Announcing the Fifth Edition of Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases & Materials by Tushnet & Goldman
Rebecca Tushnet and I are pleased to announce the fifth edition of our casebook, Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases & Materials. It is available for purchase in the following formats: * A DRM-free PDF file. Price: $12 * In Kindle. Price: $9.99…
IAP Defeats Vicarious Copyright Infringement Claim–UMG v. Bright House
In a good ruling for Internet access providers (IAPs), a court said that the IAP Bright House wasn’t vicariously liable for its users’ copyright infringing activity because the IAP lacked a direct financial benefit. The court says that the legal…
Unhappy Google Advertiser’s Lawsuit Completely Falls Apart–Dreamstime v. Google
This is one of several lawsuits by unhappy Google advertisers, each claiming that Google screwed them out of Google’s self-interest. (A reminder that advertisers always feel screwed because they believe they deserve more customers for less money). Anti-Google lawsuits tend…
Fox News Is a Flaming Pile of Garbage, But You Can’t Sue Them for That–WASHLITE v. Fox News
I can’t understand why anyone watches Fox News. Fox News isn’t a serious news organization. It has instead found a market niche for unwavering partisan disinformation. As Prof. Yochai Benkler (Harvard Law) showed in a comprehensive study of disinformation in…
Section 230 Applies to Publicity Rights Claim–Hepp v. Facebook
Karen Hepp is a TV show host on the Fox 29 channel in Philadelphia. (No “Karen” jokes, please). She claims that “a photograph of her taken by a security camera in a convenience store in New York City was being…
Section 230 Ends Demonetized YouTuber’s Lawsuit–Lewis v. Google
Lewis ran a YouTube channel called “Misandry Today.” Misandry is hatred of men, like misogyny but with reversed genders. I didn’t look at Lewis’ content but I worry that its examples of alleged misandry actually might be presented to advance…
Craigslist Denied Section 230 Immunity for Classified Ads from 2008–ML v. Craigslist
FOSTA always targeted Backpage; but with Backpage gone before FOSTA became law, it seemed inevitable that plaintiffs would eventually figure out how to deploy FOSTA against other targets. Yet, if you’d asked me to name a top 100 list of…
Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Advertising “Background Reports” on People–Lukis v. Whitepages
Whitepages compiles and generates “background reports” on people, remixing content from a database of public and private records that allegedly incorporates 2B+ records/month. In response to searches on people’s names, Whitepages provides free previews, such as this one included in…
2H 2019 and Q1 2020 Quick Links, Part 2 (Trademarks/Keywords)
* Workshopx Inc v. Build A Sign LLC , 2019 WL 5258056 (W.D. Texas June 26, 2019): “BAS contends that WorkshopX cannot state a claim for trademark infringement or unfair competition because using a competitor’s trademark as a Google AdWords…
2H 2019 and Q1 2020 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright, E-Commerce, Advertising)
Copyright * In re DMCA Subpoena to Reddit, Inc., 2020 WL 999788 (N.D. Cal. March 2, 2020). Court quashes 512(h) subpoena because the underlying publications were protected by fair use. This is your reminder that 512(h) subpoenas routinely unmask individuals…