News & Media
Blogger’s ‘legalize rape’ rally canceled
“This guy is no more advocating rape or even seriously advocating changing the rape laws than Johnny Depp is really a pirate,” said Marc Randazza, First Amendment Attorney. Randazza believes Roosh V.’s opinion on legalizing rape on private property is just a publicity stunt. Roosh V. published an article on his website claiming if rape became legal; women would make better decisions about who they go home with, but he said that was satire. Satire or not, the article is making its rounds on social media and causing outrage. A lot of people say the blogger’s views are nothing but
Super Bowling for Dollars
by Jay Marshall Wolman Yesterday, on Twitter (yes, I’m on Twitter @wolmanj), I shared an article by Mike Masnick from 2012 regarding the myth of the Big Game/Super Bowl nomenclature. It seems the issue is still a popular one on Techdirt. Here’s the thing–the 9th Circuit laid out a nice test for nominative fair use: First, the product or service in question must be one not readily identifiable without use of the trademark; second, only so much of the mark or marks may be used as is reasonably necessary to identify the product or service; and third, the user must do
Fair Use and Cleaned Up Batman Porn
Holy rusty trombone Batman! They took out all the sex scenes! For those who have ever had dirty thoughts about their favorite movie character, chances are there’s a porn parody to make all their naughty Hollywood dreams come true. Come on, you don’t have some version of “Anna” from Frozen in your spank bank? Whatever… Princess Leia… Teletubbies? Mr. Rogers? Don’t make me keep going. ADMIT IT! Well, anyway, the porn industry leaves no market un-served when it comes to Rule 34. We’re talking about actual plot-driven pornos with feature scripts, long set hours, and highly-paid actors and actresses. These
Why Are You Giving Fired Employees 21 Days to Consider Severance?
by Jay Marshall Wolman Plenty of employers let go of an employee and give them some prefabricated separation/severance agreement, hoping to pay the now disgruntled former employee to go gentle into that goodnight. They go online and download a model or ask their payroll company or just use what they used last time, without considering what’s in it. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTv1Dmu5CYc] From time to time, it is good to review and understand what is in these agreements. Are you protecting against unknown workplace injury claims? Are you ensuring that your employee won’t try to use your trade secrets against you? Have
Fair Use and Cleaned Up Batman Porn
By Marc Randazza. For those who have ever had dirty thoughts about their favorite movie character, chances are there’s a porn parody to make all their naughty Hollywood dreams come true. Come on, you don’t have some version of “Anna” from Frozen in your spank bank? Whatever… Princess Leia… Teletubbies? Mr. Rogers? Don’t make me keep going. ADMIT IT! Well, anyway, the porn industry leaves no market un-served when it comes to Rule 34. We’re talking about actual plot-driven pornos with feature scripts, long set hours, and highly-paid actors and actresses. These porn parodies are produced by some of the
Value Walk recognizes Randazza’s recent Law Review article
First Amendment and Intellectual Property expert Marc Randazza’s latest law review article tackles the intersection of freedom of expression and intellectual property law. Freedom of Expression and Morality Based Impediments to the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights,” does not just examine the issues from a U.S. perspective, as it reviews intellectual property rights and morality from a global perspective. The Abstract alone gives you enough reason to download the article and dig in: “In the case of intellectual property rights (IPRs), some nations erect barriers to the protection of IPRs on the basis of ‘morality.’ This paper will examine the
Randazza: Utah Porn Proposal Is Hilarious
LAS VEGAS — And round and round the censorship wheel goes. Utah state Sen. Todd Weiler is just the latest to try and shape the marketplace of ideas to his own superstitious views of morality. Weiler proposed S.C.R. 9, seeking to have pornography declared a public health hazard… Read more …
PORN! PORN! PORN! WEB PAGES OF DEATH!
From Pages of Death 1962 And round and round the censorship wheel goes. Utah State Senator Todd Weiler is just the latest to try and shape the marketplace of ideas to his own superstitious views of morality. Weiler proposed S.C.R. 9, seeking to have pornography declared a public health hazard. The resolution is hilarious – or would be, if it did not take aim at our most important civil liberties, in the name of promoting a narrow view of morality. (A favorite target of mine) This resolution: ` recognizes that pornography is a public health hazard leading to a broad
PORN! PORN! PORN! WEB PAGES OF DEATH!
And round and round the censorship wheel goes. By Marc Randazza. Utah State Senator Todd Weiler is just the latest to try and shape the marketplace of ideas to his own superstitious views of morality. Weiler proposed S.C.R. 9, seeking to have pornography declared a public health hazard. The resolution is hilarious – or would be, if it did not take aim at our most important civil liberties, in the name of promoting a narrow view of morality. (A favorite target of mine) This resolution: ` recognizes that pornography is a public health hazard leading to a broad spectrum of
Sono Stato a Roma Ma Non Ho Visto Un Cazzo! (I was in Rome and I didn’t see dick!)
Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, visited Rome recently, and in order to avoid offending his delicate sensibilities, the Italians covered up all the dicks and tits on the statues for him. (fonte) (source) It probably comes as no surprise to any readers that this bothers me. It isn’t that I’m against thawing Iran’s relationship with the West. And, maybe that requires us to be a little sensitive — you know, like maybe don’t serve Carbonara at dinner, or don’t offer the guy a caffè corretto. But, to censor some of Italy’s most magnificent art, because this guy might be offended? But,
Sono Stato a Roma Ma Non Ho Visto Un Cazzo! (I was in Rome and I didn’t see dick!)
Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, visited Rome recently, and in order to avoid offending his delicate sensibilities, the Italians covered up all the dicks and tits on the statues for him. (fonte) (source) It probably comes as no surprise to any readers that this bothers me. It isn’t that I’m against thawing Iran’s relationship with the West. And, maybe that requires us to be a little sensitive — you know, like maybe don’t serve Carbonara at dinner, or don’t offer the guy a caffè corretto. But, to censor some of Italy’s most magnificent art, because this guy might be offended? But,
Sen. Cruz is an Unnaturally Born Citizen
by Jay Marshall Wolman Despair thy charm, And let the angel whom thou still hast served Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped. -Macbeth, Act V, Scene 8 There’s been a lot of talk lately over whether Senator Cruz is eligible to the office of President. The Constitution requires that the President be a “natural born” citizen. Article II, Sec. 1, Cl. 5. Folks have made a lot of originalist/textualist type arguments to help understand this clause. I want to weigh in from a similar perspective, but one that I think can help frame the discussion. Two former
For Missouri professor, the law bites back
(CNN) When you seek to cast aside other people’s rights, in the name of your own personal agenda, you never know when you might want those rights intact for yourself. On Monday, Melissa Click learned that lesson, as prosecutors charged her with assault… Read more …
A Priceless Demand Refusal Letter, compliments of Marc J. Randazza.
You’re just going to have to read it for yourself.
Death to Section 2(a)! Hail Coleman, Connell, MacMull, and The Slants!
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided In re Tam, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22593 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 22, 2015). In it, the Federal Circuit made a sweeping pronouncement that the First Amendment applies to trademark registrations, and that a long-criticized prohibition on “disparaging” trademarks could no longer stand. The portion of the trademark act that fell was Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 1052(a). Of course, I was delighted. I have long railed against Section 2(a). My first (losing) fight against this provision was in 2007. See Billman, Jeffrey, The F
Death to Section 2(a)! Hail Coleman, Connell, MacMull, and The Slants!
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided In re Tam, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22593 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 22, 2015). In it, the Federal Circuit made a sweeping pronouncement that the First Amendment applies to trademark registrations, and that a long-criticized prohibition on “disparaging” trademarks could no longer stand. The portion of the trademark act that fell was Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 1052(a). Of course, I was delighted. I have long railed against Section 2(a). My first (losing) fight against this provision was in 2007. See Billman, Jeffrey, The F
Marc Randazza’s Avvo Rating
When faced with being a defendant in a SLAPP suit, there is no better attorney than Marc Randazza. He is smart, witty, and down-to-earth. For someone like me who has no experience in First Amendment or Civil Law, he explained … Read more …
Sean Penn takes a big risk by interviewing "El Chapo" on the run in Mexico
“I doubt Sean Penn is worried about justice, said Marc Randazza, First Amendment attorney. “In the United States, helping a criminal after the fact can make you an accomplice. Personally, I would not have given a cigarette to El Chapo. I would be very, very careful …” Read more …
Passenger who beat his Uber driver should drop his countersuit (CNN)
“Benjamin Golden apologized for beating his driver, but by countersuing, he’s compounding his bad behavior,” says Marc Randazza. If you want a ‘right to be forgotten,’ it probably isn’t a good idea to do something to immortalize yourself.” Read more …
Pissed Consumer Blog: Who really killed Revenge Porn Sites? Our Lawyer, Marc Randazza
There has been a cloud of kudos and congratulations for law professors who claim to be “heroes of the internet,” for their fight against revenge porn. For example, Brian Leiter seems to credit a trio of law professors who have never handled a single case. Meanwhile, when it comes to revenge porn, our lawyer actually got results in court… Read more …