MediaLawLetter January 2011
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MediaLawLetter January 2011
Download Publication MLRC Scripts, Lies & VideogamesMLRC – Southwestern Conference Explores Hot Entertainment Issues REPORTERS PRIVILEGE 2d Cir.: Second Circuit Approves Court-Ordered Production of Documentary Film OuttakesExistence of Reporter’s Privilege Reaffirmed with Emphasis on Journalistic IndependenceChevron Corp. v. Berlinger INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY S.D.N.Y.: Associated Press and Shepard Fairey Settle Obama “HOPE” Poster CaseSettlement Calls for Both…
Fee-Splitting or Splitting Hairs?
By David A. Strassburger Have you ever had a client complain about your bill? Nothing is more deflating for a lawyer than to hear a client say: “You are an expense item.” Despite the quality of our services, we still have a tough time convincing clients that we are necessary to generate revenue, or at…
European Court of Human Rights Rules That UK Success Fees Violate Article 10
By Jaron Lewis In a ground breaking decision, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that UK laws allowing the recoverability of success fees in privacy cases violated a newspaper’s rights of freedom of expression. MGN Limited v. United Kingdom, Application no. 39401/04 (Jan. 18, 2011). The landmark decision almost certainly means that later…
Colorado Judge Seals Arrest Warrant Affidavits
A Colorado County Court judge has kept under seal arrest warrant affidavits in the sexual assault case filed against a Denver Broncos football player, Perrish Cox. In doing so, Judge Susanna Meissner-Cutler denied the motions to unseal that had been filed by the Associated Press, The Denver Post, and The New York Times. Cox, a…
New York Trial Court Dismisses Article 78 Petition Attempt to Block Release of Teacher Data
A New York trial court recently dismissed an effort by the New York City teachers union to block the release of reports assessing the job performance of city school teachers that had been sought by a number of news organizations under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. Mulgrew v. Board of Education, No. 113813/10 (N.Y….
Consumers Union Wins Typosquatting Litigation
By Eric Rayman Typosquatting – registering a domain that is an intentional misspelling of someone else’s domain name – is aggravating to domain owners. As anyone who’s ever typed more than a 3-letter name domain into a search box knows, dropping a letter, omitting a double “t,” or adding an unauthorized “s” happens to all…
Seventh Circuit, Florida State Court Reach Opposite Conclusions on Whether Non-Party Websites May Ignore Takedown Orders
The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and a state trial court in Florida — within one day of each other, and in cases involving the same website — reached contradictory conclusions about the authority of judges to enforce third-party takedown orders against web operators. The stark divergence of judicial opinions highlights the difficulties courts…
Ohio Newspaper Wins Summary Judgment on Libel and Spoliation Claims
An Ohio trial court granted summary judgment to the Sandusky Register newspaper, and individual employees, on libel and spoliation claims brought by an elected county prosecutor. Baxter v. Sandusky Newspapers et al., No. 2009-cv-0281 (Ohio Comm. Pleas Jan. 19, 2011) (Coyne, J.). The court held that the news articles at issue were substantially true; a…
Ninth Circuit Vacates Prior Ruling on Anonymous Online Commercial Speech
In July 2010, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion discussing at length the proper standard to be applied to online anonymous commercial speech, concluding, in large part, that the more stringent standards for evaluating such speech were inapplicable. The court appears to have backed away from this position, however. In January 2011, the court vacated…
Kentucky Court Has Jurisdiction Over Arizona Gossip Website
A Kentucky federal district court ruled that it had personal jurisdiction to hear a libel case brought by a Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader against an Arizona-based gossip website. Jones v. Dirty World, LLC et al. No. 2009-219, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5948 (E.D. Ky. Jan. 21, 2011) (Bertelsman, J.). The court held that it had jurisdiction…
Website Owner Brings Challenge Under SPEECH Act and Florida’s Libel Tourism Statute
On January 10, 2011, three plaintiffs, Investorshub.com (“iHub”), Matthew Brown, and Robert Zumbrunnen (collectively the “Plaintiffs”) brought a declaratory judgment action, under the SPEECH Act and Florida’s libel tourism provisions seeking to proactively address the question of whether the Canadian judgments against them stemming from defamation claims are enforceable in Florida. Investorshub.com, Inc., Matthew Brown,…
Texas Appeals Court Affirms Denial of Summary Judgment to Newspaper
In an interesting decision, a Texas appellate court affirmed denial of summary judgment to a newspaper over an article accusing a lawyer of misconduct in representing a client. ZYZY Corp. v. Hernandez, No.04-10-00311-CV (Tex. App. Jan. 26, 2011) (Angelini, Marion, Hilberg, JJ.). The court held that plaintiff was not a public figure for purposes of…
California Appeals Court Calls for Eliminating Appeals from Denials of Anti-SLAPP Motions
In a published libel decision, a California appeals court urged the legislature to consider eliminating the right of appeal from denials of anti-SLAPP motions to strike. Grewal v. Jammau et al., A126239, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 27 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. Jan. 11, 2011) (Richman, Kline, Haerle, JJ.). Background The instant libel case was brought…
Illinois Trial Court Grants CBS’s Anti-SLAPP Motion
In an early application of Illinois’ anti-SLAPP statute to media defendants, on January 6, 2011, an Illinois trial judge dismissed a libel case against CBS owned WBBM-TV in Chicago and its investigative reporter Pam Zekman. Tatgenhorst v. WBBM-TV, (Ill. Cir. Ct. 2011). The court found that the news report that gave rise to the plaintiff’s…
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Claim by Postdoctoral Researcher
In a recent decision the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a defamation claim brought by a post-doctoral research associate against the senior scientist heading the laboratory in which she worked. Chandok v. Klessig, 2011 WL 108729, — F.3d — (09-4120-cv(L), 2d Cir. Jan. 13, 2011). The Court also affirmed the dismissal…
WDAM Successfully Sues to End Prior Restraint Enjoining Broadcast of Video Depicting Juvenile Abuse
WDAM, the NBC affiliate in Hattiesburg, Mississippi owned by Raycom Media, Inc., supported by an array of amici curiae, obtained a writ of mandamus vacating a Youth Court judge’s orders prohibiting WDAM from broadcasting video of alleged physical abuse of juveniles by the guards responsible for the juveniles’ safety. Raycom Media, Inc. v. Forrest County…
Media Defendants All A-Twitter
By Toby Butterfield The recent decision in Agence France Presse v. Morel, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139103 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2010) (Pauley, J.) highlights the dangers of reproducing or distributing online content found on a website before carefully analyzing and understanding the website’s terms of use agreement. While website terms of use typically include a…
Associated Press and Shepard Fairey Settle Obama “HOPE” Poster Case
The Associated Press and the street artist, Shepard Fairey, who created the Barack Obama “HOPE” poster have agreed to settle their copyright infringement claims against each other. The deal ends a dispute that began in February 2009 when Fairey brought an action in federal court seeking a court declaration that he did not violate AP’s…
Second Circuit Approves Court-Ordered Production of Documentary Film Outtakes
In January 2009, documentary filmmaker Joseph Berlinger released a film entitled “Crude: The Real Price of Oil.” Berlinger’s film details an ongoing Ecuadorian legal battle in which a group of native Ecuadorians allege that Texaco Petroleum Company, a predecessor to Chevron Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Texaco, Inc., dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste into the…
Scripts, Lies & Videogames
MLRC and Southwestern Law School held their 8th Annual Entertainment and Media Law Conference in Los Angeles, California, on January 20. The Conference’s three panels discussed clearance issues for motion pictures, TV programs and video games, libel in fiction cases and vetting programs, and the development and distribution of video games. MLRC thanks the Planning…