Recent Threats Added to the DMLP Database

NOTE: The information and commentary contained in this database entry are based on court filings and other informational sources that may contain unproven allegations made by the parties. The truthfulness and accuracy of such information is likely to be in dispute. Information contained in this entry is current as of the last event mentioned in the "Description" section below; additional proceedings might have taken place in this matter since this event.

UCLA v. Tom Wilde

Date: 08/06/2009
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
On August 6, 2009, the Office of General Counsel at UCLA sent Tom Wilde a cease and desist letter alleging that his website, Weeding 101 at UCLA, infringed and diluted the University's registered trademark in the letters "UCLA" and that use of the...
- 03/04/2010 - 6:55pm - 0 comments

Barrow County School District v. Payne

Date: 08/01/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Publication: Social Network
In August 2009, the Barrow County School District allegedly forced Apalachee High School English teacher Ashley Payne to resign over postings on her Facebook page.  Apparently, the school objected to photos from Payne's vacation to Europe showing her holding wine and...
- 03/04/2010 - 4:25pm - 0 comments

Dunne v. Lara

Date: 05/22/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
In 2008, Dunne, the owner of a motorcycle repair shop in Santa Barbara sued Lara, a former customer, who published statements about the shop on DucatiSpot, a forum for Ducati motorcyle enthusiasts.  According to court documents, Lara allegedly posted comments...
- 03/03/2010 - 7:00pm - 0 comments

Career Agents Network, Inc. v. White

Date: 06/12/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Publication: Website
In June 2009, Career Agents Network (CAN), a company in the recruiting industry, sued the domain registrant of two domain names associated with a gripe site about the company. Lawrence R. White, the registrant, created the gripe site and registered the domain...
- 03/03/2010 - 5:54pm - 0 comments

Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital, Inc. v. Yelp! Inc.

Date: 02/23/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Forum
Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital, Inc., a veterinary practice in Long Beach, California, brought a class action lawsuit against Yelp! Inc. in California federal court, alleging violations of California unfair competition law. The complaint, filed on February 23, 2010, claims that Yelp!...
- 03/03/2010 - 4:19pm - 0 comments

Proman v. Google

Date: 12/12/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Blog
On December 12, 2009, Matthew Brian Proman and NAPW, Inc. (d/b/a National Association of Professional Women) sued Google, Inc. and 10 John Doe defendants in New York state court, asserting claims for "misappropriation of Plaintiffs' names for trade and advertising purposes" and...
- 02/25/2010 - 3:41pm - 0 comments

Shiamili v. The Real Estate Group of New York

Date: 03/18/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Forum
In March 2008, a New York real estate broker filed a defamation lawsuit against The Real Estate Group of New York, Inc. over comments appearing on its website's message board. The Supreme Court of New York, New York County, denied the real...
- 02/23/2010 - 5:52pm - 0 comments

New York v. The (Chester) Chronicle

Date: 10/01/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
In October 2009, an Orange County grand jury subpoenaed The (Chester) Chronicle for information about the identities of two anonymous posters to its website. The comments in question related to the controversial tenure of Helen Anne Livingston, the Chester schools...
- 02/23/2010 - 5:06pm - 0 comments

MagicJack, LP v. Boing Boing

Date: 03/11/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
In March 2009, MagicJack, LP, the maker of an Internet telephone device and subscription service, sued the parent company of Boing Boing over a blog post by Rob Beschizza criticizing MagicJack's End-User Licensing Agreement (EULA) and various aspects of its...
- 02/23/2010 - 4:34pm - 0 comments

Apex Technology Group, Inc. v. Does

Date: 12/01/2009
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Publication: Forum
In December 2009, Apex Technology Group, Inc. and its principal Sarvesh Kumar Dharayan filed a lawsuit for defamation against John Does 1-10 and ABC Corporations 1-10 in New Jersey state court.  On December 3, 2009, Apex and Dharayan filed a motion for...
- 02/18/2010 - 5:43pm - 0 comments

iStockphoto v. Awkward Stock Photos

Date: 01/01/2010
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction:
Publication: Blog
In late January 2010, iStockphoto sent a DMCA takedown notice to Tumblr, requesting that it to take down photos hosted on Awkward Stock Photos, a Tumblr blog of funny stock photo images found by users on...
- 02/16/2010 - 7:04pm - 0 comments

Sarnoff v. Falco

Date: 02/01/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Blog
On February 1, 2010, counsel for  Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff sent a demand letter to blogger Tom Falco, who publishes the Coconut Grove Grapevine.  The letter claimed that an anonymous comment to the site was false and defamatory. The...
- 02/16/2010 - 6:28pm - 0 comments

Gwinn v. Nelson

Date: 01/28/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Publication: Website
Susan Gwinn, former chairwoman of the Athens County, Ohio Democratic Party sent a demand letter to Nate Nelson, an Ohio University student, demanding that he retract a letter to the editor published on The Athens NEWS website. In...
- 02/16/2010 - 5:58pm - 0 comments

Conde Nast v. Estabrook

Date: 02/12/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction:
Publication: Blog
In February 2010, Conde Nast Publications sent an email to freelance journalist and blogger Barry Estabrook asking him to remove articles posted on his blog, Politics of the Plate.  Estabrook originally wrote the articles in question for publication in Gourmet...
- 02/16/2010 - 5:00pm - 0 comments

Robinson v. Albero

Date: 11/10/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Maryland
Publication: Blog
John Robinson, a local business owner in Salisbury, Maryland, filed a defamation lawsuit against Joe Albero, rthe blogger who operates the Salisbury News. Robinson claimed that Albero harassed his family and published defamatory statements about them on his blog.  The...
- 02/11/2010 - 3:52pm - 0 comments

American Federation of Teachers v. AFTexposed.com

Date: 10/08/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Publication: Website
In October 2009, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) sent a cease-and-desist letter to the publisher of AFTexposed.com, claiming that the website's domain name violated the AFT's trademark rights and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution...
- 02/09/2010 - 5:39pm - 0 comments

USA Technologies v. Yahoo!

Date: 09/24/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: California, Pennsylvania
Publication: Forum
In August 2009, USA Technologies, Inc. sued two "John Doe" defendants in Pennsylvania federal court over critical comments posted on the Yahoo! Finance message board dedicated to the company. According to EFF, the pseudonymous commenters criticized what they claim is the consistently...
- 02/09/2010 - 4:15pm - 0 comments

USA Technologies v. Doe

Date: 08/27/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California, Pennsylvania
Publication: Forum
In August 2009, USA Technologies, Inc. sued two "John Doe" defendants in Pennsylvania federal court over critical comments posted on the Yahoo! Finance message board dedicated to the company. According to EFF, the pseudonymous commenters criticized what they claim is the consistently...
- 02/09/2010 - 4:07pm - 0 comments

DeRosa v. Rattanni

Date: 11/20/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Forum
On November 20, 2009, Thomas DeRosa, Chairman of the Forward Township Board of Supervisors, issued a subpoena seeking discovery from Richard S. Rattanni, the operator of the website elizabethboro.com, in order to identify the posters of allegedly defamatory comments on that website. The subpoena...
- 02/04/2010 - 1:56pm - 0 comments

DeRosa v. Does

Date: 11/19/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Forum
On November 19, 2009, Thomas DeRosa, Chairman of the Forward Township Board of Supervisors, filed a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County against two Doe defendants, asserting claims for defamation.  According to news reports from the Pittsburg Tribune-Review,...
- 02/04/2010 - 1:45pm - 0 comments

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