It’s Not Possible To Steal Facebook ‘Likes’–Mattocks v. BET
In 2008, Plaintiff Stacey Mattocks developed an (initially unofficial) Facebook page focusing on “The Game,” a television series initially aired on CW and later acquired by BET. In 2010, BET contacted Mattocks and hired her as a part-time worker, paying…
Announcing the Second Edition of “Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases and Materials” by Tushnet & Goldman
Rebecca Tushnet and I are pleased to announce the release of Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases and Materials, second edition (2014). It’s available at Gumroad as a $11.50 DRM-free download (PDF version / epub mobile device version) and other outlets….
Conviction for Posting Pages From Teenager’s Diary Via Mail and Facebook Partially Reversed
The defendant, Teri Buhl, was prosecuted under a bizarre set of facts. Buhl, a journalist, was in a relationship with P (the opinion does not identify him, but Buhl’s account of the case, linked below, does). P’s daughter kept a…
When Is It Appropriate For Teachers To Call Students “Rat-Like” or “Dunderheads” in a Pseudonymous Blog? Never.
Natalie Munroe was a teacher in Central Bucks School District. She received good reviews over the years. In 2009, she started a blog, Where are we going, and why are we in this hand basket? (last post, April 2014) She blogged as…
Stalking Conviction For Friending a Prosecutor’s Facebook Friends?–State v. Moller
Online stalking and threats are hot topics today, especially in light of the Supreme Court granting cert in US v. Elonis (we plan to recap that case before oral arguments). Today’s case highlights the grey area between veiled threats and…
Griping Blogger Can Show Photo Of Griping Target–Katz v. Chevaldina
Chelvadina griped about Raanan Katz on her blog. As is common practice for bloggers, Chelvadina included a headshot photo of Katz. The court says the photo is unflattering (I’ll let you decide). Chevaldina found the photo on an Israeli website…
Email Harvesting: Repeated Emails From LinkedIn May Violate Publicity Rights
This is a lawsuit alleging that LinkedIn improperly mined users’ contact lists and sent them repeated invitation emails. While Judge Koh eliminated the Stored Communications Act and California anti-hacking statute claims, a chunk of the lawsuit remains. Harvesting contact lists…
Plastic Surgeon’s “Before & After” Photos Violate NY Publicity Rights–Manzione v. Mashkevich
Dr. Grigoriy Mashkevich performed rhinoplasty on Catherine Manzione and took before-and-after photos of Manzione. Confusingly, Manzione apparently signed two seemingly inconsistent form consent agreements regarding the photos. One said: I do not want my photos to be used. I understand…
Revenge Porn/Cyberstalking Conviction Doesn’t Violate First Amendment–US v. Osinger
V.B. and Osinger had a relationship. When it terminated, he continued to contact her in a variety of ways (email, text, etc.). They originally lived in Illinois, but V.B. moved to California, where she accepted a job. Before she moved,…
Police Officers Aren’t Liable For Investigating Cyberstalking and Revenge Porn–Keaton v. Hannum
Keaton is an Indiana lawyer who was charged with stalking and otherwise harassing his ex-girlfriend, Zook (then a law student). When she broke it off, Keaton continued to contact her. When she changed her phone number, he engaged a private…