The Legal Ethics of Social Networking
By Nicole Hyland[*] Social networking has become so ubiquitous it is easy to forget that it is a relatively recent development. Friendster, considered the “Grandaddy” of social networks, was launched in 2002.[1] 2003 saw the birth of MySpace and LinkedIn.[2] Twitter was launched in 2006, the same year that Facebook became available to the general…
The New Defamation Act 2013 – What Difference Will It Really Make?
By David Hooper, Brid Jordan, Kim Waite and Oliver Murphy The Defamation Act 2013 received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013. The big question for all practitioners and publishers is how much difference will it really make? The key changes, virtually all of which favor defendants, are: The introduction of the test of serious harm…
YouTube Wins Summary Judgment Again in Battle with Viacom
Video Sharing Platform Protected By DMCA Safe Harbor Provision Last month, the Southern District of New York found for YouTube in the latest round of the Viacom v. YouTube copyright litigation. The court held that YouTube was entitled to the DMCA’s safe harbor protection for service providers unless it actually knew of, or was willfully…
Ninth Circuit Affirms that Righthaven Lacks Standing to Pursue Copyright Claims
Declines to Rule on Fair Use Defense Noting that “merely calling someone a copyright owner does not make it so,” the Ninth Circuit this month held that Righthaven, a copyright holding copy, lacked standing to pursue copyright infringement claims. Righthaven LLC v. Hoehn, No. 11-16751, 11-16776, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 9413 (9th Cir. May 9,…
Copyright, Fair Use & Orphan Works
Legal Conundrums in the Use and Misappropriation of Photographs and Visual Images By Mickey H. Osterreicher Copyright is, at its most basic, a property right, that must be assertively protected in order to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their…
D.C. Cir. Affirms Bin Laden Death Photos Exempt From FOIA Disclosure
Photos Properly Withheld to Prevent Violence The District of Columbia Circuit this month held that 52 post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden were properly classified and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Judicial Watch v. Department of Defense, No. 1205317, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 10143 (D.C. Cir. May 21, 2013) (Garland, Rogers,…
Virginia Supreme Court Set to Interpret Cameras-In-Courtroom Law
By Drew E. Shenkman The Virginia Supreme Court is poised to hear the challenge of Virginia Broadcasting Corp. and its station WVIR-TV in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Circuit Court Judge Edward L. Hogshire’s ruling barring cameras from the sentencing hearing in the high-profile murder trial of University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely. In Virginia, electronic-media…
Supreme Court Upholds Virginia’s Citizen-Requester Only FOIA Provision
By Kevin J. Goldberg If someone had taken an exit poll of those leaving the Supreme Court after oral argument in McBurney v. Young, (U.S. April 29, 2013) the only unanimity would be that there was no unanimity. There was split belief as to whether the Virginia FOIA law’s citizen-requesters-only provision would be upheld or…
Hawaii’s Shield Law Set to Lapse on June 30th Under Sunset Provision
Legislature Fails to Agree on Renewal By Jeffrey Portnoy and Gerald Kato Hawaii broke new ground in 2008 when it established a robust shield law which some saw as a model law for federal legislation. Just five years later, though, it is poised to set a precedent that in contrast can only be described as…
Washington State Enacts Uniform Correction and Clarification Law
By Bruce E.H. Johnson, Ambika Doran, and Sarah Duran On May 20, 2013, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law ESB 5236, a version of the Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act (“UCCDA”), which provides incentives to publishers and prospective libel plaintiffs to settle their disputes before litigation. Washington previously had no retraction law,…
Illinois Circuit Court Grants Summary Judgment in “Wrong Picture” Defamation Case
Fair Report Privilege Applied By James A. Klenk and Gregory R. Naron The Circuit Court of Cook County recently entered summary judgment dismissing a “wrong picture” defamation claim on fair report privilege grounds. Buchanan v. ChicagoLand Television News, No. 2012 L 1140 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty.) Background The defendant in Buchanan, ChicagoLand Television News (“CLTV”),…
Texas Supreme Court: Not Defamatory Per Se to Question Doctor’s Truthfulness
In an interesting non-media defamation case between two doctors, the Texas Supreme Court reversed a $175,000 jury damage award, holding that statements accusing plaintiff of being a liar were not defamatory per se and plaintiff was not entitled to damages where there was no proof of actual injury to reputation. Hancock v. Variyam, No. 11-0772…
Texas Newspaper and Source Win Anti-SLAPP Motion on Appeal
The Texas Court of Appeals this month applied the Texas anti-SLAPP statute to dismiss defamation and related claims against a local newspaper and its source. Newspaper Holdings, Inc., et al. v. Crazy Hotel Assisted Living, Ltd., et al., No. 01-12-00581-CV, 2013 Tex. App. Lexis 5407 (Tex. App. May 2, 2013). The court held that a…
Summary Judgment for Chicago Tribune in Mistaken Identity Defamation Case
Lack of Evidence of Actual Malice By James A. Klenk and Gregory R. Naron The Circuit Court of Cook County granted summary judgment dismissing a defamation claim against the Chicago Tribune and two of its reporters on actual malice grounds. The case, Rivera v. Gibson, et al., No. 2011 L 008228 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty.)…
New York Court Dismisses Libel and Related Claims Against Vanity Fair
Plaintiff Failed to Plead Falsity or Fault; Other Statements Opinion or Not Defamatory A New York trial court held in March that the widow of famous fashion designer Oleg Cassini could not recover damages for libel and emotional distress against Vanity Fair over an article that profiled her husband and discussed their relationship. Cassini v….
Court Grants Summary Judgment in Libel Case Arising Out of Michael Lewis’s The Big Short
By Paul J. Safier On March 29, 2013, Judge George B. Daniels of the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to all defendants in the libel suit arising out of Michael Lewis’s best-selling book on the origins of the 2008 financial crisis, The Big Short: Inside The Doomsday Machine. Chau v. Lewis, 2013…
Bomb Bystander’s False Light Fizzles
TV Reenactment Was Accurate and Not Defamatory By Steve Mandell, Steve Baron, and Natalie Harris Discovery Communications, LLC’s Investigation Discovery Network (“Discovery”) broadcasts the “Wicked Attraction” docudrama series featuring the true stories of seemingly ordinary people who, as a result of some wicked attraction, join together to commit heinous crimes. The “Lust for Life” episode…
Washington Supreme Court Reinstates Libel Damage Award Over Communism Allegation
Statement Held Not Opinion or Protected Political Speech By Judith Endejan The long tail of the Vietnam War produced an interesting decision from the Washington Supreme Court that reinstated a jury verdict for plaintiffs accused of being undercover Viet Cong agents. On May 9, 2013, the Washington Supreme Court issued Duc Tan vs. Le, 300…
Third Circuit Reinstates Right of Publicity Suit Over NCAA Football Video Game
By Nathan Siegel In a closely-watched case, the Third Circuit adopted the “transformative use” test to balance the competing interests of the right of publicity and the First Amendment. Hart v. Electronic Arts, Inc., 2013 WL 2161317 (3d Cir., May 21, 2013). Applying that test, a divided panel held that Electronic Arts’ (“EA”) NCAA Football…
Sixth Annual Legal Frontiers in Digital Media Conference
On May 16 & 17, 2013, MLRC, in conjunction with Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet & Society, held its sixth annual conference focusing on the legal issues surrounding digital publishing. This year’s conference, which was co-chaired by Tim Alger, Perkins Coie and Mark Kahn, Evernote, was held at a beautiful new facility at Stanford…
MediaLawLetter May 2013
Download Publication MLRC Sixth Annual Legal Frontiers in Digital Media ConferenceManaging a Data Breach, Privacy Class Actions, IP and Business Issues, Perspectives from Venture Capitalists and more LIBEL & PRIVACY 3d Cir.: Court Reinstates Right of Publicity Suit Over NCAA Football Video GameUse Was Not Transformative to Defeat ClaimHart v. Electronic Arts Wash.: Court Reinstates…