MediaLawLetter Associate Edition 2013 Issue 3
MLRC MLRC London Conference Explores International Media Law DevelopmentsDelegates from Around the World Discuss Media Law and Policy Developments INTERNATIONAL LIBEL & PRIVACY 5th Cir.: Appeals Court Applies SPEECH Act and Refuses to Enforce Canadian Defamation JudgmentFirst Appellate Court Ruling under New Law on Enforcement of Foreign Defamation JudgmentsTrout Point Lodge, Limited v. Handshoe Across…
Federal Court Quashes Subpoena Seeking Reporter’s Eye-Witness Testimony
By Stephen Gikow In an opinion issued June 11, 2013, Judge Jed S. Rakoff held that the reporter’s privilege attaches to a journalist’s non-confidential, eye-witness testimony. Lebowitz v. City of New York, 12 Civ. 8982. Because the privilege attaches, a subpoenaing party must make reasonable attempts to acquire the information from other available sources, as…
New York Court Quashes Sheldon Adelson’s Third-Party Subpoena to Wall Street Journal
By Laura R. Handman and Camille Calman On May 28, 2013, Justice Donna Mills of the New York Supreme Court granted Dow Jones & Company’s motion to quash a third-party subpoena served on the Wall Street Journal by billionaire casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson. In re Wall Street Journal v. Adelson, 2013 NY Slip Op….
Massachusetts Court Awards Newspaper Legal Costs Incurred in Filing Motion to Quash Subpoena to Reporter
By Michael J. Grygiel and Zachary C. Kleinsasser A Massachusetts federal court recently granted a newspaper’s motion to quash a deposition subpoena served on one of its reporters and, further, took the unusual but welcome step of awarding the newspaper its attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in submitting the motion to quash. In Durand v….
Divided First Department Says Strong Public Policy Favors Protecting Confidential Sources
But Will Not Save Fox News Reporter From Out of State Subpoena By Dori Ann Hanswirth and Theresa M. House Journalists across New York might take pause the next time they’re asked to report on a story that relies on confidential sources from other states, if a recent decision by a divided Appellate Division, First…
Fourth Circuit Reverses Order Allowing Reporter James Risen to Protect Source
Majority Rejects First Amendment and Common Law Privilege By James Lake and Kimberly Andreu Journalists around the country are waiting to see whether New York Times writer and Pulitzer Prize winner James Risen will be forced to identify an unnamed source or will be held in contempt of court. Risen faces that difficult choice after…
S.D.N.Y. Denies Class Certification in Mass Copyright Claim Against YouTube
Individualized Facts in Action Make Class Action Unsuitable Last month, the Southern District of New York denied copyright plaintiffs’ motion for class certification on the grounds that allowing the case to proceed as a class action would create a “Frankenstein monster,” demonstrating continued reluctance by the court to allow mass copyright claims to proceed as…
Second Circuit Reinstates “Own Your Power” Trademark Claims Against Oprah and Hearst
Fair Use Not Established as a Matter of Law on Motion to Dismiss Late last month, the Second Circuit reinstated trademark infringement claims over the use of the phrase “Own Your Power” on a magazine cover, related web pages, and at a live event. Kelly-Brown v. Winfrey, 12-1207-CV, 2013 WL 2360999 (2d Cir. May 31,…
First Amendment Protects Warner Bros. Against Trademark Claims Based on Fictional Software in The Dark Knight Rises
By A. J. Thomas and Julia Cherlow Invoking bedrock principles of trademark law as well as First Amendment protections for expressive works, the Northern District of Indiana last month dismissed a suit for trademark infringement and unfair competition brought by an Indiana software company against Warner Bros. Entertainment based on references to a fictional product…
When Amazon Becomes the Strand Bookstore
The ReDigi Case—Whether US Copyright Law Permits Resale of “Used” Digital Goods By Devereux Chatillon A recent summer weekend was hot, steamy in fact, part of the heat wave that enveloped the East Coast of the United States. So I bought a copy of Inferno by Dan Brown through the iBookstore and read it on…
Ninth Circuit Affirms Refusal to Enjoin Ad-Skipping Service
By Ilana Rubel and Sebastian Kaplan Fox Broadcasting Company v. Dish Network LLC marks the latest effort by content providers to block ad-skipping technologies. While more modern methods were at issue, the Ninth Circuit’s July 24, 2013 ruling largely tracked the outcome of the case in which ad-skipping was first addressed, three decades ago, in…
Northern District of Mississippi Dismisses Favorite Son Faulkner’s “Midnight in Paris” Infringement Suit
By Samuel Fifer and Gregory R. Naron “The artist is of no importance. Only what he creates is important, since there is nothing new to be said.” – William Faulkner Following the success of Woody Allen’s 2011 film “Midnight in Paris,” the holder of William Faulkner’s literary rights sued the film’s producer, Sony Pictures Classics,…
Second Circuit Rules in Favor of Appropriation Artist Richard Prince
Transformative Use Based on Broad Suite of Aesthetic Considerations By Christopher Robinson In April 2013, a year after hearing oral argument, the Second Circuit issued its much anticipated decision in Cariou v. Prince, 714 F.3d 694 (2nd Cir. 2013), a case involving fair use in the visual arts. As most observers expected, the appellate court…
Aliens and Cowpokes Invade a Texas Federal Court
By Alicia Wagner Calzada With a bit of flair, a federal judge ruled – on multiple grounds – that the copyright in an eleven-page comic, which was self-published by an Austin man in the mid 1990’s, was not violated by the making of the 2011 film Cowboys & Aliens or the graphic novel on which…
Wisconsin Federal Court Finds Satirical T-Shirt of Mayor Is Fair Use
A Wisconsin photographer lost his copyright infringement lawsuit over the use of one of his photographs on a satirical T-shirt. Kienitz v. Sconnie Nation, No. 12-464 (W.D. Wisc. Aug. 14, 2013) (Crocker, J.). Citing to the Second Circuit’s recent decision in Cariou v. Prince, 714 F.3d 694 (2nd Cir. 2013), the court held that the…
Court Enjoins Internet Streaming Service
DC Becomes Second Court To Reject Technology-Based Exception To The Copyright Act By Amy M. Gallegos On September 5, Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction barring billionaire Alki David’s FilmOnX service from streaming copyrighted broadcast television programs over the Internet without authorization from the copyright owners. Fox Television Stations,…
The Other Side of the Pond: Updates on UK Media Law
The Defamation Act, Leveson, Lance Armstrong and More By David Hooper A date still needs to be announced for the coming into effect of the Defamation Act 2013. The changes being introduced by the Act are summarised in my article The New Defamation Act 2013: What Difference Will it Really Make? However, one missing piece…
Fifth Circuit Applies SPEECH Act and Refuses to Enforce Canadian Defamation Judgment
By Dan Zimmerman and Mary Ellen Roy The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued the first appellate opinion construing the SPEECH Act, Trout Point Lodge, Limited v. Handshoe, 2013 WL 47766530 (5th Cir. Sept. 5, 2013) (Reavley, Elrod, Graves, JJ.). In a strong victory for free speech, the Court refused to enforce…
MLRC London Conference Explores International Media Law Developments
Over 220 delegates from around the world attended MLRC’s London Conference on September 23-24, 2013 at Stationers’ Hall. This was MLRC’s eighth and largest conference in London, including new participants from India, South Korea, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The Conference opened with Lord Guy Black, executive director of The Telegraph, and Chris Blackhurst, editorial director…