Balough
June 25, 2014
Streaming television programs on request via the Internet using a remote antenna is a direct infringement of the program’s copyright, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, reversing an appellate court that found the practice did not violate the U.S. Copyright Act. The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision said Aereo, Inc.’s practice was no different than […]
Balough
June 18, 2014
It’s elementary, says Judge Posner. Because the copyrights have expired, there is no protection of early Sherlock Holmes stories. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment finding that the proposed publication of a sequel to an anthology consisting of “stories written by modern authors but inspired by, and in most instances depicting, the […]
Balough
June 17, 2014
A Cincinnati BenGals cheerleader cannot sue a website that hosted allegedly defamatory posts about her, even though the website edited and added comments about the posts, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s finding that the website was not immune under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) […]
Balough
June 16, 2014
A lawsuit between two competitors over the labeling of a pomegranate-blueberry juice blend may proceed under the Lanham Act and is not precluded by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the U.S. Supreme Court found. The decision reverses both the trial court and appellate court, which found that POM Wonderful LLC could not […]
Balough
May 15, 2014
Google, as well as other search engines operating in the European Union, must delete old search results when requested by an individual under the right to be forgotten doctrine, the European Union’s highest court ruled. The European Court of Justice granted a request by a Spanish citizen that Google erase from its search results connected […]
Balough
April 15, 2014
Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner is no second banana to the Banana Lady. Not only did Judge Posner write an opinion affirming the dismissal of the Banana Lady’s copyright infringement lawsuit, but he also pealed back her long history of filing frivolous lawsuits and failure to pay judgments against her. Catherine Conrad is a self-employed […]
Balough
March 21, 2014
The Illinois Supreme Court found in two separate cases that the state’s eavesdropping statute is unconstitutional. The statute makes it illegal to use an “eavesdropping device” to hear or record any conversation without the consent of all parties to the conversation. It also makes it illegal to use or divulge the conversation obtained using the […]
Balough
March 17, 2014
An advertising campaign soliciting former dental patents as potential clients for a law firm is commercial speech, which is not protected under the Texas anti-SLAPP statute. The law firm, Mauze & Bagby, P.L.L.C. (M&B) “ran television, radio, and internet advertisements and developed a website that strongly implied, or even accused, Kool Smiles of performing unnecessary, […]
Balough
March 9, 2014
A federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a defamation case against television court commentator Nancy Grace for her comment about Michael Skakel, whose murder conviction was overturned and who is awaiting retrial, during a segment of Grace’s program. The court found the pleadings show the statement that Skakel’s DNA was found at the murder […]
Balough
March 4, 2014
An actress’s brief appearance in an anti-Islamic film may be copyrightable, entitling the actress to an injunction requiring Google to remove the film from YouTube, the Ninth Circuit found. Cindy Garcia was cast in a minor role in a film called “Desert Warrior,” an Arabian adventure film. She was paid $500 and read from four […]
