That appears to be the opinion of Magistrate Judge David Noce in United States v. Robinson, No. 4:11-cr-00361 (D. Mo. Dec. 27, 2011), who ruled that GPS tracking of a public official suspected of having a no-show municipal job did not require a warrant. This is, of course, the
An Old Wine – New Bottles Analogy Leads to Dismissal of Indictment for Alleged Twitter Stalking
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
The Twitter micro-blogging service is just like the bulletin boards that Colonial Americans might have had in their front yards to communicate with one another at the time the Bill of Rights was adopted, said a federal district court judge in United States v. Cassidy, No. TWT 11-091 (D.
Who Owns an Employee’s Twitter and Other Online Accounts?
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
In this era of multiple online communication channels, and in an environment of increased employee mobility, employers need to focus on the legal and practical ways of securing their ownership of online company accounts that are registered or otherwise created by employees or contractors. In the three cases discussed below,…
Service Provider’s Intent in Removing Positive Reviews Irrelevant in Assessing Availability of CDA Section 230 Protection
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
A lawsuit against consumer review site Yelp! has yielded an opinion that demonstrates the breadth of the protection afforded interactive service providers under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In Levitt v. Yelp! Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124082 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 26, 2011), a group of putative…
Ninth Circuit Will Rehear Important Employee Data Theft Case under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
On October 27, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed to rehear the appeal in United States v. Nosal, 642 F.3d 781 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2011). Nosal involves a prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for alleged employee theft of confidential…
Novell Prevails in Long-Running Dispute over Ownership of UNIX Copyrights – And Open Source Software Moves On
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
The dispute between The SCO Group and Novell, Inc. over the ownership of copyrights in the code to certain versions of the UNIX operating system, which started eight years ago, appears to have been handed its retirement papers by the Tenth Circuit. Yesterday, on the case’s second visit to the…
Hurricane Irene Storms Through Force Majeure Provisions
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
Update: A little over a year after Hurricane Irene blew through, Hurricane Sandy dealt a devastating blow to the Eastern Seaboard. And our advice remains the same: review of force majeure clauses is in order, first to assess their implications for the current crisis, and for the long term, to…
New York High Court Splits on Applicability of Communications Decency Act Section 230 to Online Forum Operator
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
A divided New York Court of Appeals ruled on June 14, 2011, that an online forum administrator’s additions to an allegedly defamatory post by a user are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Shiamili v. The Real Estate Group of New York, Inc., No. 105, (N.Y.
Federal Lawsuit Alleges Infringement of Minors’ New York Right of Publicity by Facebook “Like” and “Friend Finder” Features
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
In what may represent a new wave in an interesting challenge to the viral nature of social media marketing, a recently filed putative class action asserts a right of publicity claim against Facebook in connection with the service’s “Like” and “Friend Finder” features.
J.N. v. Facebook, Inc., No. 11-cv-2128 (E.D.N.Y.)…
Ninth Circuit Panel Says Employee Violation of Employer Computer Use Policy Can Support CFAA Criminal Charge
By Jeffrey Neuburger on
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that an employee’s violation of an employer’s computer use policy can support a criminal charge of exceeding authorized access under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. United States v. Nosal, No. 10-10038 (9th Cir. Apr.…