News & Media
Streisand Effect is a Real Biyotch
See Popehat, When You Find Yourself in a Hole, Stop Digging.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Decency in my Soul
Professor Ann Bartow implores her readers at Feminist Law Profs: “Please, if you have any decency in your soul, support passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.” (source) I don’t agree with much that Bartow says, but on this one I was inclined to agree. But, I wanted to read the Act with a critical eye first. Most of the Act is the kind of thing that you would have to be a beast to oppose. Forcing people into prostitution, human trafficking, modern slavery, this is all ugly stuff. Support a law that punishes people for that kind of offense? Where do I sign up? Unfortunately, the drafters of this law just couldn’t resist the temptation to also nibble away
Copyright Applies to Free Software Too
by Tara Warrington Legal Satyricon Correspondent The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in Jacobsen v. Katzer that the terms of a license – even one granting free and nonexclusive use – control when determining if the scope of the use is limited by the license itself or more broadly by copyright law. The decision itself is not earth shattering when viewed in light of the specific terms of this particular open source license. Nevertheless, it shows a promising tolerance for moral rights principles.
If you can't beat 'em, put ads on 'em.
CNET reports that some media companies are no longer looking at YouTube clips of copyrighted material as a threat, but are now simply placing revenue-generating ads alongside them.
Copyright Applies to Free Software Too
So says the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. See Court says copyrights apply even for free software, WIRED. More analysis to follow.
T Subway Hack Case Gets Worse
Either the coverage is missing something, or there is something terribly wrong happening in the MBTA hacker case. See Boston (T) Party — Judge Puts Gag Order on MIT Students in MBTA Hack Presentation. CNET reports that not only did the Judge let the temporary restraining order he granted last weekend remain in place, but extended it and ordered the MIT researchers to turn over more of their research to the MBTA. The MBTA’s attorneys incredibly argued that the “defendants enjoy no protections under the First Amendment.” (source). Interesting argument. I suppose that the new legal standard is that the First Amendment applies to all expression except child porn, true threats, fighting words, obscenity (after a court applies the Miller
Jackson Brown Sues McCain
John McCain helped himself to Jackson Browne’s song, “Running on Empty” for a campaign ad. Browne is suing for copyright infringement, Lanham Act violations (for falsely suggesting that Browne supports the McCain campaign) and for right of publicity violations under California law. LA Times and The Associated Press.
$1.5 Million Award in Negligent Transmission of an STD
On Point News reports that an Iowa man who transmitted HPV to his girlfriend is liable to her for $700,000 in compensatory damages and $800,000 in punitive damages. Karly Rossiter, 25, has been diagnosed with both strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), one of which causes genital warts and the other cell abnormalities that can lead to cervical cancer. In a petition filed in March 2007, she alleged that Dr. Alan Evans, a Muscatine, Iowa, dentist, infected her during their 18-month relationship and failed to warn her to take appropriate steps to protect herself from infection. (source) The jury rejected Rossiter’s battery claim — which would have required a determination that he knowingly gave her HPV — a claim he
Individual Rights? Forget Heller
By Jonathon Blevins, Legal Satyricon Second Amendment Correspondent As first reported here and here, the Second Amendment does not act (currently) as a restriction on the states’ power to regulate the right to keep and bear arms. The Heller decision simply laid the foundation for the eventual incorporation of the Second Amendment via the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, unless you live in D.C. or are currently under Federal jurisdiction, Heller is not a shield from government intrusion. A current illustration of the lack of protection comes from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. See FN 2. The case demonstrates that while the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right, it is not a restraint
It's Ammo! It's Seasoning! It's Both!
If you are a vegetarian, you may want to cringe now. I think this is the best idea since Shimmer Floor Wax/Dessert Topping. Brett W. Holm of Chaska, Minnesota got sick of finding metal pellets in the birds he shot and ate. So what did he do? He invented SPICE SHOT — ammunition comprised of spices formed into pellets. (source, TTABlog). Yep, all in one BANG, you can shoot, kill, and season a bird! Season Shot is made of tightly packed seasoning bound by a fully biodegradable food product. The seasoning is actually injected into the bird on impact seasoning the meat from the inside out. When the bird is cooked the seasoning pellets melt into the meat spreading the
Antarctica is Not a Foreign Country (for Tax Purposes)
I’m not a tax guy, but stories like this make me want to get an LLM in tax and a collection of bowties. IRS regulations allow U.S. citizens who live and work in a foreign country to exclude up to $80,000 in foreign-earned income, which could result in a significant tax savings. David Arnett, a Wisconsin Resident, excluded $ 48,894 in income received from his 2001 income taxes due to his claim that he lived and worked in a foreign country. The foreign country? Antarctica. Arnett worked for Raytheon at McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica. In Smith v. United States, 507 U.S. 197 (1993), the Supreme Court held that the Federal Tort Claims Act did not apply to a wrongful
"A Horse Walks Into a Bar" Makes His Appearance
The AutoAdmit saga continues: It seems that the defendant formerly known only as “A Horse Walks Into a Bar” has ridden onto the set, represented by counsel. As I reported on August 6, the plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Complaint (third try overall). In that complaint, they identified only one defendant by name, and in doing that, they managed to mis cross-identify the guy and cause a hail of feces to rain down upon an innocent man in the process. The AutoAdmit-sphere has long known that “A Horse Walks Into a Bar,” is actually an individual by the name of Ryan Mariner. Prior to writing this post, I contacted Mr. Mariner to ask his position on using his real name.
Flori-duh ACT scores drop again
The Gainesville Sun reports: Florida posted a slightly lower score than last year to continue a steady decline on the ACT college entrance test while remaining remain mired in 48th place nationally, according to 2008 results released early Wednesday. In your FACE Michigan and Mississippi!
Gloucester Principal Resigns
In the latest chapter in the pregnancy pact fiasco, the Principal at Gloucester High School has resigned. The Gloucester Daily Times reports: Principal Joseph Sullivan, whose interview with Time magazine helped spark a global media frenzy over a possible pregnancy “pact” among some of the 18 pregnant students in his high school, announced yesterday he was resigning and retiring after 10 years in Gloucester. (source) Sullivan’s resignation letter reveals the foibles that got him into this situation. Sullivan complains about how he has been treated since the whole story broke (how does he think the town feels?), and blames everyone but himself for the international media circus. His letter states: the mayor held a press conference and publicly slandered my
Public Officials File SLAPP Suit, Win Ass-Hat Award
Phil Barlow and Doug Morten serve on the St. Helens, Oregon, City Council. From what I have read, they’ve served honorably. Citizen Sally Gump doesn’t agree, so she is organizing a recall campaign. (source) Barlow and Morten reacted by filing a defamation suit against Gump. (source) Whatever their record was before that incident, they have lost all credibility by filing what is certain to be a short-lived case. Their local paper hits it right on the head in Yes, actually, you can say such mean things Unless Gump is making false and defamatory statements about them as people rather than councilors, they should realize recall efforts are seldom effective. Not as seldom as libel suits brought by pouting public officials,
I'm Boycotting the Olympics
I’m boycotting the Olympics. Before I could write my full explanation, Charles Haynes from the First Amendment Center wrote his… which is better than I would have done.
Virginia Obscenity Case Goes to Trial – Government Witness is Well Known Crackpot
Another day, another peckerwood community pisses on the First Amendment by trying to put consenting adults in jail for selling videos of consenting adults to other consenting adults. During this trial, the state intends to call Dr. Mary Anne Layden as an expert witness. She previously testified before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Technology, Trade and Consumer Protection on the proposed legislation that would become COPA. That law has been struck down repeatedly. Adult entertainment lawyer, Jeffrey Douglas was at that hearing and reports that Layden’s testimony was a bit less than credible. “She testified that a woman became a nun because she was raped by her brother who saw their father’s Playboy magazines,” he wrote. “I kid you not.”
Pink Pony Defies Daytona – Police Chief Gets All Gangsta
“Hey, you want to declare war? My gang’s bigger than his gang,” -Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood reacting to the news that Daytona’s Pink Pony Club has gone full nude, defying the local ordinance banning such entertainment in his otherwise high-brow community. I don’t mind a cop being firm, but when he sounds like and idiot who holds his gun sideways, it diminishes my confidence in him. He might as well have said “all y’all bitches betta put y’alls britches on or I is gonna put mah boot up y’alls ass.” At least then, we could have presumed that he was trying to be funny.
Trojans over Cocks
It has nothing to do with what you might be thinking. This is a trademark story. See TTABlog.
Boston (T) Party — Judge Puts Gag Order on MIT Students in MBTA Hack Presentation
A federal judge granted the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s (MBTA) motion for an injunction preventing three MIT students from giving a presentation about how they had hacked the fare card system used by the MBTA’s subway turnstiles. (source) The MBTA’s complaint is here. The students were scheduled to give a presentation today at the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas on the multiple methods they used to hack into the CharlieCard, an RFID device that the MBTA uses to keep track of fares on the “T”. The presentation, available here, here, here, and here, seems to demonstrate some very simple security breaches that should prove to be quite embarrassing to the MBTA. The MBTA apparently filed suit after the MIT
