News & Media
Glenn Beck Urges Parody Site Be Shut Down
Online Media Daily reports on Glenn Beck’s attempts through the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center to have the website GlennBeckRapedandMurderedaGirlIn1990.com taken down. Beck alleges trademark infringement and defamation. Attorney Marc J. Randazza argues in his legal brief: “We are here because Mr. Beck wants respondent’s Web site shut down. He wants it shut down because Respondent’s website
Jesus and His Blasphemous Nails
By Tatiana von Tauber Today is Blasphemy Day and its objective is to “open up all religious beliefs to the same level of free inquiry, discussion and criticism to which all other areas of academic interest are subjective” according to Center for Inquiry, the host of the Blasphemy Day Artist Showcase exhibition. Meet Dana Ellyn. She’s the showcase artist and
Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel
Wins the Homo Walmartus idiocracy asshat flunkie of the week award. Here’s why. Indiana… the Midwest’s Florida.
New Copyright Czar, Background in Trade and Education
by Jason Fischer On Friday, President Obama appointed the first “Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator,” a new position created last year by the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (a.k.a. the PRO-IP Act). While many criticized that legislation as further enlisting U.S. law enforcement to do the dirty work of the RIAA and MPAA, some of those same voices
In Defense of "Sex Offenders"
Rogier van Bakel sticks up for sex offenders…. and there’s not a goddamned thing wrong with it.
Worst. Day. Ever.
For this guy. Amazingly, this did not happen in Flori-duh!
Why Fat Chicks Are Hot
By Tatiana von Tauber Confidence is the biggest motivator of hotness there is. I’ve been trying to figure out why exactly confidence is so enduring, sensual, erotic and empowering not from the standpoint of having confidence but viewing others with it. It’s just sexy when in its right doses. I think confidence is like a musk, a pheromone likeness that
@Left-wing Nutjobs: Disagreeing with the President does NOT make me a racist
by Jason Fischer An extremely disturbing trend has started to develop in the U.S. political landscape, which needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. It seems that the the left would like to start playing the “race card” every time someone disagrees with President Obama. Not only is this behavior irresponsible and childish, it only serves to breathe new
We Don't Roll That Way
Ellen DeGeneres, aside from being annoying, also hires idiots. She apparently used more than 1,000 copyrighted songs on her show without permission or paying royalties to the artists. Lets set aside whether, as a philosophical matter, she should have to. Per papers filed at a U.S. District Court in Nashville on September 9th, when the labels asked the Ellen show
The Seventh Rides Again in Support of the First Amendment
The Alameda Books rule boils down to this: If a city wants to ban a First Amendment protected business, it can only do so if it has evidence that its regulations actually might help do something about adverse secondary effects, the evidence can’t be complete bullshit, and the regulation can’t negatively impact the quality and amount of speech as a
Sciopero dei Blog
Apparently Italian bloggers are on strike. It even seems like a damn good cause. Arthur Bright at the Citizen Media Law Project made me laugh though: But is a strike really the way to go? Because it seems to me that the bloggers, as a group, are missing the most important element of a strike: economic influence. Bloggers aren’t exactly
"Getting What She Deserves": Stories of Vengeful Women Expand Cyberlaw Regulations
By Lateigra C. Cahill A few weeks ago, Missouri officials arrested Elizabeth Thrasher (40), for posting a fake No-Strings-Attached-Sex ad on the Craigslist “Casual Encounters” section. The sex ad included the photograph, cell phone number, and place of employment of a 17-year-old girl (Thrasher’s ex-husband’s girlfriend’s daughter). Investigators say that the girl received phone calls, text messages and nude pictures
We're Still Thinking of You….
I got an interesting email today. I have redacted the identifying information just to be nice. Dear Marc, Good afternoon. Just a quick note to let you know that you are still being considered for new opportunities by [REDACTED] in [Florida]. If your contact information or status has changed at all, please feel free to update us. Additionally, please feel
"God is not Religion"
The state of Kentucky passed a law requiring the Emergency Operations Center of their Department of Homeland Security to post a plaque stating the following: The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God. Before your “are you shitting me-o-meter” goes to 11, don’t worry. Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled that the
Coach Baptizes High School Football Players – Superintendent Clueless
When will public school officials learn to do their jobs, and leave superstition to the kids families? The head football coach at Breckinridge County High School in Kentucky loaded up 20 of his players on a school bus, took them to church, and baptized half of them. The mother of one player said her 16-year-old son was baptized without her
Online UDRP
I finally took a stab at filing a UDRP proceeding with the Czech Arbitration Court (my previous go-to was WIPO, and I’d never use NAF). What attracted me? Online filing! It is about time that someone recognizes that UDRP proceedings are a 21st century phenomenon, and perhaps they should be handled as such. Accordingly, imagine my joy when I found
Obama Poster Flap
I have refrained from writing about this issue, since I am representing NORML in connection with this matter. However, Sam Bayard over at the Citizen Media Law Project Blog has done a great job of it. See Yes We Cannabis: Another Obama Photo Sparks Fair Use Controversy.
"But We're Just An Innocent Web Host" Ain't Gonna Cut It
Akanoc Solutions Inc., Managed Solutions Group Inc., and Steven Chen, the owner of the two companies learned the hard way that being a web host doesn’t make you automatically free from liability for copyright and trademark infringement committed by your customers. The ISPs involved hosted websites that sold knock-off Louis Vuitton goods, and they were made aware of that fact.
Success is like a Girlfriend…
“Success is like a beautiful girlfriend: if you share her, she becomes a slut.” (source) An interesting quote from an interesting guy…
