Google Ordered to Remove All Copies of Anti-Islamic Film From YouTube After Actress With Bit Part Threatened by Outraged Muslims; Decision Puzzles Copyright Attorneys
- An aspiring actress moves to California and finds her life threatened. While standard fare for pulp fiction, the case of Garcia v. Google involves a twist on this well-worn plot line that not even the most imaginative Hollywood scriptwriter could invent. Cindy Lee Garcia... ›
Social Media 2014: Addressing Corporate Risks
Please join Socially Aware editor John Delaney as he chairs Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) “Social Media 2014: Addressing Corporate Risks.” Issues to be addressed at the conference include: Social media: how it works, and why it is transforming the business world Drafting and updating... ›Whose @SunValley Is It?
Readers of our blog may remember Leonard Barshack as the co-founder of Bigfoot , a popular Internet mail forwarding service that launched in 1995. Barshack, a resident of Sun Valley, Idaho, recently became well-known once again for his role as plaintiff in Barshack v.... ›Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
If you want to use those pictures you found on Twitter, beware. A federal judge in New York recently held that taking photos from Twitter to use for a commercial purpose infringes the photographer’s copyrights. On January 14, 2013, Judge Alison Nathan ruled that... ›Be Wary of Sharing: Anonymous P2P User’s Motion to Quash Subpoena Denied
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing system that enables the quick downloading of large files, has sparked another novel controversy stemming from copyright-infringement claims brought against its users. Users take advantage of the BitTorrent sharing system to anonymously access popular media such as books and... ›Google AdWords Decision Highlights Contours of the CDA Section 230 Safe Harbor
In a string of cases against Google, approximately 20 separate plaintiffs have claimed that, through advertisements on its AdWords service, Google engaged in trademark infringement. These claims have been based on Google allowing its advertisers to use their competitors’ trademarks in Google-generated online advertisements.... ›Born to Mock: Trademark Holder’s Fight to Remove Mark on Kitsch Merchandise May Have Broad Legal Implications
By: Jessica Kaufman
Popular online marketplace CafePress.com suffered a legal setback recently when a U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York denied CafePress’s motion for summary judgment against claims of trademark infringement. CafePress operates an online “print on demand” service that allows users to... ›The Potential Perils of Posting Pictures (on Social Media)
In today’s information economy, content owners are faced with a challenging decision regarding digital content. On the one hand, the viral nature of social media can mean unprecedented exposure as digital content is shared. On the other, that opportunity can come with significant legal... ›Caveat Emptor, Part II: A Brief Overview of Twitter’s Terms of Service and Related Documents
In our September 2010 issue of Socially Aware , we provided a brief overview of Facebook’s “ Statement of Rights and Responsibilities ,” the social media service’s complex set of terms and conditions that companies frequently “click-accept” with little review (often, in a rush... ›District Court Considers Value of Twitter Account
“Man, what do I write here? And what’s it going to be valued at?” So read Noah Kravitz’s Twitter profile soon after Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California denied Kravitz’s motion to dismiss a number of claims brought against him... ›