MediaLawLetter April 2009

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MLRC

Legal Frontiers in Digital Media Conference
May 14-15, 2009 Stanford

TRADEMARK

2d Cir.: Second Circuit Rejects Non-Use Defense to Keyword Ad Cases
Plaintiff Must Still Prove Consumers Are Misled
Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc.

LIBEL & PRIVACY

Pa.: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orders Review of $3.5 Million Libel Judgment
Case May Have Been Fixed By Corrupt State Court Judges
Joseph v. Scranton Times

Pa. Com. Pleas: Lawyer Wins $210,000 Verdict in Libel Suit Against Spanish Language Newspaper
Plaintiff Deemed a Private Figure
Trujillo v. Guaracao

Wash. Super.: Community Leader Wins $225,000 Verdict Against Vietnamese Language Newspaper
Plaintiff Was Accused of Being a Communist Sympathizer
Tan v. Le

N.D. Tex.: How We Obtained a $12.5 Million Verdict in an Internet Defamation Case
Defendants’ Website Contained False Stories About Plaintiff
ORIX Capital Markets, LLC v. Super Future Equities, et al.

N.D. W.Va.: Jury Awards $7.2 Million Default Verdict to Former Miss West Virginia in Web Libel Case
Defendants Claimed Plaintiff Was Featured in Sex Tape
Williams v. Vidbidness, Inc. et al.

5th Cir.: Fifth Circuit Strikes Libel Case Against Louisiana Newspaper
Denial of Anti-SLAPP Motion to Strike Is Immediately Appealable
Henry v. Lake Charles American Press LLC

9th Cir.: Denial of Oregon Anti-SLAPP Motion Not Appealable
Denial of Anti-SLAPP Motion Not a Collateral Order
Englert v. MacDonell

9th Cir.: Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Libel Suit Against Radio Show Host
Statements About Consumer Complaint Were Opinion
Gardner v. Martino

NY: New York Court of Appeals Reverses Libel Judgment for Public Official
Independent Review of Record Showed Insufficient Evidence of Actual Malice
Shulman v. Hunderford

Cal. Sup. Ct.: Court Throws Out Libel-in-Fiction Case Against Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show”
Comedic Statements Could Not Be Believed, and Plaintiff Was Libel-Proof Anyway
Doe v. HBO

Cal. App.: California Court of Appeals Says Myspace is Not “Private”
Rejects Private Facts Claim Based on Republication of Myspace Article
Moreno v. Hanford Sentinel Inc.

NY App.: Critical Statements About Tribe Are Not About The Chiefs
Newspaper Editorial Not “Of and Concerning” Tribal Leaders
Lazore v. NYP Holdings Inc.

Pa. Com. Pleas: Court Tosses “Walking Crime Wave” Defamation Claim By School Security Guard
Statement Protected as Hyperbole or Truth
James A. Law Jr. v. CBS Broadcasting Inc.

INTERNET

S.D.N.Y.: Court Applies Dendrite Standard to Quash Subpoena Seeking Information on Pseudononymous Posters
Plaintiff Failed to Satisfy Key Elements of Dendrite
Zherka v. Bogdanos

INTERNATIONAL

Indonesia: Supreme Court of Indonesia Sets Aside $92 Million Libel Judgment against TIME
Vacates Earlier Supreme Court Decision
Suharto v. Time Inc. Asia, et al.

UK & Europe: The Other Side of The Pond: Developments in UK and European Law
Updates on Damian Green Matter, CFAs, D-Notices, Recent ECHR Cases
Times Newspapers Limited v. UK, Sanoma v Netherlands, Tarsasag v Hungary

IACHR: Venezuela Breached Rights of Journalists
Government Threats and Mob Violence a Violation of American Convention
Rios et al. v. Venezuela, Perozo et al. v. Venezuela

NEWSGATHERING

1st Cir.: First Circuit Rejects Webcasting of Hearing in High Profile File-Sharing Case
Local Rules and Judicial Conference Policy Bar Any Broadcasting
In re Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al.

COPYRIGHT

Comment: What’s “Fair” In Love And War?
Aggregation and Fair Use