MediaLawLetter May 2008

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MLRC

MLRC – Stanford Conference Explores Digital Publishing and Distribution Issues
Legal Frontiers in Digital Media

Ethics Corner: Further Thoughts on the In-Firm Attorney-Client Privilege

LEGISLATION

New York: New York State Enacts Libel Terrorism Protection Act
Foreign Libel Judgments Must Meet First Amendment Standards to be Enforced in New York

Congress: Federal Bill Introduced to Limit Enforcement of Foreign Defamation Judgments

Congress: Legislative Update: Libel Tourism Visits Capitol Hill, While Media
Ownership Gets Its Day in the Senate

INTERNET

D.N.H.: State Right of Publicity Claims Are Not Barred by Section 230
Court Holds All Intellectual Property Claims Outside the Scope of Statute
Doe v. Friendfinder Network

S.D. W. Va.: National Guard Photo Leads to New Decision on Privacy, Publicity and the CDA
Curran v. Amazon.com

C.D. Cal.: Women Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case
Criminal Charges Hinge on Violating Website’s Terms of Use
United States v. Drew

N.Y.: Grand Jury DA Required to Testify to Support Grand Jury Subpoena
Seeking Identity of Internet Poster

LIBEL & PRIVACY

Cal. App.: Court Strikes Down Prior Restraint in Online Defamation and Privacy Case
Pretrial Injunction Constitutionally Invalid
Evans v. Evans

La. App.: Court Strikes Prior Restraint Against Author and Publisher
Plaintiff Claimed Short Stories Revealed Confidential Patient Information
Association for Retarded Citizens / Ouachita v. Wilson and Aventine Press

1st Cir.: First Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Soldier’s Fahrenheit 9/11 Libel Claim
Damon v. Moore

Cal. App.: Court of Appeal Affirms Dismissal of Trade Libel Complaint
Supports Broad Opinion Protection; Rejects Survey Evidence on Defamatory Meaning
Simpson Strong-Tie Co. v. Gore

N.D.: Court Applies Actual Malice Rule in Case by Promoter of Family Law Initiatives
Public Figure Plaintiff Failed to Show Actual Malice
Riemers v. Mahar

Ga. Super. Ct.: Georgia’s Anti-SLAPP Statute Applied in Media Case
First Published Decision Applying Statute to Media Defendant
Boxcar Development Corp., et al. v. New World Communications of Atlanta

REPORTER’S PRIVILEGE

Hawai’i: Hawai’i Enacts Reporters’ Shield Law
New Law Protects Confidential Sources and Unpublished Information

Maine: Maine Enacts Shield Law to Protect Journalists’ Confidential Sources

Ariz. App.: Arizona Court Upholds Reporter’s Privilege in Confidential Source Case
News Broadcast About Tire Safety Problems
Flores v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

N.D. Ga.: Georgia Federal Court Orders CNN to Disclose Unaired Footage
Court Rejects In Camera Review on Request for Reconsideration
Flynn v. Roanoke Companies Group

Minn. Dist. Ct.: Guilty Plea in Minnesota Criminal Libel Case; Indictments in Wisconsin, Louisiana
Minnesota v. Klebel, Wisconsin v. Meyer, Wisconsin v. Schultz, Wisconsin v. Phillips, State v. Simmons

INTERNATIONAL

Argentina: Journalist Wins Case Before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Argentina Ordered to Amend its Criminal Defamation Laws
Kimel v. Argentina

England: Court of Appeal Rules in Favor of JK Rowling on Photo Privacy Claim
Photos Taken on Street an Invasion of Privacy
Murray v. Big Picture (UK) Limited

NEWSGATHERING

South Daktoa: News Groups Successfully Challenge South Dakota Restrictions on Exit Polling
State Will Allow Exit Polling Near Voting Sites

S.D.N.Y, E.D.N.Y.: A Few Federal Courts Allow Cameras In
Status of Cameras in the Courts: State and Federal