Copyright Troll Righthaven Experiences Setback due to District Court’s Grant of Dismissal Motion to Defendant Claiming Fair Use By Jonathan Allred – Edited by Cary Mayberger Righthaven v. Realty One Group, 2:10-cv-1036-LRH-PAL (D. Nev. Oct. 18, 2010) Opinion hosted by the Las Vegas Sun In one of the first rulings to come down in plaintiff Righthaven’s many copyright suits, the District Court of Nevada granted defendant Michael Nelson’s motion to dismiss. Righthaven’s lawsuits are notable because they represent a new ... Read More...
Archive for the ‘Fair Use’ Category
Fifth Circuit Limits DMCA by Distinguishing Circumvention to Access Software and Circumvention to Violate Copyright By Ian B. Brooks – Edited by Helen He MGE UPS Systems, Inc. v. GE Consumer and Indus. Inc., No. 08-10521 (5th Cir. July 20, 2010) Slip Opinion The Fifth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which dismissed MGE UPS Systems Inc.’s (“MGE”) Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) claim against Power Maintenance International, Inc. (“PMI”) and General ... Read More...
By Ian B. Brooks Reality Porn Producers Claim Fair Use in Suit against Record Labels Ars Technica reports that Warner Bros. Records and ten other record music labels have filed suit against porn companies RK Netmedia and RealityKings.com. The record labels allege copyright infringement for the use of their unlicensed songs in hundreds of hardcore pornographic videos. They are seeking the maximum statutory penalty of $150,000 per video. RK Netmedia says it will defend the suit under the fair use ... Read More...
Summary Judgment Entered Against Chuck DeVore on Copyright Claims By Harry Zhou – Edited by Helen He Henley v. DeVore, No. 8:09-cv-00481-JVS-RNB (C.D. Cal. Jun. 10, 2010) Order The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a formal ruling on Musician Don Henley’s copyright and Lanham Act claims against California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Rejecting DeVore’s fair use defense, the court entered summary judgment in favor of Henley on all claims of copyright infringement. Henley’s false endorsement claim ... Read More...
By Kassity Liu Amazon Files Lawsuit to Protect Consumer Privacy On April 19, 2010, online retailer Amazon.com filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Department of Revenue (DOR), asking a federal judge to preempt the DOR’s request for detailed information on consumers’ purchases from the company’s website. CNET and Ars Technica reported that Amazon is pushing back because it believes the DOR’s request violates consumers’ rights under the First Amendment and the Video Privacy Protection Act. In its complaint, Amazon ... Read More...
