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Resetting One of the Longest Running Cyberbullying Cases–DC v. RR (Guest Blog Post)

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:18:48 +0000

By Guest Blogger Sruli Yellin

[Eric's introduction: In the course of blogging over the past 8+ years, I've read hundreds or even thousands of cases. This case ranks in my top 1% of most interesting and memorable cases.

Today, we'd call this a cyberbullying case, but when the online attack occurred in 2004, we didn't have that terminology. The principal plaintiff, DC, was a high school student and an aspiring actor. He had a promotional website for his acting career, including a guestbook. His classmates discovered the website and posted hateful and threatening messages in the guestbook. In 2005, DC and his parents sued the school, the students who posted messages and their parents. A lot has transpired in the past 9 years, and I've found it hard to track everything and keep things straight. In this post, my RA Sruli Yellin sorts through the numerous developments.]

D.C. v. R.R. spans more than eight years in court; two appeals (including one to the California Supreme Court); a side suit for malpractice; and an expensive trip to arbitration. Prof. Goldman blogged the case twice (here and here) and discussed it in a recent talk on high schoolers using the Internet. To get a sense of how long this case has been running, it has already lasted over 1/3 of the lives of some of the litigants who were minors when the case was filed.

The content in this post was found at http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/02/resetting_one_o.htm and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Judge upholds FaceTime patent verdict against Apple, orders royalties to boot

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:17:59 +0000

A $368.2 million verdict against Apple has been upheld in the Eastern District of Texas, putting patent holding company VirnetX in a position to collect both royalties and damages from Apple if it continues to use its VPN and FaceTime technologies. Judge Leonard Davis ruled late Tuesday on Apple’s request for either a reduction in the damages or a new trial, denying both requests and ordering the two companies to work out a licensing deal on VirnetX’s patents.

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/judge-upholds-facetime-patent-verdict-against-apple-orders-royalties-to-boot/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Here’s what an actual “Six Strikes” copyright alert looks like

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:16:58 +0000

Earlier this week, the Copyright Alert System (CAS)—better known as “Six Strikes”—finally debuted. On Wednesday, both Verizon and Comcast activated the service.

The new system is funded by a group known as the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), which is made up of five major American ISPs, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It’s been in the works for years and may provide a significant change to the copyright infringement policing regime in the United States.

At the end of a series of six alerts, accused infringing customers could have their home Internet connection significantly slowed down. Those accused of infringing can file an appeal for $35. (Here’s the CCI’s new video explaining the process and its new promo video.)

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/heres-what-an-actual-six-strikes-copyright-alert-looks-like/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Buying Keyword Ads on People’s Names Doesn’t Violate Their Publicity Rights–Habush v. Cannon (Forbes Cross-Post)

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:15:52 +0000

By Eric Goldman

Habush v. Cannon, 2013 WL 627251 (Wisc. App. Ct. Feb. 21, 2013)

Can you imagine someone buying Google ($GOOG) AdWords keyword advertising triggered by your name? Most of us wouldn’t dream of it, usually because our names just aren’t valuable enough for anyone to bother. In contrast, some professional service providers, such as lawyers and doctors, tout their names in expensive advertising campaigns to consumers—and have competitors who would love to piggyback on that advertising to reach the same consumers. In a novel and persuasive ruling, a Wisconsin appellate court recent rejected a professional service provider’s attempt to use publicity rights to shut down a competitive keyword advertiser.

The content in this post was found at http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/02/buying_keyword.htm and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Amazon’s Merchandising of Its Search Results Doesn’t Violate Trademark Law (Forbes Cross-Post)

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:14:36 +0000

By Eric Goldman

Multi Time Machine, Inc. v. Amazon.com, 2013 WL 638888 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 20, 2013). The complaint.

No retailer does a better job of cross-selling to its customers than Amazon.com ($AMZN). Amazon is quite effective at exposing customers to complementary—and competitive—goods along with the products a customer initially considers. Many of us have had the experience of going to Amazon to buy one thing but checking out with a huge shopping cart of items that we didn’t initially seek—or even know were available. Amazon’s merchandising often benefits Amazon’s customers, but trademark owners who lose sales to their competition due to it aren’t as thrilled. Fortunately for Amazon, a California federal court recently upheld Amazon’s merchandising practices in its internal search results.

The content in this post was found at http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2013/03/amazons_merchan.htm and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Gone house hunting online? Revived patent lawsuit says you’re a “joint infringer”

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:13:22 +0000

A patent appeals court has revived (PDF) one of the nation’s most controversial patent lawsuits—one that looked to be over in January 2012. Originally filed in 2007, Move, Inc. v. Real Estate Alliance Ltd. involves a patent that has become infamous in real estate circles: US Patent No. 5,032,989, issued to Mark Tornetta back in 1991. Tornetta and his lawyers say the patent covers just about any use of a real estate map online that has a “graphical interface” and “drill-down features.” Since online maps are ubiquitous in the real estate market, Tornetta and his lawyers believe they’re owed money by just about every real estate agent or service in the nation.“It is a very broad-based patent,” said Louis Solomon, the attorney representing Tornetta. “We are seeking reasonable royalties that conservatively run into the hundreds of millions, plus interest. Given that the Federal Circuit has significantly expanded the liable parties, the damages will go up significantly.”

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/gone-house-hunting-online-controversial-lawsuit-revived-says-youre-a-joint-infringer/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Samsung loses in UK in standards-essential patent claim against Apple

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:12:05 +0000

A UK court has handed Apple another win against Samsung regarding standards-essential patents. Judge Christopher Floyd ruled on Wednesday that Apple’s mobile products do not infringe on Samsung’s patents on 3G wireless networking, likely dashing Samsung’s hopes of receiving royalties on such patents in the EU.

The decision is just one of many that have occurred around the globe between Apple and Samsung. And Samsung’s attempts to assert patents that are considered “essential” to 3G standards have been controversial. Last year, the European Commission said it had begun investigating Samsung for trying to use its patents against competitors—which it agreed to license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/samsung-loses-in-uk-in-standards-essential-patent-claim-against-apple/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Apple follows Amazon with patent for resale of e-books, music

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:10:57 +0000

Is Apple looking to get into the digital lending and resale game? A recently published Apple patent application indicates as much, making publishers wonder whether Apple is truly their friend or foe. The patent addresses how licensed content such as e-books, music, movies, or even software can be moved between users while attempting to respect the rights of copyright holders. But even with provisions that would pay copyright holders a portion of the content’s resale price, publishers and musicians are unlikely to cheer, as they see digital resale as a threat to their existing revenue models.

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/03/apple-follows-amazon-with-patent-for-resale-of-e-books-music/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

Revenge porn site founder loses $250k defamation suit

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:09:28 +0000

Attorney Marc Randazza hasn’t been quiet about his hatred for so-called revenge porn sites. The copyright and First Amendment lawyer blogged last year that entities like IsAnybodyDown (or the now defunct IsAnyoneUp) frustrated him to the point where he’d represent victims pro bono. “I want to hurt them bad,” he wrote. “If anyone out there has been scammed by these crooks, contact me.”

The larger battle is still ongoing, but Randazza scored a small, initial victory this weekend. In a Friday decision [PDF] at the Clark County, Nevada district court, Randazza Legal Group secured a $250,000 defamation judgment against IsAnyoneUp site founder, Hunter Moore. This particular defamation case was not related to Moore’s revenge porn activities, but it instead focused on statements Moore issued about James McGibney, the CEO of Bullyville.com. restraining orders against Moore in two states. (A longer summary of the situation is available on McGibney’s site.)

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/revenge-porn-site-founder-loses-250k-defamation-suit/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.

European Court of Human Rights unanimously rejects Pirate Bay appeal

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:08:05 +0000

Fredrik “tiamo” Neij continues to live in Laos, unabashedly defying a Swedish arrest warrant.

Not surprisingly, the two Pirate Bay cofounders who appealed their Swedish conviction to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) have lost.

As we reported last year, Jonas Nilsson (attorney to Fredrik “tiamo” Neij) and Peter Althin (attorney to Peter “brokep” Sunde) filed an appeal in June 2012 to the Strasbourg, France-based court.

In a unanimous decision, the ECHR ruled Wednesday that the petitioners’ application was “inadmissible,” finding that the existing Swedish conviction did not violate Neij or Sunde’s human rights. The decision was made by seven judges from across Europe, representing Liechtenstein, Germany, Slovenia, Ireland, Ukraine, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.

The content in this post was found at http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/european-court-of-human-rights-unanimously-rejects-pirate-bay-appeal/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.