University Cannot Discipline Student for Off-Campus Tweets

Yeasin was involved in a relationship with W while both were University of Kansas students. In June 2013, Yeasin drove W to see her therapist and while she was in the session, read (and became incensed by) Facebook messages W…

The Benefits Of Self-Publishing Electronic Casebooks (Forbes Cross-Post)

Recently, the Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts published an online symposium called “Disruptive Publishing Models.” The articles discuss different initiatives to disrupt the traditional model for publishing legal casebooks and how those initiatives are driving down students’ costs…

Chain of Title Proves Fatal to “Happy Birthday” Copyright Claim (Guest Blog Post)

By Guest Blogger Tyler Ochoa “Happy Birthday” has been described as “The World’s Most Popular Song.”  It is sung almost every time that people gather to celebrate a birthday.  The “almost” in the previous sentence acknowledges that many restaurants direct…

Another Murky Opinion on Lawyers Buying Keyword Ads on Other Lawyers' Names--In re Naert

I recently posted a co-authored article, Regulation of Lawyers’ Use of Competitive Keyword Advertising, discussing lawyers’ use of competitive keyword ads triggered by other lawyers’ names. That article examines both IP laws and attorney rules of professional conduct and explains…

Disparate Enforcement of Social Media Policy May Support Discrimination Claim

This is a Facebook termination case alleging discrimination by the employer. Plaintiff Chris Redford worked at KTBS as an on-air crime reporter. The station apparently had a social media policy that instructed employees to not respond to viewer complaints on social…

You Can't Buy A Copyright Just To Bury It--Katz v. Chevaldina (Forbes Cross-Post)

In the United States, copyright law principally serves as an economic policy by protecting creators’ ability to recoup the investments they make in generating new works that have value to society. As a result, copyright law gets weird when it’s…

Qualified Immunity Bars Claims Based on Search of Student’s Facebook Account and Discipline for Private Messages

MJ was a high school student and cheerleader. On a school trip to a local news station to promote a charitable cause, the squad was told to be quiet by the cameraman. MJ apparently did not, and the captain of the…

Grieving Parents (Still) Can't Sue Topix For Son's Oxy Overdose--Witkoff v. Topix (Forbes Cross-Post)

Is it possible to find illegal drugs using the Internet? Sure. But when illegal drug transactions occur, or worse, the drugs lead to tragedy, who should bear the blame? An appellate ruling involving Topix.com reiterates that user-generated content websites aren’t…

Local Hosting and the Draft “Trade in Services Agreement” (Guest Blog Post)

by Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble The leaked draft of the Trade in Services Agreement (“TiSA”) – the agreement that is being negotiated by a number of countries, including the United States – has attracted intense criticism: Glyn Moody on ArsTechnica UK…

9th Circuit Sides With Fair Use in Dancing Baby Takedown Case

The 9th Circuit was shockingly quick in issuing its opinion in the “dancing baby” case. The key holdings in Lenz: a person sending a takedown request under section 512(c) must consider fair use fair use is either not an affirmative…