Roundup of February's 'COMO at Scale Brussels' Event

On Wednesday, I’m attending the IAPP event, Content Moderation in 2019, in Washington DC. We’ll be getting some of the old band back together again. Hope to see you there. In anticipation of that, I’m finally posting my delayed roundup…

Second Circuit Judges Brawl Over the Meaning of "Volition" in Copyright Cases--BWP v. Polyvore

This is an appeal of a summary judgment ruling in favor of Polyvore, an image clipping and sharing site, also known as a “mood board” app. (The site itself was acquired and, as the court notes, is now shut down.)…

“Philpot has been a professional photographer, in his view, since 2008.” (“in his view” = ouch). He has not found financial success. For example, “he once earned $0.88 for an image of Prince that he took at a concert he…

I’m pleased to share a new article, “Why Section 230 Is Better Than the First Amendment.” It’s still in draft, so I’d be grateful for your comments. As you know, the future of Section 230 looks bleak. This paper addresses…

This case reaches a relatively non-controversial outcome. It rejects an arbitration clause in an online TOS. Still, how the court reaches that conclusion should set off warning bells for everyone trying to impose arbitration in an online TOS. The bar…

This is a lawsuit for defamation brought by Jason Miller. The particular claims in question arise out of a tweet. Miller was an advisor on the Trump campaign and later became a commentator and consultant. He was allegedly involved in…

This case is before the same district court judge who handled Fields v. Twitter and Copeland v. Twitter. It involves the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris, but “[t]here are no allegations in the AC that Abaaoud, Laachraoui, or any of the…

Copyright Lawsuits Over Product Shots Are Stupid--eTrailer v. Automatic Equipment

The plaintiff is a retailer of “motor vehicle accessories.” The defendant manufactures towing supplies and has previously distributed its goods to the plaintiff. The plaintiff created product shots and obtained copyright registrations for some of them. On the right is…

Another Government Impermissibly Censors Constituents on Facebook--Robinson v. Hunt County

This lawsuit alleges censorship by the administrators of the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. The Facebook page invited “input and POSITIVE comments regarding the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office.” The page was intended to discuss “matters of public interest,” but…

This suit involves the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. The shooter Mateen claims to have self-radicalized by consuming terrorist content on social media. After the shooting, ISIS claimed responsibility. The plaintiffs didn’t sue Mateen or ISIS but instead sued…