MediaLawLetter March 2010
NEWSGATHERING
S.D.N.Y.: Financial Services Firms Win “Hot News” Misappropriation Case
Defendant Free Riding on Plaintiffs’ Financial Recommendations
Barclays Capital v. Theflyonthewall.com
LIBEL & PRIVACY
MLRC Bulletin Examines Media Trials and Damages
Increasing media victory rate; decreasing punitive awards
Mass. Sup. Ct.: Massachusetts Newspaper Wins Public Official Libel Trial
Some Lessons from a Libel Trial
Riley v. Enterprise Publ’g Co.
Ala. Cir. Ct.: Alabama Newspaper Wins Summary Judgment in Public Official Libel Case
Statements Substantially True; Opinion or Made Without Actual Malice
Little v. Consolidated Publ’g Co.
E.D. Va.: Magazine Wins Summary Judgment in Claim by Anti-Vaccine Advocate
Assertion That Opponent in Science Debate “Lies” is Not Actionable
Arthur v. Offit
E.D. La.: Court Grants Newspaper’s Anti-SLAPP Motion in Katrina Libel Case
Article Did Not Accuse Plaintiff of Wrongdoing
Armington v. Fink et al.
N.D. Tex.: Federal Court Finds Imputation of Homosexuality Defamatory
Statements on Radio Show Not Satire as a Matter of Law
Robinson v. Radio One, Inc.
Cal. App.: Section 230 Immunity Applies to Forwarded Email
Cover Note Not a Material Contribution to Alleged Defamatory Email
Phan v. Pham
Cal.: Proposed Amendment to Right of Publicity Statute Would Harm Media
Adds Insult to Injury in the Guise of Protecting Minors
A.B. 2480
Congress: Senate Hears Testimony on Legislative Solutions to Libel Tourism
Are Foreign Libel Suits Chilling Americans’ First Amendment Rights?
H.R. 2765; S. 449
COMMERCIAL SPEECH
U.S.; 2nd; 9th: Three Significant Commercial Speech Decisions
Debt Relief Agency Rules; Attorney Advertising; No Brothel Ads in Nevada
Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz v. U.S.; Alexander v. Cahill; Coyote Pub. v. Miller
COPYRIGHT
U.S.: Supreme Court Reverses Second Circuit (and 200 Other Cases) Holds Copyright Registration Mandatory But Not Jurisdictional
Reed Elsevier v. Muchnick
Fed. Cir.: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to Postal Service: “Lick That!”
Reverses Fair Use Finding, Despite Dissent
Gaylord v. U.S.
ACCESS
2nd Cir.: Holds That the Fed Must Disclose Borrowers and Loan Terms
Information Not Exempt as Privileged or Confidential
Bloomberg LP v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Fla.: Florida Courts Crawl Toward the Digital Age
New Rule on Access to Court Records
In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration
S.D. Tex.: Update: Court Enters Permanent Injunction Requiring Texas Clerk to Provide Same-Day Access to Civil Court Filings
Courthouse News Service v. Jackson
INTERNATIONAL
ECHR: MLRC Joins Media Amicus Brief in Max Mosley Privacy Case
Opposes Claim that Media Must Give Prior Notice to Subjects of Articles
Mosley v. United Kingdom
NEW MEDIA
N.D. Ill.: Testing the Limits of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
Does the Law Apply to Text Messaging?
Abbas v. Selling Source
ETHICS
Putting the Genie Back
What to Do When Your Client Has Stolen Documents
Model Rule 4.4.; Model Rule 8.4