Welcome to the Citizen Media Law Brief, a weekly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, media law news, legal threat entries, and other new content on the Citizen Media Law Project's website. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the CMLP or registered on our site, www.citmedialaw.org. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe by following the link at the bottom of this email or by going to http://www.citmedialaw.org/newsletter/subscriptions.

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The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...

David Ardia reports on a new decision involving section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
N.H. Court Holds Right of Publicity Claim Not Barred by Communications Decency Act

Tuna Chatterjee comments on freedom of information laws and prisoner access to public records.
A Tale of Two Prisoners

Sam Bayard prepares for a conference on participatory news media.
Heading to L.A. for Media Re:public Forum

CMLP Staff discuss the legal challenges of using of recording equipment in specific private and semi-public settings.
Highlights from the Legal Guide: Liability for the Use of Recording Devices

Sam Bayard looks at a critic's free speech victory in a case involving Wal-Mart.
Court Rejects Wal-Mart's Bid to Silence Criticism Through Trademark Law

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Other citizen media law news...

PaidContent vs. TechCrunch: Two Visions of Blogging’s Future
The New York Times - Fri. 3/28/08

Marine Corps Will Restore Online Access to Public Documents
Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy Blog - Thurs. 3/27/08

Ariz. TV station didn't waive rights under shield law, court finds
First Amendment Center - Wed. 3/26/08

Fusion Center meltdown: Feds stifling open government in VA?
Ars Technica - Mon. 3/24/08

Fugitive mom's website shut down by Yahoo
Whittier Daily News - Mon. 3/24/08

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Schuster v. The Fresno Bee
Posted March 27th, 2008

Gillam v. Klein
Posted March 27th, 2008

MediaDefender v. isoHunt.com and GPiO.org
Posted March 27th, 2008

Wal-Mart v. Smith (Counterclaims)
Posted March 24th, 2008

Wal-Mart v. Smith (Letters)
Posted March 24th, 2008

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The full(er) Brief...

"In what appears to be the first case of its kind, a federal court in New Hampshire has ruled that the immunity provisions in section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) do not bar a state law claim for a violation of a person's 'right of publicity.' In so holding, the court expressly disagreed with the Ninth Circuit's decision in Perfect 10 v. CCBill LLC, which held that CDA 230 exempts only federal intellectual property law claims. The case involves the typically disturbing facts that often arise in the CDA 230 context. . . . "
David Ardia, N.H. Court Holds Right of Publicity Claim Not Barred by Communications Decency Act

"This week, a judge ruled that Allan Parmelee, an inmate at the McNeil Island Corrections Center in Washington state, can continue to request public records under the state Public Records Act. According to the Associated Press, Parmelee has requested hundreds of public records about the state troopers, prosecutors, judges, prison guards, and others who incarcerated him for firebombing two cars. The judge’s ruling responded to prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s petition to ignore Parmelee’s pending records requests and bar him from making new ones. Satterberg noted that while he is a proponent of open government, 'Parmelee has a long history of using the Public Records Act to try and intimidate and harass my deputies and other criminal justice system employees.' . . ."
Tuna Chatterjee, A Tale of Two Prisoners

"I'll be quiet for a few days because I'm off to Los Angeles for a forum organized by Media Re:public, a Berkman Center project that examines the current and potential impact of participatory news media. The forum, which kicks off Thursday night and goes all day on Friday, will feature talks, panel discussions, and small group breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics and issues relating to participatory media, including 'Parsing the Political Blogosphere,' 'Supporting the Emerging Media Ecology,' 'Finding Viable Models,' and (the catchiest) 'It's 2013: Do You Know Where Your News Is?' . . ."
Sam Bayard, Heading to L.A. for Media Re:public Forum

"This is the seventh in a series of posts calling attention to topics we cover in the Citizen Media Legal Guide. In this post, we highlight the section on Recording Phone Calls, Conversations, Meetings and Hearings, which discusses federal and state laws relating to the use of recording equipment in specific private and semi-public settings. We also provide some practical tips for using recording devices, which should help you steer clear of legal trouble. . . ."
CMLP Staff, Highlights from the Legal Guide: Liability for the Use of Recording Devices

"Last Thursday, a federal court in Georgia handed down a big win for free speech when it ruled that Wal-Mart could not use trademark law to stop a critic [Charles Smith] from disseminating his virulently anti-Wal-Mart views over the Internet. . . . [T]he court reached the right decision in this case, regardless of what you think of the merits of Smith's work. His parodies obviously represent acts of critical commentary and present no risk whatsoever of confusing consumers as to the source of goods or services, which, after all, is what trademark law is meant to protect against. It would seriously undercut freedom of speech if trademark law allowed companies to stop core political/social speech of this kind. Moreover, in rejecting Wal-Mart's trademark dilution claim, the court rightly held that Smith's critical speech was "noncommercial" even though he placed his designs on T-shirts and other goods sold to the public. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Court Rejects Wal-Mart's Bid to Silence Criticism Through Trademark Law