DMCA Protects Website Operator from Postings Made by Independent Contractors
Paid Contributors Are ‘Users’ Under DMCA Safe Harbor By Steven D. Zansberg On April 25, 2016, the Tenth Circuit issued a published opinion on a matter of first impression, holding that paid independent contractor “stringer” contributors to a website constitute “users” for purposes of the DMCA safe harbor. BWP Media USA, Inc. v. Clarity Digital…
Plaintiffs Strike Out against Yankees: Republication of Essay Privileged Under Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act
By Sigmund D. Schutz and Jonathan S. Piper In an opinion involving a seldom litigated section of the Copyright Act bearing on contributions to “collective works” and privileges to republish them under certain circumstances, 17 U.S.C. § 201(c), the Maine federal district court ruled in favor of a magazine publisher and against the owner of…
FAA Panel Recommendations Would Allow Drone Use Over People
By Joel E. Roberson, Charles D. Tobin and Christine N. Walz In early April, a panel of industry experts assembled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) submitted a report recommending a new regulatory framework for the flight of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, over people. The report is a major step forward in efforts…
NJ Appeals Court Denies Open Records Request for Email Log
Plaintiff Is Seeking NJ Supreme Court Review By Raymond Baldino In Paff v. Galloway, New Jersey held for the first time under its Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq that “OPRA does not require public agencies to create records that do not already exist,” applying that doctrine to a request for a…
Fla. High Court Rejects Common Law “Good Faith” Exception to Fee Shifting Provision in Public Records Act
By Robert L. Rogers, III The Supreme Court of Florida applied common sense to reconcile conflicting opinions construing the mandatory fee shifting provision in Florida’s Public Records Act, effectively removing a “good faith” exception read into that statute by several Florida courts. Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee, 2016 WL…
Florida Appellate Court Unseals Court Records in Hulk Hogan v. Gawker
By Robert L. Rogers, III, Charles D. Tobin, and Timothy J. Conner On the eve of March’s multi-million dollar jury verdict awarded to former wrestler Terry Bollea a/k/a Hulk Hogan against Gawker, a group of media companies who intervened in the case – First Look Media, Inc., The Associated Press, the Tampa Bay Times, and…
Media Coalition Successfully Opposes Request for a Gag Order
By Steve Mandell, Brendan Healey & Danielle Twait An attempt to muzzle the parties in a high profile northern Wisconsin criminal case fizzled when several media organizations intervened to contest a motion for a gag order. In early April, a coalition of television companies, newspaper companies, and media industry organizations moved to intervene in a…
Across the Pond: Updates on UK and European Media Law
Celebrity Threesome Injunction; CFA’s and Article 10; Serious Harm Test; and More By David Hooper UK Supreme Court to Rule on Celebrity Threesome Injunction At the time of writing this article, the Supreme Court have heard argument on whether there should be a reinstatement of the injunction and has yet to rule on whether the…
Falun Gong Members’ Suit Against Chinese Journalist Dismissed
Plaintiffs Alleged Journalist Incited Chinese Guards to Violence By Bruce S. Rosen A federal judge in Hartford, CT has finally ended the 12-year-old ordeal of Zhao Zhizhen, an acclaimed Chinese science journalist who was accused of aiding the persecution and torture of the Falun Gong religious sect by inciting police and prison guards and others in China…
Wall Street Journal Reporter Can Depose Casino Auditor to Defend Hong Kong Libel Action
In April the Third Circuit rejected an appeal by casino developer Sheldon Adelson seeking to quash a deposition subpoena to a former employee whose testimony is sought by a reporter Adleson is suing for defamation in Hong Kong. In re Application of Kate O’Keeffe for Assistance Before a Foreign Tribunal, No. 15-3129 (3d Cir. Apr….
D.C. Court Finds First Amendment Protects True and Non-Provably False Statements, Barring Tort Liability
By Rachel Mueller The District of Columbia Court of Appeals recently reversed a sizable jury award for intentional interference with a prospective contractual relationship in a non-media case, finding that the First Amendment shielded the defendant from liability for her true or non-provably false statements. Thompson v. Armstrong, No. 14-CV-792 (D.C. Ct. App. April 7,…
Appellate Court Affirms Final Judgment Dismissing Case Against Media Defendant Under Texas’s Anti-SLAPP Statute
By Laura Lee Prather and Catherine Lewis Robb The First District Court of Appeals in Texas on March 31 affirmed a lower-court judgment that dismissed with prejudice a defamation lawsuit against a Houston ABC affiliate. In affirming the dismissal of the case under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”), Texas’s Anti-SLAPP statute, the appellate court…
Texas Supreme Court Gives Guidance on Anti-SLAPP Fee Award
By Meredith Jeanes and George Padis The Texas Supreme Court reversed the Amarillo Court of Appeals’ decision about the attorney’s fees awarded in connection with a successful motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”), holding that it was inappropriate to consider “justice and equity” to reduce the amount of the fees awarded….
School Board Member a “Public Official” For Allegedly False Statements That “Insinuate” Criminal Conduct
By Meredith Jeanes and George Padis The Texas Supreme Court held that a member of a school district board of trustees suing for defamation was a public official who must prove actual malice to survive an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss—even if the false statement did not mention or directly relate to actions he took as…
Court Tosses Case Against ESPN Brought By Syracuse Coach’s Wife
Plaintiff a Public Figure; ESPN “Conducted a Painstakingly Thorough Investigation” By Tom Curley A federal court recently granted summary judgment to ESPN in a highly publicized lawsuit arising out of allegations of sex abuse leveled against an assistant coach for the celebrated Syracuse University men’s basketball team. Laurie J. Fine v. ESPN, Inc. et al,…
Blake Shelton’s Libel Suit vs. In Touch Survives Anti-SLAPP Motion to Dismiss
Sufficient Evidence of Falsity and Fault to Proceed In April, a California federal court allowed Blake Shelton’s libel suit against In Touch Weekly to proceed, denying the magazine’s anti-SLAPP motion to strike. Shelton v. Bauer Publ’g Co., No. 2:15-cv-09057 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 18, 2016). The court held the magazine cover could reasonably be interpreted as…
The Monthly Daily
Notes on the Month’s Media Law News as Seen in MLRC’s MediaLawDaily By Jeff Hermes Like many of you, I’ve been reading the MediaLawDaily since it started publishing, long before I joined the MLRC staff. But while I’ve come to depend on the Daily as a critical resource to keep me up to speed on…
From the Executive Director’s Desk: MLRC Institute Freelancers Workshop a Smashing Success
And Looking Ahead to Legal Frontiers in Digital Media, May 19-20 in California One consequence of the new media environment is that many journalists no longer have the benefits of legal training or a corporate staff attorney available to help them on a day-to-day basis. Many bloggers work from their homes; even large media entities…
MediaLawLetter April 2016
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s DeskMLRC Institute Freelancers Workshop a Smashing Success; Looking Ahead to Legal Frontiers in Digital Media, May 19-20 in California The Monthly DailyNotes on the Month’s Media Law News as Seen in MediaLawDaily LIBEL & PRIVACY Blake Shelton’s Libel Suit vs. In Touch Magazine Survives Anti-SLAPP Motion to DismissSufficient…