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January 2010

MediaLawLetter December 2010

PUBLICATION:

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MLRC

Thank you, Bob Nelon, DCS President

LEGISLATION

Congress: Media Issues on the Hill: Wrapping-up and Looking Forward to the New Year
Committee Memberships, Espionage Act, Free Flow of Information Act, etc.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

S.D.N.Y.: HarperCollins Puts an End to Gawker’s Unauthorized Leaks of Palin’s America By Heart
Likelihood of Success on Copyright Infringement Claim
HarperCollins Pubs. L.L.C. v. Gawker Media LLC

S.D.N.Y.: Dow Jones Hot News Case Ends With Admission of Liability, “Substantial” Payment by Briefing.Com
Website Copied Content Without Permission
Dow Jones & Company, Inc. v. Briefing.com

9th Cir.: Montz v. Pilgrim Films & Television, Inc
A Tale of Two Conflicting Systems of IP Law

C.D. Cal.; M.D. Fla.: Chords of Discord: Rock Stars Sue Politicians for Using Songs Without Permission
Copyright Law Protects Musical Works Used in Campaign Ads
Browne v. RNC; Byrne et al. v. Crist et al.

COMMERCIAL SPEECH

2nd Cir.: U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Rule on Issues That May Impact “Do Not Track” Debate
Vermont Law on Prescriber Data Struck Down
IMS Health Inc. v. Sorrell

LIBEL & PRIVACY

E.D. Pa.: Law Professors Win $5 Million in Libel and False Light Damages Against West Publishing
Professors Injured by Being Listed as Authors of Pocket Part Update
Rudovsky and Sosnov v. West Publishing Corp. et al.

Mass. App.: JNOV for Massachusetts Newspaper Affirmed
No Evidence of Actual Malice
Mazetis v. The Enterprise of Brockton, Inc.

Cal. App.: Britney Spears’ Former Manager Not Libel-Proof
Doctrine to Be Applied Sparingly if at All
Lufti v. Spears

Ala. App.: Alabama Court of Appeals Reinstates Public Official Libel Claim
Newspaper Applies for Rehearing
Little v. Consolidated Publishing Company

N.Y. App.: Court Affirms Dismissal of Libel Claim Against New York Post
Article Protected by Fair Report Privilege
Saleh v. New York Post

1st Cir.: First Circuit Holds Maine Anti-SLAPP Statute Applies in Federal Court
Statute Does Not Conflict with Rules 12 and 56 of FRCP
Godin v. Schencks

3rd Cir.: A Nominal Win Against Google’s Street View
Trespass Claim Settles for $1
Boring v. Google

INTERNATIONAL

UK: Goodbye Fair Comment (and honest opinion) Hello Honest Comment
UK Supreme Court Issues its First Libel Decision
Spiller v. Joseph

NEWS & UPDATES

6th Cir.: Government Must Have Warrant To Obtain Person’s Emails From ISP
Fourth Amendment Must Keep Pace with Technological Progress
U.S. v. Warshak

ETHICS

ABA: Issues Ethics Opinion On Lawyer Websites
What Are Lawyers’ Obligations to Website Visitors?
Formal Opinion 10-457