“Yankees Suck” Trademarked

… according to The Onion. If my calculations are correct, I owe the Evil Empire approximately $9268.65 plus statutory interest. Coincidentally, this is roughly the same amount as an order of nachos and a domestic beer costs at the new Yankee Stadium.

“Interactive media is the next wave,” Cashman said. “With our upcoming mobile phone apps [...]

Civ Pro / Fed Courts Blog

My colleague and friend Robin Effron, along with Adam Steinman (a colleague of Tim’s) and Cynthia Fountaine of Texas Wesleyan, has launched the Civil Procedure & Federal Courts Blog. Not only is Robin an expert on civ pro, but she also has the only set of major philosopher action figures I’ve ever seen…
Update: The action [...]

Judge Issues Lori Drew Opinion

This isn’t exactly fast-breaking news, but since I wrote a long post last year about the Lori Drew case and then noted the judge’s decision to rescind her conviction, I wanted to point out that the judge has now issued a written opinion explaining his reasoning. Eric Goldman has some cogent analysis. Like [...]

Invasion of the Copyright Parasites

I still subscribe to my local newspaper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, in dead-tree form. One evening in early August, just before my vacation, as I perused the ever-shrinking opinion page, my eye ran across this headline: “MEDIA, OLD AND NEW ‘FREE-RIDING’ AND COPYRIGHT.” The authors, Dan and David Marburger, argue that news [...]

Is $22,500 Per Song Unconstitutional?

The guns in RIAA v. Tenenbaum have gone temporarily silent; now, there’s post-game analysis and preparations for the next phase: challenging the jury’s award of $675,000 in damages ($22,500 per song, at 30 songs). Ben Sheffner’s Billboard column gives a great summary of the fight. Tenenbaum’s side will claim that the Copyright Act’s statutory damages [...]

Did the Tenenbaum Judge Botch It?

As you know, Joel Tenenbaum lost against the RIAA and is now on the hook for $675,000, pending a hearing on the constitutionality of those damages. Several lawyers I’ve talked with have suggested that Judge Nancy Gertner, who presided over the trial, committed reversible error by issuing a directed verdict on the question of infringement. [...]

Tenenbaum Liable for Copyright Infringement

Update [31 July 6:50PM]: $22,500 per work; $675,000 total. More than I expected. Props to Wendy Seltzer and Mark Lemley for the update. Link is to Ben Sheffner’s write-up in Ars Technica…
The judge in the copyright infringement lawsuit against Joel Tenenbaum has issued a directed verdict on the issue of infringement liability. The only remaining [...]

Fair Use Out in Tenenbaum Case

Copyrights and Campaigns has the breaking story. Wow. My initial take is that the outcome is correct – fair use just doesn’t cover what Tenenbaum did – but I need to read the summary judgment order for a more thoughtful analysis. This is fascinating stuff.

NYLS Launches Google Book Settlement Wiki

James Grimmelmann and a team of students at New York Law School have launched an elaborate web site called “The Public Index” to facilitate conversation about the proposed settlement of the Google Book litigation. As the site’s home page explains:

Here, you can browse and annotate the proposed settlement, section-by-section. … In addition, you can:

Study our [...]

Mickey Kaus Discovers Section 230

Yep, it’s all Section 230, all the time here at Info/Law! Makes for a nice change from filtering. Mickey Kaus writes about the threat by Sarah Palin’s attorney to sue anyone defaming her, and also those who republish such defamation. He’s astonished to learn that Section 230 could shield him and other bloggers. (I’d presume [...]

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