‘365 for Business’ Users’ Privacy Lawsuit Dismissed–Russo v. Microsoft
Users of “Microsoft 365 For Business” allege oversharing by Microsoft, which translates into claims under (1) the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act; (2) Washington’s Consumer Protection Act; (3) the Washington one-party consent phone statute; and (4) common law….
Should We Adopt a Notice-and-Takedown Scheme for Deepfakes and Other Inauthentic Media?
Prof. Christa Laser (Cleveland-Marshall) and I engaged in a point/counterpoint about legal mechanisms to address inauthentic recordings and photos, including AI-assisted forged videos (a/k/a “deepfakes”). She argued for a notice-and-takedown scheme in some circumstances, including those creating fake pornographic images….
Ohio Bans Competitive Keyword Advertising by Lawyers
No one: Absolutely no one: Ohio Board of Professional Conduct (in the third decade of the 21st century….): * * * I guess we’re doing this again. It’s 2021, long past the time consumers have come to understand competitive keyword…
New York’s New Post-Mortem Right of Publicity Law Comes Into Effect, Part 2 (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Tyler Ochoa On May 29, 2021, New York’s new post-mortem right of publicity law came into effect. The law is codified at N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 50-f. It provides for a post-mortem right of publicity for a…
New York’s New Post-Mortem Right of Publicity Law Comes Into Effect, Part 1 (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Tyler Ochoa On May 29, 2021, New York’s new post-mortem right of publicity law came into effect. The law is codified at N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 50-f. It provides for a post-mortem right of publicity for a…
Social Media Ownership Disputes Part II: Bridal Wear Company Takes Back Control of Instagram Account from Ex-Employee
This is Part II of a review of recent social media ownership disputes. In Part I, I looked at how the Satanic Temple of Washington could not use the CFAA or ACPA to get its Facebook accounts back. Part II…
Section 230 Covers Republication of Old Yearbooks–Callahan v. Ancestry
Ancestry.com publishes 450,000 old yearbooks in the form of 730M records that contain, at least, “the person’s name, photograph, school name, yearbook year, and city or town (at the time of the yearbook).” Ancestry doesn’t disclose how it acquires the…
IP Lawsuits Against Print-on-Demand Vendors Continue to Vex the Courts–OSU v. Redbubble & More
[This post covers three recent print-on-demand cases. After the Ohio State writeup, keep reading for more fun and confusion.] Redbubble operates in the print-on-demand industry, but it’s adopted a different organizational structure than some of its competitors. Redbubble outsources manufacturing…
Facebook Isn’t Liable for Account Hack/Hijack–Damner v. Facebook
This is a pro se lawsuit. Damner claims his Facebook account was hacked in April 2020 and the hacker(s) took it over. He notified Facebook but allegedly it never responded. Damner sued Facebook for Stored Communications Act claims and others….
YouTube Defeats Lawsuit Over Cryptocurrency Scam–Ripple v. YouTube
Ripple Labs developed a cryptocurrency called XRP. Scammers phished verified YouTube accounts and then used the hijacked accounts to post YouTube videos–seemingly from Ripple–inducing consumers to transfer their XRP, where they were stolen. YouTube allegedly responded to takedown notices slowly….