Pinterest is the hot hot hot social media site that lets users create online “pinboards” of interesting or inspiring images. Although users may upload their own images to their pinboards, Pinterest emphasizes the pinning of images from third-party Web sites through the use of inline links. This of course generates yet a new series of… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: dmca
Logo, Copyright Notice and Link on Web Site Constitute “Copyright Management Information” under DMCA
Posted in CopyrightThe "copyright management" provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1202, prohibits the provision or dissemination of copyright management information that is false, as well as the removal or alteration of copyright management information. An issue that has divided federal courts is whether the scope of this section is limited to digital… Continue Reading
Facebook Takes a Page from Ticketmaster’s Playbook: Block Unauthorized Web Site Access with Carefully Drafted Terms of Use
Posted in Contracts, CopyrightIn 2007, Ticketmaster brought a multi-count complaint against RMG Technologies, a software company that supplied ticket brokers with software that enabled them to automatically and rapidly access Ticketmaster’s Web site, to the detriment of ordinary users seeking tickets to popular events. The Ticketmaster v. RMG complaint was notable for stating a series of claims that… Continue Reading
Want Some Hot News? AP Hot News Case against Online News Aggregator Survives Motion to Dismiss
Posted in Online ContentThe cause of action for misappropriation of reports of breaking news, i.e., "hot news" misappropriation, has been around for going on a century, since the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in International News Service v. Associated Press, 248 U.S. 215 (1918). In that landmark case the Court recognized a "quasi property" right in such reports on… Continue Reading