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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News from the Citizen Media Law Project...

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching next week, we will not be sending out an edition of the Citizen Media Law Brief on November 28.  Look for the next edition in your inbox on December 5, 2008.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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

Sam Bayard updates readers on the MySpace suicide case.
Lori Drew Trial Ongoing, Legal Issues Still Unclear 

Sam Bayard critiques a federal court's decision to let Jones Day's trademark claims against BlockShopper go forward.
Jones Day v. BlockShopper: Court Chooses Legal Formality Over Common Sense  

Marc Randazza discusses the defamation suit filed against the publisher of "Hot Chicks with Douchebags."
Douchetastic Defamation Suit Filed

David Ardia announces a collaborative workshop with local press associations.
Workshop on Managing Online Reader Contributions and Comments

CMLP Staff report on two recent cases involving a popular consumer review site.
Two New Ripoff Report Cases Filed 

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Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

D'Elia v. Renna
Posted Nov. 21, 2008

Hy Cite Corporation v. Badbusinessbureau.com
Posted Nov. 17, 2008

Doe v. MySpace II
Posted Nov. 17, 2008

Violet Blue v. Burch
Posted Nov. 17, 2008

Duchovny v. Daily Mail
Posted Nov. 17, 2008 

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Other citizen media law news...

N.J. newspaper can be sued for reporting allegations from lawsuit
The First Amendment Center - Thurs. 11/20/08

Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan "arrested" in Tehran
Global Voices Advocacy - Tues. 11/18/08

Bogus IP Claims Quash Debate Over Future of NYC Landmark
EFF - Tues. 11/18/08

Judge gives preliminary approval to Google's pubisher settlement
SiliconValley.com - Mon. 11/17/08

High Court Declines Review of MySpace CDA 230 Case
E-Commerce and Tech Law - Mon. 11/17/08

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The full(er) Brief...

"Lori Drew's trial for allegedly violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) began this week.  There has been some great coverage of the proceedings . . . . A couple of noteworthy points: First, the prosecution's star witness Ashley Grill, Drew's former employee, admitted that it was her idea to set up the fake MySpace account for 'Josh Evans' and that she sent the last message from 'Josh' to Megan Meier in October 2006 saying that the world would be a better place without Megan.  Grill testified that Drew and Drew's daughter Sarah were with her when she created the fake account, but that none of them read MySpace's terms of service. . . . [W]hile all the dramatic testimony is a great boon to the media, it seems potentially wasteful to go through all of this before the court rules on Drew's motion to dismiss the indictment.  If Drew is right that her alleged conduct cannot form the basis of a CFAA violation, then there's no reason to spend days and days on the specifics of Drew's conduct or the morbidly fascinating details of Megan's last months and days. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Lori Drew Trial Ongoing, Legal Issues Still Unclear

"Last Thursday, a federal district judge denied BlockShopper.com's motion to dismiss Jones Day's complaint alleging trademark infringement and dilution.  The lawsuit arose out of BlockShopper's reports on two condominium purchases by Jones Day associates Dan Malone Jr. and Jacob Tiedt.  In the reports, BlockShopper used Jones Day's trademark (its name) to identify the law firm as Malone and Tiedt's employer and linked from each associate's name to their biographies on the firm's website. In its motion to dismiss, BlockShopper argued that its conduct could not confuse consumers or dilute Jones Day's trademark as a matter of law.  The CMLP joined Public Citizen, EFF, and Public Knowledge in moving the court for permission to file an amici curiae brief in support of BlockShopper's motion.  Judge Darrah denied both BlockShopper's motion to dismiss and our motion for leave to file an amici curiae brief. . . . . We can only hope that other courts don't follow Judge Darrah in his deference to legal formality at the expense of common sense. . . ."
Sam Bayard, Jones Day v. BlockShopper: Court Chooses Legal Formality Over Common Sense

"Michael Minelli, a 27-year old 'club promoter,' is spewing vinegar at Simon and Schuster, publisher of the book Hot Chicks with Douchebags. Apparently, Mr. Minelli finds the description 'douchebag' to be inaccurate, and to say the least, neither sweet nor fresh.  In his complaint, Minelli seeks at least $10,000 in damages per count in his five-count action for defamation, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and a loss of that fresh feeling (to his goodwill, anyhow). . . . This case seems pretty clearly headed for disaster. It is obvious that the book does not use the term 'douchebag', as Minelli claims, to describe a feminine hygiene product. . . . The only thing that Minelli will succeed in accomplishing with this lawsuit is adding to the number of people who think he is a douchebag and increasing the sales of the book."
Marc Randazza, Douchetastic Defamation Suit Filed

"This Thursday I'll be participating in a 'collaborative workshop' involving newspaper editors and media lawyers addressing the challenges associated with managing online reader contributions and comments.  The half-day workshop is sponsored by the New England Newspaper Association, New England Press Association, and Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye.  I am especially excited about this conference because it won't be the usual panel of pontificating lawyers up on a dais (in fact, more than half the panelists are online editors).  Instead, the focus will be on the practical issues news organizations are facing, such moderating 'gutter talk,' dealing with anonymity, preventing online harassment, and responding to subpoenas.  I'll be giving an overview of the immunity provisions in section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, but I expect the conversation will quickly move to how law, journalistic ethics, and basic civility interact online. . . ."
David Ardia, Workshop on Managing Online Reader Contributions and Comments

"Eric Goldman reminds us (here, here) that angry companies and individuals are still suing Xcentric Ventures, LLC and Ed Magedson left and right over reports submitted to Ripoff Report.  Ripoff Report is a website that allows users to post reports about individuals and companies that they believe have 'ripped them off' or treated them unfairly.  The website has attracted much criticism and litigation for refusing to remove allegedly false reports and offering a service to aggrieved businesses called the 'Corporate Advocacy Program' ('CAP'), under which, for a fee, the website will investigate 'rip-off' reports targeting member companies and post prominent rebuttals to those reports.  Ripoff Report has been remarkably successful in fighting off lawsuits for defamation and other torts based on user-submitted reports.  In large part, this success is due to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act' ('CDA 230'), which states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.' 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1). . . ."
CMLP Staff,  Two New Ripoff Report Cases Filed