MediaLawLetter December 2007

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MLRC

Thank you Peter Canfield!

Ethics Corner: Florida Leads the Way to Regulate Attorney Websites

LIBEL / PRIVACY

Ga. Cir. Ct.: Richard Jewell’s Final Claim Against Atlanta Journal-Constitution Dismissed
Incremental Harm Rule Applied
Estate of Jewell v. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Public Censure Recommended for Judge Who Won Libel Suit
“Bizarre” Letters to Boston Herald “Crossed th[e] Line”

Cal. App. Ct.: The Power of California’s Anti-SLAPP Statute
Taus v. Loftus Ends with a Nuisance Settlement and a $241,000 Attorneys’ Fees Award
Taus v. Loftus

Cal. Super. Ct.: Anti-SLAPP Motion Granted in Dog the Bounty Hunter Case
Reality Show a Matter of Public Interest
Follner v. Chapman, et. al.

D. Mass.: Update: Mistrial Declared in Mandel v. Boston Phoenix
Mandel v. Boston Phoenix

N.D. Okla.: Newspaper Wins Summary Judgment In Private Figure Libel Case
No Falsity or Negligence
Ackley v. Bartlesville Examiner, Enterprise

Michigan: Michigan Court Again Throws Out Privacy/Eavesdropping Case by Cops Caught On Tape Censoring Concert Performance
No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Under the Circumstances
Bowens v Aftermath Entertainment, et al.

Ia. App. Ct.: Lost in transit – Iowa court affirms $500,000 verdict stemming from Internet ‘watchpage’
Kono v. Meeker

Ariz. App. Ct.: Arizona Appeals Court Adopts Three Part Test for Revealing the Identity of an Anonymous Internet Speaker
Mobilisa, Inc. v. John Doe 1 and The Suggestion Box, Inc.

Fla. Cir. Ct.: Florida Court Dismisses Insurance Company’s Defamation Action Against The Associated Press
United Automobile Insurance Company v. Freidin

Tex. App. Ct.: Texas Court Considers Online Anonymity
Adopts Summary Judgment Standard
In re Does 1 – 10

New York: New York Court of Appeals Rejects Ehrenfeld Declaratory Judgment Action
No Long Arm Jurisdiction Over Saudi Libel Plaintiff
Ehrenfeld v. Bin Mahfouz

D. Mass: Facebook Founder’s Documents May Remain Online
Court Rejects Motion to Enjoin Further Publication
ConnectU v. Facebook

W.D. Wisc.: Wisconsin Federal Court Limits Grand Jury Subpoena To Protect Privacy of Reading Choices
Government Denied Access to Names of Amazon Customers
In re Grand Jury Subpoena to Amazon.com

2007 in Review: Single Publication Rule and the Internet

PRIVILEGE

D. Kan.: Kansas City Star Reporters Ordered to Testify to Grand Jury
Prosecutors Wanted Testimony to Prove Target’s Waiver of Attorney Privilege
In re Grand Jury Subpoena to Kansas City Board of Public Utilities

S.D. Cal.: Judge Refuses To Subpoena Reporters For Leak Sources
United States v. Wilkes

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

D.D.C.: White House Visitor Lists are Public Records Under the FOIA
Secret Service Must Disclose Names
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Security

INTERNATIONAL

The Other Side of the Pond: UK & European Law Update

U.K.: The Reporting of Criminal Convictions Under UK Law
Libel, Contempt & Data Protection Issues

COPYRIGHT

E.D. Va.: Entertainment Law: Court Finds That Co-Producer of Documentary is Joint Author for Copyright in Absence of Written Contract
Berman v. Johnson

2d Cir.: Second Circuit Vacates Tasini Settlement
Unregistered Copyrights a Jurisdictional Bar to Class Settlement
In re Literary Works in Electronic Databases Copyright Litigation

RIGHT OF PUBLICITY

Arizona: Arizona Right of Publicity Statute for Soldiers Trumped by First Amendment
Frazier v. Boomsma

LEGISLATION

‘Tis the Season: Congress’s Attention Turns to Media Issues as the 2007 Session Comes to a Close