As I wrote in a post on our firm blog back in December, I have been answering lots of questions from those receiving notices from their ISP relating to lawsuits over the filesharing of copyrighted material with the BitTorrent protocol. For those seeking more information, the EFF has a great page of subpoena defense resources…
Category: Cases
ACLU challenges Suspicionless Laptop Border Searches
Today, the ACLU and related parties filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the U.S. Government’s policy of allowing suspicionless searches and seizures of laptops and other electronic devices at the border. The allegations include violations of the First and Fourth amendments. It is seeking a declaration that the Department of Homeland Security policies, which are restatements…
Register for IICLE webcast – 8/23/2010 – Viacom v. Google
I’ll be discussing the recent Viacom v. Google decision on Monday, August 23, 2010 on a webcast for IICLE, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. To register for the webcast, click here. The webcast will be from 12:00 to 1:00 CST, and is accredited for one hour of CLE in Illinois. Many thanks to…
FTC v. Trudeau – Are Emails Within a Judge’s “Presence”?
The recent 7th Circuit opinion in FTC v. Trudeau, No. 10-1383, slip op. (7th Cir. May 20, 2010), raised an interesting cyberlaw issue as a minor point within the larger issue of criminal contempt of court: Just because the Judge receives an email, does that mean the email, as well as the conduct in inciting…
Awarding of Attorneys Fees for Copyright Cases Not Automatic
In addition to their costs, the prevailing party in a copyright case may also seek recovery of their attorneys fees, provided that the requirements of the Act are otherwise met. See 17 U.S.C. Section 505, which provides as follows: § 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney’s fees In any civil action under this title,…
Standing under the CAN-SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. 7701, et seq.) provides a private cause of action for providers of an Internet access service to use against spammers, in addition to the enforcement of the Act by the FTC, states, and other government entities. In order to have standing to bring a case, however, a private plaintiff must…
Looking forward to Techshow 2008!
I’ll be heading over to the Hilton for ABA Techshow 2008 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week. I am looking forward to catching up with those I’ve met in previous years. If you will be there, please stop me and say hello! I also plan to post somewhat, at least once per day, during the…
A special MLK Day Blawg Review
Public Defender Stuff has created a really special edition of Blawg Review, No. 143, in honor of Martin Luther King day. I urge you to check it out. As I am hosting Blawg Review #144 this next Monday, please get your submissions in early so they can be included. Also on topic for today, here’s…
Commentary: Google/YouTube sued by Viacom
It’s often been said that when Google, Inc. bought the YouTube service, it bought a lawsuit. There have been several, but the biggest one yet was filed on March 13, 2007. There are six counts, the first three are for infringements of the exclusive rights granted to copyright holders, and the remaining three are for…
General Media v. Crazy Troll: Not reverse domain name hijacking to bring ACPA case for expired domain
General Media Communications, Inc. v. Crazy Troll, LLC (No. 06 Civ. 40581 LAKFM, Order re: partial summary judgment, January 16, 2007), 2007 WL 102988 (S.D.N.Y.) Plaintiff, General Media, is the publisher of Penthouse magazine. At one time, it owned the domain name penthouseboutique.com, but its bankruptcy trustee allowed it to lapse. General Media still has…