The Legal Satyricon

First Amendment vs. Disabilities Act

Charles Platt — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:40:01 +0000

(From Charles Platt) Is this a real threat, or just posturing? The ADA has already been extended far beyond the areas in which is was first designed to apply. I can certainly imagine regulations compelling web sites to be “equally accessible” to the disabled. Discussion here. Filed under: copyright, culture, discrimination, domain names, misc

Jonas Williams: If you are a process server, you damn well better not lie on your service affidavit

marcorandazza — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:07:52 +0000

This is, in the grand scheme of things, not a very important case. However, to a lot of people, it might be. There was a process server operating in San Diego by the name of Jonas Williams. Instead of actually serving the people he was asked to, he just signed the affidavits of service as […]

Rakofsky v. The Internet – LINK FIXED

marcorandazza — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:22:33 +0000

The long saga of Rakofsky v. The Internet is over (at least for now). The Order is here. Stay tuned, I’d imagine that there will be an appeal. The order is a bit soft, but the findings of fact are devastating. Filed under: misc

Rakofsky v. The Internet ORDER

marcorandazza — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:11:06 +0000

The long saga of Rakofsky v. The Internet is over (at least for now). The Order is here. Stay tuned, I’d imagine that there will be an appeal. ORDER UPDATED Filed under: misc

9th Circuit rules – Righthaven is dead, finally. Righthaven v. Hoehn

marcorandazza — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:55:55 +0000

The order speaks for itself – and here it is. Filed under: misc

The New Victorians Strike Campus Yet Again (VIDEO)

Laura Tucker — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:29:40 +0000

By Greg Lukianoff While they are rightfully accused of being hyper-politically correct, college campuses these days sometimes seem downright Victorian. Take, for example, the case of Isaac Rosenbloom, a student whose quest to complete college so he could become a paramedic was nearly ended after he complained to another student about an assignment after class. […]

Mutually Assured (Asset) Destruction

J DeVoy — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 00:31:58 +0000

By J. DeVoy The maxim of “if I can’t have [something], then no one will” is childish, but very effective in estate planning disputes. To demonstrate this point, we’ll use a hypothetical where you’re a child of parent with inheritable assets, and have an all-around inferior sibling – albeit one whom your parents insist they […]

As If You Need More Reasons To Hate Baby Boomers

J DeVoy — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:47:14 +0000

By J. DeVoy A recent report published by U.S. Trust, Bank of America’s private wealth management wing, reveals the Baby Boomers’ disturbing and ahistorical views about leaving behind an inheritance for their survivors. From the report’s key findings section: only about half (55 percent) of Baby Boomers think it is important to leave a financial […]

U.S. Supreme Court passes on Thomas-Rasset Case

J DeVoy — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:15:20 +0000

By J. DeVoy The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman famously sued by the RIAA (sub nom Capitol Records) in 2006 during its multi-year litigation campaign. Thomas-Rasset has already gone through three trials and numerous appeals in this matter, and currently faces a judgment of $220,000 […]

A Jesuit Named Francis

J DeVoy — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:57:23 +0000

By J. DeVoy The new pope is something of a mind-bender for products of Catholic education. Explaining why takes some time, though. Jorge Bergoglio is a member of the Jesuit order, commonly known as the “Society of Jesus,” which came into existence in the late 1500′s. (The term “Society of Jesus” previously referred to a […]

Alleged Copyright Troll’s Day in Court

Jay Wolman — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:10:35 +0000

No matter your opinion on U.S. copyright law, it is the law of the land. Copying a work without consent may be unlawful and subject the copier to damages. On this blog, and others, we’ve seen instances of legitimate and illegitimate copyright claims. An entirely separate issue is the manner by which copyright claims are […]

Alleged Copyright Troll Sues Critics

Jay Wolman — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:37:18 +0000

By Jay Wolman In a page out of Rakofsky vs. The Internet, it appears that one of the law firms and attorney groups frequently criticized as representing copyright trolls, Paul Duffy, John Steele, and Prenda Law, has gone on the offense against its critics. More details here: http://phillylawblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/prenda-law-john-steele-and-paul-duffy-file-suit-against-alan-cooper-his-lawyer-paul-goodfread-and-anonymous-john-does/ Here: http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2013/03/04/copyright-trolls-prenda-law-paul-duffy-and-john-steele-commence-three-lawsuits-v-paul-godfread-alan-cooper-and-our-community/ and here: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130303/23353022182/prenda-law-sues-critics-defamation.shtml copies of […]

Shameless Plug – Professional Attire

J DeVoy — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 22:45:49 +0000

By J. DeVoy A short while ago, a fellow member of the bar asked me if something he was planning to wear looked “like shit.” I don’t know. Probably. It’s not an uncommon problem for professionals like accountants, journalists, lawyers, engineers, and others in research positions who subordinate style to substance. Rather than ask someone […]

Drones and Privacy Rights

Jay Wolman — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:23:57 +0000

By Jay Wolman Shameless plug: I appeared on Fox 25 Boston last night discussing issues relating to privacy rights and personal use drones that take surveillance video. Link to the article, with video, is here: http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/21202581/2013/02/14/privacy-concerns-rise-as-personal-drone-market-expands And a companion piece I wrote: http://www.bostonbusinesslitigation.com/technology/unmanned-drones-and-the-right-to-privacy/ Filed under: awesomeness, life, right of publicity, tech news

The American Conservative on Copyright Reform

J DeVoy — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:29:47 +0000

By J. DeVoy Following up on the leaked Republican Study Committee report on copyright law reform from a few months ago, The American Conservative offers this analysis on the political right’s flirtation with scaling back certain copyright protections, such as the duration of copyright and statutory damages of up to $150,000 that can be wielded […]