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.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...
Arthur Bright manages to fit Jack Pumpkinhead into otherwise staid fair use analysis.
Ralph Lauren Gets the Skinny on DMCA Takedown Backlashes
Helen Fu explains why digital mix tape creators (Can't Get No) Satisfaction.
Think Twice Before You Dust Off Those Mix Tapes
Eric P. Robinson wades through the new FTC rules so you don't have to (although you probably still should).
New FTC Rules Aim to Kill the Buzz on Blogs
Andrew Moshirnia reports that anti-video game crusader Jack Thompson
has used up yet another of his lawsuit lives (time for another Up Up
Down Down Left Right Left Right BA Start).
Sorry Jack Thompson, Your Comprehension of Section 230 Is in Another Castle!
CMLP and Cyberlaw Clinic Endorse Anti-SLAPP Protection for Staff of Media and Advocacy Organizations
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Recent threats added to the CMLP database...
RSA v. Scott Jarkoff
Posted Oct. 9, 2009
Video Professor, Inc. v. Montgomery
Posted Oct. 8, 2009
Alf v. Buffalo News Inc.
Posted Oct. 7, 2009
Nevyas v. Morgan II (Federal Lawsuit)
Posted Oct. 7, 2009
Nevyas v. Morgan
Posted Oct. 7, 2009
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Other citizen media law news...
Go To The Olympics? Take Photos? Put Them On Flickr? Await Olympic Committee Legal Threat Letter
Techdirt - Fri. 10/09/09
Short Outbursts on Twitter? #Big Problem
The New York Times - Wed. 10/07/09
Do the FTC's New Endorsement/Testimonial Rules Violate 47 USC 230?
Technology & Marketing Law Blog - Tues. 10/06/09
FBI Investigates Coder for Liberating Paywalled Court Records
Wired/Threat Level - Mon. 10/05/09
Man Arrested for Twittering Goes to Court, EFF Has the Documents
EFF Deeplinks - Mon. 10/05/09
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The full(er) Brief...
"Last month, the folks at Photoshop Disasters and Boing Boing
noticed that Ralph Lauren had done some rather horrific photoshopping of a fashion model in one of its ads. Both sites mocked the horribleness with brief, but clearly critical, comments. 'Make her head bigger than her pelvis! Do it!' wrote Photoshop Disasters. 'Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis,' gasped Boing Boing. . . . Enter an apparently cranky Ralph Lauren. Claiming that the blogs
infringed on its copyright in the hideously doctored photo (and
presumably also fearing that the label would see a backlash for
promoting emaciation chic even more blatantly than the fashion
industry's norm), Ralph Lauren sent DMCA takedown notices to the hosts
of both blogs. (You can see a copy of the notice sent to Boing Boing
at the Berkman Center's own Chilling Effects Clearinghouse.) Photoshop Disasters' host, Blogspot, caved automatically, as is sadly the norm. . . . But Boing Boing and its ISP, Priority Colo, held firm, arguing that posting the photo is protected as fair use. I certainly agree with them. . . ."
Arthur Bright, Ralph Lauren Gets the Skinny on DMCA Takedown Backlashes
"[E]arlier this week recording artists, music industry leaders, and policymakers gathered at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. for the Future of Music Policy Summit sponsored by the Future of Music Coalition to talk about their impact on the music community. . . . [O]n the agenda were panels on how recording artists can use digital technology and social media to share and promote their work. Unfortunately, some of our intuitions of what kinds of sharing are okay don't always square with the law of copyright. . . . For instance, we recently received this inquiry from a reader: 'Can I post a mix tape on my blog to highlight a new recording artist? Can I allow visitors to download my mix tape?' The simple answer to both questions is 'not without permission,' but there are steps you can take to make the content available to the public on your blog. . . . How can a blogger play it safe? For the most flexibility, get explicit permission from the copyright holder for what you'd like to do. . . . Alternatively, you can link to the material if it's already available on the web. You can either provide links to where authorized copies of the musical files can be found online, or you can make playlists using services that use URLs to music files hosted elsewhere."
Helen Fu, Think Twice Before You Dust Off Those Mix Tapes
"On October 5, the Federal Trade Commission issued new guidelines . . . on advertising involving endorsements and testimonials. The guidelines, which are due to go into effect on December 1, have caused
a stir among bloggers, journalists, and new media types because they
appear to place significant requirements and restrictions on blogs and
social media. Most notably, they suggest that bloggers or other
consumers who 'endorse' a product or service online may be liable for
civil penalties if they make false or unsubstantiated claims about a
product or fail to disclose 'material connections' between themselves
and an advertiser. . . . While the guidelines are complex and their application in marginal cases is uncertain, they appear to require bloggers who receive a free product or service in exchange for writing a favorable review to disclose the freebie or face the possibility of an FTC enforcement action. Most surprisingly, the FTC appears to hold bloggers and social media to
a different standard than the traditional press when it comes to 'material connections': the guidelines expressly state that 'bloggers
may be subject to different disclosure requirements than reviewers in
the traditional media.' . . ."
Eric P. Robinson, New FTC Rules Aim to Kill the Buzz on Blogs
"Jack Thompson made a name for himself as an anti-video game activist. You might remember Thompson from his numerous sound bites made in the immediate aftermath of school shootings, blaming video games for mass murder (and coining the term Pixelante in the process). Thompson's more colorful claims about video games (e.g., that games are 'mental masturbation' . . . as well as his vocal support for game bans, have angered the wider game playing community. In response to his crusade, many individuals have found creative ways to express their hatred of Thompson. . . . But some individuals have gone too far, using Facebook to advocate violence against the one-man litigation machine. . . . Thompson faxed (really . . . faxed) a C&D to Facebook to have these groups pulled, but the company did not immediately react (probably because Thompson did not follow the normal, sane, much more effective route of clicking on the 'Report Group' link to, you know, report the group). Due to Facebook's inaction, Thompson did what anyone would do, and sued Facebook for $120 million dollars, claiming intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent supervision. . . . Indeed, the only interesting part of Thompson's suit is whether a Florida court would weaken the impact rule, which typically requires a plaintiff charging negligent infliction of emotional distress to show physical harm. But that question will not need to be discussed, as Facebook will surely receive a dismissal based on Section 230 immunity."
Andrew Moshirnia, Sorry Jack Thompson, Your Comprehension of Section 230 Is in Another Castle!
"On Thursday, the Citizen Media Law Project (CMLP) joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM) and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association in submitting an amicus curiae brief urging the Massachusetts Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's decision interpreting the state's anti-SLAPP legislation. Representing CMLP, Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic co-authored the brief. . . . Cyberlaw clinical student Lee Baker worked with CMLP to articulate a citizen media perspective in the brief. 'The project posed a unique challenge, as we sought to reflect the concerns of journalists as well as advocacy organizations,' Baker said. 'Both deserve broad protections under the anti-SLAPP law, and we hope that the Massachusetts Supreme Court recognizes the broad ramifications of the Superior Court's decision and crafts a decision consistent with the democratic principles underlying the law.'"
CMLP Staff, CMLP and Cyberlaw Clinic Endorse Anti-SLAPP Protection for Staff of Media and Advocacy Organizations
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Join the conversation...
Can't get enough of the Citizen Media Law Project? Join us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
