MediaLawLetter February 2015

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MLRC

From the Executive Director’s Desk

LIBEL & PRIVACY

2d Cir.: Criminal Erasure Statute Does Not Expose Historically True Reporting To Post-Hoc Tort Liability
“There’s No Right To Have Your Arrest Forgotten”
Martin v. Hearst Corp.

7th Cir.: First Amendment Does Not Bar Police Officers’ Claims Against Newspaper’s Use of “Personal” DMV Information
Court Adopts Expansive View of Driver’s Privacy Protection Act
Dahlstrom v. Sun-Times Media LLC

Ohio App.: Court Affirms Summary Judgment Dismissing Coal Magnate’s Libel Suit
Calls on State to Adopt Anti-SLAPP Protection
Murray v. Chagrin Valley Publishing Company

Cal. App.: Anti-SLAPP Ruling: First Amendment Applies to Celebrity Biographers
One Breach of Contract Claim Left for Remand
Rhoads v. Margolis

Ga.: Georgia TV Station Seeks High Court Review of Cramped Anti-SLAPP Ruling
Petition Supported by Media Amicus
Ladner v. New World Communications of Atlanta, Inc.

Mich. Cir.: Twitter Account Mocking Lawyer Protected By First Amendment
Twitter Account an Obvious Parody
Levitt and Levitt Law P.C. v. Felton

Neb.: Calling Plaintiff a “Total Idiot” Not Defamatory
Email Was Merely Hyperbole
Steinhausen v. Home Services of Nebraska

N.Y. App.: Vanity Fair Prevails in Libel Suit Brought by Oleg Cassini’s Widow
Court Refused to Find Implications of Sexual Immorality
Cassini v. Advanced Publications

INTERNATIONAL

France: The City of Paris’s Defamation Complaint Against Fox News: What We Know
Mayor Said Image and Honor of City Was Prejudiced

ECHR: Punishing Journalists for Using Hidden Cameras Violates Article 10
First Decision on the Use of Hidden Cameras
Haldimann and others v. Switzerland

NEWSGATHERING

FAA’s Proposed Drone Rules Offer Hope, But Some Limits for Journalists

INTERNET

S.D. Miss.: Court Bars Tort Claims Against eBay Under Communications Decency Act
Complaint Dismissed With Prejudice
Hinton v. Amazon.com.DEDC

Ninth Circuit Grants Rehearing in Doe v. Internet Brands
Panel Held Sec. 230 Did Not Apply to Failure to Warn Claim
Doe v. Internet Brands

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

S.D.N.Y.: Republication of 9/11 Photo Not a Fair Use
Use of Image With Iwo Jima Photo Not Transformative
North Jersey Media Group Inc. v. Pirro and Fox News Network, LLC

NEWS AND UPDATES

A New Foundation-Based Initiative for Online Freedom: Is Code the Answer?