Balough
December 14, 2013
Freelancers who failed to register their works cannot be awarded damages in a proposed class action settlement, a federal appeals court ruled. The Second Circuit affirmed the long-standing rule that before an author can recover damages for copyright infringement, the work must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. As a result, the court threw […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A New York judge should be removed from office after two hours of “inexplicable madness” when he jailed almost everyone in his courtroom in an ill-fated attempt to find a cell phone, a judicial conduct panel recommended. In an episode resembling an action by Captain Queeg, a domestic violence judge in Niagara Falls revoked the […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
An Illinois appellate court judge has questioned whether the courts should continue to require employers to show a “legitimate business interest” before a non-compete convenant is enforced. Under current Illinois cases, a covenant not to compete will only be enforced if the restriction protects a legitimate business interest of the employer. In a concurring opinion, […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A Florida-based website that targeted the Chicago market and received payment based on the number of clicks on each hyperlink can be sued in Illinois. U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Norgle found Domain Magic, LLC’s website www.chicagoarchitecturefoundation.org misappropriated the website of an Illinois corporation for its own gain. “By purposefully reaching out to the […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
The Spamhaus Project waived its right to contest a default judgment concerning its designation of e360 Insight as a spammer. Based on the evidence, however, the trial court went too far in awarding e360 over $11 million in damages and entering an injunction restricting Spamhaus from designating e360 as a spammer in the future. The […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A person who had Circuit City install a new DVD drive on his computer waived any right to privacy when the store found child pornography during a test of the new system, a Pennsylvania appellate court found. The ruling reversed the trial court’s suppression of the results of a search of Kenneth Sodomsky’s computer that […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Attorneys in New York will be able to advertise using pop-ups on other websites, a New York federal district court ruled. A total ban on pop-up advertising for lawyers on websites other than the firm’s own website violates the First Amendment because the state failed to show that regulation of pop-up advertising was any more […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A publisher who worked with a hedge fund to write negative reports on Overstock.com may be sued for defamation. A California appellate court found that Overstock.com, Inc., alleged sufficient facts to overcome a motion to dismiss the complaint based upon California’s SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) statute. Overstock.com claims in its lawsuit that Gradient […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Perfect 10 didn’t score a 10 in appealing its case against Google, but the search engine giant may be contibuting to copyright infringement, the court said. Perfect 10, Inc. markets and sells copyrighted images of nude models on its website. Its members pay a monthly fee to view the images. Google, Inc., through its search […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A roommate matching website that gives users pull down menu options with prelisted preferences may be liable for violating the Fair Housing Act, the court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled. The court said because Roommates.com, operated by Roommate.com, LLC, provides menu options that include preferences for age, gender, and whether children will […]
