Call for Projects/Papers/Participation for Sixth Annual Internet Law Works-in-Progress, March 5, 2016

[Eric’s note: I’m passing along this invitation from Ari Ezra Waldman, who is running the 2016 edition of the Internet Law Works-in-Progress conference. Some background about the conference series. Due to my family situation, I still have placed a hold…

Commenting on Viral Video Is Fair Use--Equals Three v. Jukin Media

This is a copyright lawsuit over viral videos. Jukin Video apparently finds and acquires the rights to viral videos. It reached 1 million subscribers on YouTube and has over 17,000 videos available for licensing. Equals Three produces short humor programs…

Another Censorial Copyright Case Results In a Big Fee Shift--Inglewood v. Teixeira

I recently wrote about Katz v. Chevaldina, where a real estate tycoon didn’t like a candid photo taken of him, so he bought the copyrights to the photo and sued a blogger to suppress the photo. The courts had no…

Why Attorneys Dislike Consumer Reviews (Reviewing an Article by Cassandra Burke Robertson)

I recently read an article by Prof. Cassandra Burke Robertson (Case Law) entitled “Online Reputation Management in Attorney Regulation.” This article discusses two of my favorite topics: (1) why do professional service providers struggle with online reviews more than other…

App Users Aren't "Subscribers" Under the VPPA--Ellis v. Cartoon Network

Many VPPA cases involve free online streaming services. Here, plaintiff alleged that he downloaded the Cartoon Network app, and Cartoon Network then disclosed to Bango, an ad network, plaintiff’s device ID and the videos he viewed. Plaintiff also alleged that Bango…

The Perkins v. LinkedIn Class Action Settlement Notification Was Badly Bungled (Forbes Cross-Post)

Recently, millions of LinkedIn users received an email titled “LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION.” The email told recipients about a proposed class action settlement in Perkins v. LinkedIn, involving “LinkedIn’s alleged improper use of a service called ‘Add…

Threatening to Post Sex Video to Facebook Isn't a True Threat

Two post-Elonis cases show divergent approaches to true threat and harassment jurisprudence. Harrell v. State (Georgia): Harrell was charged and convicted of attempting to intimidating a court officer and animal cruelty. Apparently, he was charged with some violations as a…

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…