Privacy
California Court of Appeal Affirms Tarantino Movie Does Not Violate Actor’s Right of Publicity
Elizabeth L. SchilkenAffirming a bright line exemption for expressive works from California’s post-mortem right of publicity statute, the Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of right of publicity claims against the Quentin Tarantino movie Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.
DC Court of Appeals Dismisses Police Union’s Fundamental Right to Privacy Claim Over Body Cam Footage
Sara Benson and Cindy GierhartThe Court found that the growing consensus regarding a First Amendment right to record police activity in public was incompatible with the alleged fundamental information privacy right asserted by FOP.
Professor Amy Gajda on Privacy and the Media and Her New Book “Seek and Hide”
Tulane Law professor, former journalist and privacy expert on the skirmishes between the press, the public, and the powerful, and the evolving boundaries of the law.
Portnoy’s Complaint Dismissed
Lindsey ChernerThe Massachusetts federal court dismissed a defamation and invasion of privacy case brought by media mogul David Portnoy, which he conceded was never about winning and always about revenge.
Data Security & Privacy 101
Resources exploring data security (what businesses are obligated to do in the event of a data breach, the financial implications, and best practices for responding), and data privacy ( how our patchwork of laws impacts businesses).
Court Dismisses Defamation Lawsuit Over Holocaust Complicity
Damon Dunn and Seth SternA judge dismissed defamation and false light invasion of privacy claims filed by three ethnic Poles who alleged that a Chicago Sun-Times opinion columnist ascribed “felonies under the laws of Illinois and Poland” to the “Plaintiffs and/or their families and Poles in general” when it referred to “widespread collaboration” in the killing of Jews during WWII.
News Anchor’s Right of Publicity Claims Can Proceed to Discovery
Tobin RajuThe court recognized Hepp sufficiently alleged that she had spent considerable time and effort cultivating an image, implying, but not expressly holding, her image had commercial value.
Kansas Supreme Court Censures Judge for Online Sex Pics
Eric WeslanderWriting that “Judges should be role models for society,” the Kanas Supreme Court censured recently retired magistrate judge Marty Clark for posting, while still on the bench, nude pictures of himself on an adult sex site.
Eleventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of “Pantless Couponer’s” Privacy Lawsuit
Jennifer A. MansfieldThe Eleventh Circuit's order reaffirms that a federal court need not pretend that an exhibit is something it is not, merely because a plaintiff alleges so in the complaint.
West Virginia Court Applies Bartnicki and Affirms Dismissal of Wiretap Claims Against Fourteen Media Companies
Chad R. Bowman and Kaitlin M. GurneyOn appeal, plaintiffs offered a novel – if not bizarre – theory that their classroom conduct was only a matter of public concern within the state of West Virginia and thus Bartnicki did not protect the national media defendants.