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...

Sam Bayard reports on a recent court decision that may slow the flood of DMCA takedown notices.
California Court Warns Copyright Bullies Not to Ignore Fair Use

David Ardia explains what will be lost if Illinois discards a portion of its new anti-SLAPP law.
Illinois Appellate Court Raises Doubts About Constitutionality of Citizen Participation Act

Tuna Chatterjee comments on EFF's recent victory removing a temporary restraining order placed on three MIT students.
Court Lifts Gag Order On MIT Students

Sam Bayard discusses the similarities between defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.
Texas Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Principal's Lawsuit Over Fake MySpace Page

Jim Ernstmeyer looks at Ohio's new Center for Transparent and Accountable Government.
Ohio Takes a Page from the Sunshine Review

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Mayor Sottile v. Richters
Posted August 18, 2008

Perry v. Topping
Posted August 18, 2008

Vision Media TV Group v. Richard
Posted August 18, 2008

Welch v. Nyberg II
Posted August 18, 2008

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Other citizen media law news...

Blogging for Truth
Columbia Journalism Review - Thurs. 08/19/08

Video blogger Wolf now a real journalist
SFGate - Wed. 08/20/08

Google Will Offer Services for Bloggers at the Conventions
Wall Street Journal - Tue. 08/19/08

Okla. prosecutor files criminal libel complaint against blogger
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - Tue. 08/19/08

North Carolina Sheriff's Deputy impersonates journalist, short-circuits shield law
The SPJ Freedom of Information Committee Blog - Mon. 08/18/08

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The full(er) Brief...

"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. . . . Overall, I'm glad that the court embraced a pragmatic, common-sense approach to the question of fair use and takedown notices. . . . Sending a takedown notice is comparatively cheap and easy, and the volume of takedown demands vastly overshadows the number of copyright lawsuits actually pursued in court. It's good to see a court recognize the burden that takedowns place on creative expression and freedom of speech. . . ."
Sam Bayard, California Court Warns Copyright Bullies Not to Ignore Fair Use

"An Illinois appellate court has tentatively concluded that Illinois' newly enacted Citizen Participation Act [CPA], 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. Mund v. Brown et al., No. 05-L-83 (Ill. App. Ct. Aug. 13, 2008). If the court, which has asked the parties and the Illinois Attorney General to brief the issue, ultimately invalidates the right to file an interlocutory appeal, it would significantly undermine the effectiveness of this important new law. . . . [T]he trial judge issued a one-page order that provides no explanation why he denied the defendants' motions to dismiss.  This cursory treatment is not what the Illinois legislature intended when it passed the CPA, which requires that judges apply a heightened level of scrutiny to claims that fall within the Act's ambit. At least we can rely on an appellate court to scrutinize [the plaintiff's] claims before any possible further damage is done, right?  Wrong. If Illinois appellate courts can't hear interlocutory appeals under the CPA, it won't just be these defendants who lose. . . ."
David Ardia, Illinois Appellate Court Raises Doubts About Constitutionality of Citizen Participation Act

"EFF reports that U.S. District Court Judge George O'Toole has lifted the temporary restraining order that the court had issued against the three MIT students who had planned to present their research on the security vulnerabilities in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) transit fare payment system at DEFCON, a highly-regarded conference for hackers. . . . Kudos to EFF for this important First Amendment victory! Hopefully, the MBTA will drop the rest of the lawsuit and work instead with the students to make the necessary corrections to the transit fare payment system."
Tuna Chatterjee, Court Lifts Gag Order On MIT Students

"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. After learning about the fake profile, Draker contacted MySpace, which promptly removed the page. Not content to stop there, Draker sued Schreiber, Todd, and their parents, asserting claims for defamation, negligent supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. . . . Plaintiffs who file defamation lawsuits often add an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim as an alternative theory of liability. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Texas Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Principal's Lawsuit Over Fake MySpace Page

"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. The center, led by former Ohio Statehouse reporter Mike Maurer, will collect and post online state and local government budgets, employee contracts, public records policies, and other information. Claiming that Ohio lags behind other states and the federal government in the quest to make government data available online, the new center called on candidates for state office to sign a Pledge for Transparency and Accountability. By signing, candidates pledge to demand full disclosure of government activities. . . ."
Jim Ernstmeyer, Ohio Takes a Page from the Sunshine Review