Media & Communications Law

1st Circuit Nixes Webcast of RIAA Hearing

Ruling on a writ of mandamus seeking to quash a federal judge’s plan to allow a gavel-to-gavel webcast of a hearing in a hard-fought case over music downloading, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held today that a webcast falls squarely within an existing ban on cameras in…

Apr 16, 2009 9:16 PM CDT

‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman Seeks Trademark of Tabloid Moniker

The controversial California woman who gave birth to octuplets earlier this year has decided to embrace the moniker with which she is often identified in supermarket tabloids and celebrity gossip magazines. Late last week, Nadya Suleman filed two applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking rights to “Octomom,”…

Apr 15, 2009 9:49 PM CDT

Fertility Docs’ Partnership Dispute Involves Phony Patient Claims

At least one female private detective had an ultrasound exam of her uterus and ovaries. Meanwhile, a physician submitted his own sperm sample to a medical rival. It was all part of a hard-fought six-year legal battle between competing fertility specialists who once a lucrative partnership together, reports the Los…

Apr 13, 2009 6:24 PM CDT

Blogger Gears Up for Legal Battle Over Goldman Sachs Critique

A major Wall Street investment bank has apparently retained a well-known New York City-based law firm in an effort to curtail a blogger’s critical posts. But blogger Mike Morgan says he isn’t intimidated by the cease-and-desist letter he recently received from Chadbourne & Parke concerning his blog, Facts about Goldman…

Apr 10, 2009 6:25 PM CDT

1st Circuit Mulls Plan to Webcast Hearing in RIAA Music Downloading Case

Does webcasting court proceedings violate the traditional rule against cameras in the courtroom? And, if so, should the traditional rule be relaxed? That is the issue that the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is now expected to decide on an expedited basis, after a U.S. District Court judge…

Apr 10, 2009 12:49 AM CDT

Google Lawyer Says Search Engine is Good for Struggling Newspapers

As executives at major metropolitan newspapers futilely struggle to replace disappearing ad sales from their paper editions with Internet-driven revenue, one Google lawyer says the newspapers should think of the search engine behemoth as helpful, not hurtful. Google drives a lot of traffic to newspaper websites, “whether news sources choose…

Apr 9, 2009 10:11 PM CDT

Sarah Palin Retains Obama’s Attorney, Seeks 7-Figure Book Deal(s)

Seeking to implement a game plan reminiscent of the one that helped catapult Barack Obama into the White House, former vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has retained Washington, D.C., attorney Robert Barnett to help her market a book deal that could net a seven-figure advance. Barnett is the…

Apr 6, 2009 10:28 PM CDT

Consumer Group Sues Over Fla. Bar’s Client Testimonial Ban

A consumer group has sued the Florida Bar on behalf of an attorney who was told client testimonials on a third-party website violated the state’s lawyer advertising rules. The prohibition, which Boca Raton attorney Joel Rothman unsuccessfully appealed to the Florida Bar Board of Governors, prevents him from participating in…

Apr 2, 2009 7:35 PM CDT

Judge Orders Reporter Not to Print Name of Victim

A California newspaper plans to file a complaint with the state Commission on Judicial Performance after a superior court judge ordered a reporter not to print the name of a victim who testified in court. The prior restraint drew immediate criticism from First Amendment advocates who said the order was…

Apr 1, 2009 5:54 PM CDT

Despite Defamation Suit, Courtney Love Twitters On

What a news agency describes as “online rants” have landed singer Courtney Love in court. Love is being sued in California by an Austin, Texas, fashion designer known as Boudoir Queen, for allegedly posting defamatory material about the plaintiff on Twitter and MySpace, reports the Associated Press. The Los Angeles…

Mar 27, 2009 8:45 PM CDT

Judge’s Ultimatum to Prosecutors: Name Crime Victims, or Cases Will Be Dismissed

A Minnesota judge fed up with cases coming to her without names of crime victims has ordered prosecutors to produce fully identified. Initials won’t do. Excluded from her ruling are cases involving juveniles or victims of sex crimes. However, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Judge Margaret Marrinan, of…

Mar 25, 2009 5:30 PM CDT

Golfer John Daly Loses Libel Suit; Newspaper May Seek Defense Costs

After four years of litigation, a Florida newspaper and its columnist, Mike Freeman, have won a libel suit filed against them by pro golfer John Daly over a 2005 column that discussed his alleged “thug-life qualifications.” (They reportedly included that he had been accused of domestic violence and that he…

Mar 24, 2009 5:11 PM CDT

FOX News Sues SEC Over FOIA Requests

Seeking information about just how long the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might have been aware of possible problems involving R. Allen Stanford and the companies he operated, FOX Business Network filed an expedited Freedom of Information Act request seeking related records in late February. Now FOX News Network LLC…

Mar 23, 2009 7:03 PM CDT

Law & Order ‘Fiction’ is Eerily Like Actual Cases, Crime Victims Say

A year after a judge denied a motion to dismiss, an unusual “libel in fiction” case filed against the popular Law & Order television show by a New York lawyer is still awaiting trial. Revolving around a murder and a judicial bribery scandal, the 2003 episode Floater libeled him because…

Mar 16, 2009 11:31 PM CDT

New Texts Give Insider Litigation Peeks as Ex-Mayor of Detroit Seeks $100M

Ever wondered what was in former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s mind during the infamous text-message debacle? His oversight of a now-former city police official’s complaint of unfair treatment was, of course, handled in a manner that eventually put the mayor himself in jail for a short time. Some 6,000 newly…

Mar 10, 2009 2:24 AM CDT