News & Media
"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. A jury found that they knew, or should have known, that their customers were using their services for this purpose, and tagged the web hosting company for a $32 million verdict. Chen’s lawyers argued that he and his companies were
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…
"Stupid" Definied
MONICA NOVOTNY: John, what about this controversy over opposition to Obama’s speech to school children? JOHN HARWOOD: I gotta’ tell you Monica, I’ve been watching politics for a long time, and this one is really over-the-top. What is shows you is there are a lot of cynical people who try to fan controversy, and let’s face it, in a country of 300 million people, there are a lot of stupid people too, because if you believe that it’s somehow unhealthy for kids, for the president to say “work hard and stay in school,” you’re stupid. In fact, I’m worried for
Holy Shit, I Can Not Wait for October 16!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–N9klJXbjQ]
Yawn, More idiocy in Polk County, Flori-duh
Honestly, do my readers need any more evidence that there really wouldn’t be anything wrong with putting a wall around Polk County, Flori-duh, and just filling the entire place with liquified pig shit? I mean, not much would change. Latest evidence, a kid tried to take photographs of a traffic light in a school zone, and a dumb as fuck peckerwood Polk County cop (no, there isn’t any other kind there) tried to stop him because of… you guessed it, fears of terrorism. See Carlos Miller’s blog for the whole story.
Freedom From Religion Foundation Wins Victory in Colorado
FFRF had a good victory this week: The national Freedom From Religion Foundation has settled a federal lawsuit against the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colo., over a policy that urged children to spend an hour a week at a religious institution. The District and the Foundation agreed upon wording to include encouragement to children to spend an hour a week in various civic or educational pursuits, including not only religious but irreligious. Filed on behalf of parents with children in the District, the lawsuit challenged a program known as “40 Developmental Assets.” The disputed Asset 19 stated: “Religious
Cash4Gold Files SLAPP Suit Against the Consumerist
Facts: Cash4Gold is a company that buys gold from consumers and it is based in Florida. They have filed a SLAPP suit against a consumer review site for publishing facts about another lawsuit involving a former employee. Complaint here. A really long, but informative post by the Consumerist is here.
Indianapolis Adult Entertainment Ordinance Struck Down – Annex Books v. City of Indianapolis
The City of Indianapolis has a long and shameful history of treading on the Constitution in its own little private war on sexual free expression. Back in the 1980s, religious fundamentalists on the Indianapolis City Council teamed up with Catharine MacKinnon and passed a ludicrous anti-pornography ordinance designed to creatively outlaw adult entertainment altogether. Under that law, not only was it illegal to “traffic” in pornography, but if a woman felt injured or discriminated against and she could show that the bad guy had seen porn, she could sue the seller or the maker of the porn for damages. The
Tiffany Shepherd, From Bikini-Claid Bait Girl to Porn to Cybersquatting Victim
Tiffany Shepherd, the Port Saint Lucie schoolteacher who was fired from her job because she worked on a fishing charter boat in a bikini has decided to make the jump into adult entertainment. Unfortunately, after being the victim of puritanical flori-duh social conservatives, she is now the victim of scumbag cybersquatters. It looks like one person registered TiffanyShepherd.com, and is using the site to refer traffic to a UK dating site. A domain name corresponding to Tiffany’s stage name, Leah Lust, has also been registered by what seems to be another opportunist. Although the site is not currently displaying any
Burning Man to Photographers: ALL YOUR PHOTOS ARE BELONG TO US!
The organizers of the annual Burning Man festival have instituted a controversial new policy regarding photography at the annual festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. According to XBiz, the organizers of the festival were concerned that porn websites were publishing photos taken at the event. For those of you who don’t know, Burning Man is a pretty “live free or die” type festival out in the desert, where plenty of people find the opportunity to walk around naked. That’s not what it is *all* about, but that is part of it. As a predictable reaction to the nudity, people have
Glenn Be( )k
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0OUXkZO8vE] Not only does he not know how to spell “oligarchy,” he doesn’t have a clue what the word means.
Medinol v. Neuro Vasx is Dead
In Medinol Ltd. v. Neuro Vasx Inc., 67 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1205 (TTAB 2003), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that a trademark registration that contains erroneous information, such as goods and services that were never sold under the mark, would render a trademark registration as fraudulent and subject to cancellation. The TTAB imposed a constructive knowledge standard for errors in the trademark application. Calling a mere error “fraud” seemed like harsh medicine. Under Medinol, if an applicant for a trademark says that he sells Widgets, Donkeys, and Thingamajigs under the trademark RANDUZZI, he had better actually sell Widgets, Donkey,
DHS Issues New Border Search Rules for Electronic Media
by Jason Fischer The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures . . . (source).” Since 9/11, a good number of feathers have been ruffled, debating what constitutes an “unreasonable search.” Pundits a plenty have been ranting about “privacy this” and “warrantless that,” but the simple truth is that there are many situations where it is not “unreasonable” for the government to conduct a “search,” without first obtaining a warrant. A classic example is when officials, employed by U.S. Immigration
Twitter is Stupid, Give Up
I have been thinking about composing a piece on why Twitter is stupid, but making money got in the way of that. And, in the meantime, someone else wrote the perfect piece. See Devin Coldeway, Why I Don’t Use Twitter. In your face, Fischer!
Mexican Pole Dancing
by Tatiana von Tauber A Facebook friend of mine posted this very sexy pole dancing video. I have yet to find any vulgarity in the dancer’s moves. Not only does this particular interpretation of pole dancing show off the beautiful female body in movement but oozes with sensuality and eroticism. I’d hand her some hard earned cash for the performance. It takes the “nasty” right out of the stripper’s arena. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvcclwQbdec]
Chick-Fil-A, Breast-Feeding and A Whole-Lotta First-Amendment Bad-Assery
By: Zac Papantoniou While en route to check-off another item on my epic list of neglected errands thrown to the wayside while studying for the state bar exam I just took, I happened to catch a story being discussed on a local talk-radio station (yes, I listen to talk radio while driving . . . obsessively). They mid-morning show (The Buckethead Show) on 104.1 FM happened to be discussing a story involving two subjects I take interest in . . . protesting and breasts. Apparently, around noon today, a “nurse-in” was going to be held at a Chick-Fil-A not far
Women Take the Helm in the Market for Porn
As my co-blogger, Tatiana, often proves to us – modern, third-wave feminism isn’t about wearing birkenstocks and not shaving. It looks like ABC News finally caught up to Tatiana. See ‘Adults-Only’ Businesses Find Growing Market Among Women.
Girls as Musical Instruments
This is cool [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IObPkUFq0hg] This is cooler and came first [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X75on4NW4vo]