First Circuit Rejects Data Insecurity Claims on the Basis of Article III Standing–Katz v Pershing

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Katz v. Pershing, 11-1983 (1st Cir.; Feb. 28, 2012) [This is an old catch up post that fell by the wayside.] Pershing provides services to brokerage firms, and it makes available a platform (NetExchange Pro) for…

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…

Franchisor Really, Really Unhappy With Franchisee’s Co-Promotion With a Topless Bar–Capriotti’s v Taylor

By Eric Goldman Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Inc. v. Taylor Family Holdings, Inc., 2012 WL 1448514 (D. Del. April 25, 2012). The complaint and exhibits A-D, E-H and I-O. Some background. Capriotti’s is a franchised fast-food sandwich chain, with its signature…

Comments on the Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Ruling in U.S. v. Nosal

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] US v. Nosal, 2012 WL 1176119 (9th Cir. Apr. 10, 2012) Nosal was a Korn/Ferry employee who, after his departure, convinced some remaining employees to provide him with confidential information to help…

Misuse of Family Photograph by Photo Studio Supports Misappropriation Claim–Lee v. Picture People

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lee v. The Picture People, Inc., K10C-07-002 (RBY) (Del. Sup. Ct.; Mar. 19, 2012) Plaintiffs had their two year old’s picture taken at The Picture People, a store engaged in the business of family photography. At…

SuperPoke! Pets Virtual Gold Dispute Worth Over $5 Million–Abreu v. Slide

By Eric Goldman Abreu v. Slide, Inc., 2012 WL 1123367 (N.D. Cal. April 3, 2012). The Justia page. Google bought Slide, which operated the SuperPoke! Pets online game. Wikipedia has some of the game’s history. As part of the gameplay,…

Facebook Beats Class Certification in Click Fraud Case

By Eric Goldman In re Facebook, Inc., PPC Advertising Litigation, 2012 WL 1253182 (N.D.Cal. April 13, 2012) I don’t know what I like less: click fraud, or bogus lawsuits over click fraud. This three-year-old case (see my initial blog post…

Terminating an NFL Player’s Endorsement Agreement for Polemic Tweets May Be Contract Breach–Mendenhall v. Hanes

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Mendenhall v. Hanesbrands, 2012 WL 1230743 (M.D.N.C.; Apr. 12, 2012) This case has it all: Twitter, a pro football player, terrorism, Osama bin Laden and contract law geekiness! Background: Rashard Mendenhall plays…

Lawsuit From Huffington Post Unpaid Contributors Gets the Boot – Tasini v. AOL

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tasini v. AOL, Inc., 11-CV-2472 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y.; Mar. 30, 2012) I thought the Huffington Post lawsuit brought by unpaid contributors would present some interesting discussion about the arcane laws governing unpaid internships, but that’s not the…

Parents’ Lawsuit Against Apple for In-App Purchases by Minor Children Moves Forward — In re Apple In-App Purchase Litigation

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Apple In-App Purchase Litigation, 5:11-CV-1758 (N.D. Cal.; Mar. 31, 2012) Facebook recently dealt with a class action over sponsored stories where minors asserted violations of their publicity rights. The court enforced the Facebook terms…