, and…

Upcoming Talks Spring 2010

By Eric Goldman I’ve added some new talks to my schedule recently, so here’s an updated list of my talks for the next couple of months: May 6, 8-10 am: Obstacles and Opportunities: eCommerce on Both Sides of the Atlantic,…

Utah Passes Nation’s First (?) Bioprospecting Regulation

By Eric Goldman The Utah legislature has passed SB 51, the “Utah Bioprospecting Act,” which requires a government-issued license (which presumably will include a royalty cut for the state) before engaging in bioprospecting on government lands not owned by the…

“Law & Wikis” Panel at AALS Law & Computers Section Annual Meeting

By Eric Goldman This post recaps the 2010 AALS Law & Computers Section Annual Meeting on the theme of “Law & Wikis.” The program consisted of four papers submitted in response to a Call for Papers from Spring 2009. See…

Is the Florida Bar Taking Facebook Friendship Too Seriously?

[Post by Venkat] The Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee issued an (advisory) opinion [link] which included the following question and answer: [May] a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as “friends” on a social networking site,…