Blogs

Montana Shield Law Protects Anonymous Commenters

Judge Todd Baugh of Montana's 13th Judicial District ruled on Wednesday that Montana's shield law protects an online newspaper from having to disclose the identities of anonymous commenters. The ruling treats anonymous commenters like other confidential sources, whose identities are commonly protected by state shield laws.

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Cape Cod Blogger Peter Robbins Sued For Libel Over Comments About Local Dredging Dispute

Peter Robbins, author of the Robbins Report, a blog that appears on the popular community website Cape Cod Today, and an anonymous commenter have been sued over statements they made criticizing a group of Barnstable, MA residents who opposed the dredging of Barnstable Harbor.  The case raises a host of interesting questions, including whether the statements at issue are protected

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Copyright Challenge in New Push for Open Government Data

Carl Malamud, a hero in providing access to information, has posted online the 38-volume California Code of Regulations, over which the state claims copyright ownership. He's been doing things like this for a while, but the California code is a big deal in every respect.

The Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat has the story.

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New York Lawyer Sues Law Blogger for Reporting on Malpractice Lawsuit

Brooklyn attorney Marina Tylo filed a lawsuit against Andrew Lavoott Bluestone of the New York Attorney Malpractice Blog last week.

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Analysis of the MBTA's Lawsuit Against Three MIT Students Who Discovered Flaws in the T's Fare System

Our very own Tuna Chatterjee is featured this week on the award-winning legal-affairs podcast Lawyer2Lawyer.  Tuna discusses the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) recent lawsuit against three MIT students who discovered significant security flaws in the MBTA's fare system.

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Dog Track Drops Lawsuit, Leaving Blogger Relieved But Rattled

The Arizona Star reports that the Tucson Greyhound Park has dropped its defamation lawsuit against blogger Karyn Zoldan of the End Tucson Greyhound Racing website and blog. Both parties agreed to dismissal of the suit, but Zoldan did not pay anything in return for the settlement.

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Blogger Arrested for Leaking Songs from Unreleased Guns N' Roses Album

Kevin Cogill, a blogger on Antiquiet, a site that provides "uncensored music reviews and interviews," was arrested yesterday at his home near Los Angeles on suspicion of violating federal copyright law after he allegedly posted nine songs from the unreleased -- and highly-anticipated -- Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy."

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Turkish Court Ends Latest YouTube Ban

The Guardian reports that a Turkish court has lifted the ban on YouTube in that country, imposed by an Ankara court in May 2008 after it determined that certain videos posted on the popular video-sharing site insulted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.

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Wisconsin Website Operator Files Lawsuit Over Frivolous Demand to Take Down Link to Local Police Department

I just updated one of the more frivolous entries in our legal threats database, which has now spurred a federal lawsuit.  While it is barely worth blogging about, I thought it might be valuable as a cautionary tale for those who believe sending cease-and-desist letters is a no-lose proposition.   

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Vegas Nightclub's Trademark Claims Against Blogger Likely a Bust

Privé Vegas, LLC and two of its owners sued Las Vegas-based blogger Michael Politz last week, alleging trademark infringement, dilution, and "disaparagement" under the Lanham Act, defamation, trade libel, tortious interference with business relations, and extortion.

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California Court Warns Copyright Bullies Not to Ignore Fair Use

A federal district court in California held on Wednesday that copyright owners must consider fair use before sending DMCA takedown notices to avoid liability for abuse of the law's procedures. The ruling is a huge victory for free speech advocates and may have far-reaching implications for the way content owners police infringement online. 

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Illinois Appellate Court Raises Doubts About Constitutionality of Citizen Participation Act

An Illinois appellate court has tentatively concluded that Illinois' newly enacted Citizen Participation Act, which provides immunity for speech related to certain matters of government and public concern, violates the Illinois Constitution because it allows a party to appeal the denial of a motion to dismiss under the Act before the entire case has come to a conclusion. 

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Texas Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Principal's Lawsuit Over Fake MySpace Page

Last week, the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio, Texas upheld the trial court's dismissal of Clark High School vice-principal Anna Draker's lawsuit against two students and their parents over a fake MySpace profile. Benjamin Schreiber and Ryan Todd allegedly created a fake MySpace page for Draker in 2006, which contained her name, photo, place of employment, and explicit and graphic sexual references implying that she was a lesbian.

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Ohio Takes a Page from the Sunshine Review

In an effort to goad Ohio officials into making more state records available online, the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a private policy think tank, created the Center for Transparent and Accountable Government earlier this week.

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AutoAdmit Update: "A Horse Walks Into A Bar" Gets Feisty

You know you've got a pretty good job when you turn to the first order of business for the day and read this:

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The Flipside of 1984: The Public Watching Big Brother

A recent post on Prawfs Blawg by Professor Howard Wasserman further explores some of the questions raised in my post, Searching for Both Sides of Body Slam Video, where I discuss some of the problems with videos that document forceful arrests. Prof.

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Blogger Bullied Over Phrase "Branded Community"

Denise Howell at Lawgarithms points us in the direction of a recent legal threat that goes right to the intersection of trademark law and freedom of speech.

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California Developer Sues Homeowners for Libel Over Disparaging Blog Comments

Los Angeles real estate developer Barry Shy and his development company, 5th St Loft, have sued Jessica Jordan and Alan Dylan, who reside in a building developed by Shy and run the website Truedowntown, the "unofficial" site for the Shybary Grand Loft in Los Angeles.  The lawsuit, which plaintiffs filed on June 17, 2008, claims that Jordan and Dylan libeled Shy and damaged his businesses by making disparaging comments about him.

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Online News Site Challenges Secret Court Proceedings

Last Wednesday, the Newspaper Tree, an online news site out of El Paso, Texas, which focuses on business, politics, and culture in the region, filed a motion objecting to an El Paso federal court's sealing of plea hearings and court documents in the pre-trial phases of a large public corruption prosecution.

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