News & Media
LSAT improvement: $8-11.5k
By J. DeVoy The LSAT summer intensive preparation regimen from Kaplan: $7,999 for the program; $11,499 with housing included. Ready to do anything it takes to achieve a powerhouse LSAT score? Then, immerse yourself in the most concentrated LSAT prep experience ever: 6 weeks in a distraction-free setting—300 hours of nothing but LSAT prep with an all-star faculty and in-depth personal attention. But matriculants do get to live in Boston, and Boston University, where the course is held, is in a nice part of town.
How does Hulu work, then?
By J. DeVoy New records indicate that Google offered Viacom $592 million to license its shows and movies to YouTube shortly after acquiring the video website. This revelation stems from Viacom’s ongoing copyright suit against Google and YouTube, filed in March 2007. In a deposition given by Google co-founder Larry Page on October 1, 2009, a Viacom lawyer pointed out that Google’s senior management made an offer to Viacom that Google had figured was worth $592 million. Later during the deposition, Stuart Baskin, a Viacom attorney, presented Page with copies of internal Google correspondence that he said showed Google had
Joe Francis Cease and Desist Fail
by Christopher Harbin Joe Francis, of Girls Gone Wild fame, is a fine, upstanding gentleman with an impeccable record of conduct. Too bad his lawyers can’t seem to get their websites straight when issuing cease and desist notices. I wish you all the best, Mr. Francis.
Coalition Requests Inquiry into Hate Speech
by Charles Platt The National Hispanic Media Coalition, which contains groups with harmless or even benign-sounding names such as Free Press, the Media Access Project, Common Cause, and the Prometheus Radio Project, renewed its demands earlier this month for the FCC to investigate “hate speech” and “misinformation” in the media. “Hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television programs masquerading as ‘news’,” they write. And as for the Internet, it “gives the illusion that news sources have increased, but in fact there are fewer journalists employed now than before . . . . Moreover, on the
More and More Lawsuits Over Rants on the Web That Blast Businesses
Addresses the nature of lawsuits filed by businesses to silence critics, focusing on the T&J Towing case where the company sued the creator of a critical Facebook group for defamation. Such lawsuits are often called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, and are brought by companies to silence less powerful critics. These suits are increasingly being used with social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and seek to silence criticism rather than to cure real wrongs. Read more…
Elitism is good for the Supreme Court
By J. DeVoy While the initial furor over Elena Kagan’s nomination for John Paul Stevens’s seat on the Supreme Court has died down, lingering questions remain about the desirability of a high court comprised entirely of graduates from Harvard’s and Yale’s law schools. Normally I disagree with Elie Mystal, but he articulated the need for elite legal minds on the Supreme Court fairly well in this post. Whether or not Elena Kagan is one of those elite legal minds is an open question, as much of her career was spent as an administrator rather than an academic or practicing attorney
Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court
Analyzing the changing nature of business defamation, as the electronic age has ushered in a new era where constitutionally protected speech critical of a business can be heard and read the world over. For some consumers, including the creator of a Facebook group criticizing T&J Towing, this results in businesses suing them to protect their reputation from perceived attacks. Such lawsuits are often called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, and are brought by companies to silence less powerful critics. Read more…
Dear Leader Randazza Quoted in NYT Article on SLAPP Suits
by Christopher Harbin Marc was recently quoted in the paper of record regarding Slapp suits. One tidbit of the article stood out as odd to me: “The group Medical Justice, which helps protect doctors from meritless malpractice suits, advises its members to have patients sign an agreement that gives the doctor copyright over a Web posting if the patient mentions the doctor or practice.” I don’t condone this practice, but would the doctors want an assignment of copyright rather than a non-disclosure agreement? Wouldn’t fair use basically eviscerate any control the doctor or practice might have? Also, what about non-copyrightable statements. For example,
Video Game Playthrough Footage Should Be Fair Use
by Christopher Harbin It’s pretty easy to get duped into buying a crappy video game. A lot of video game marketing is pretty shady. Submitted for your consideration: the Madden “bullshot.” Bullshots are promotional screen captures released by game companies that bear absolutely no resemblance to the final product. Gameplay footage released by game companies can be even more misleading. Some games don’t even fairly represent the correct genre. I’m looking at you, Brutal Legend. As one of the “have it right this second” generation, I buy my games on release day before the reviews are out. And because you can’t return video games
NJ Governor Chris Christie is awesome
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw0aBkt8CPA&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Governor Christie tells a public school teacher seeking around $83,000 in compensation, exclusive of benefits, that she doesn’t have to work if she doesn’t like her current pay. He then tells a woman bemoaning cuts in social spending that, unlike the United States, New Jersey “can’t print money.” It’s a shame that blunt common sense is so rare.
California Bar President pwns law schools in lengthy screed
By J. DeVoy Howard B. Miller, President of the State Bar of California, had harsh words for California’s law schools in May 2010’s California Bar Journal. Acknowledging the bleak outcomes for graduates in the classes of 2008, 2009 and 2010, Miller calls the economic cocktail of few jobs, high competition and massive debt “devastating.” The exact numbers at the margins are not as clear as we would like, because so much involves small firms and personal circumstance, and many of the changes are too recent for complete accuracy. The average debt of law graduates now approaches or exceeds $100,000, and
Weighty civil rights issues in Michigan
By J. DeVoy A Michigan woman is suing Hooters for allegedly putting her on a 30-day “weight probation” period, leading to her constructive discharge. Accordingly, the first cause of action in her complaint against this chain of family restaurants was for weight discrimination. Those in BarBri may already know that weight is not a suspect class, despite the fat acceptance movement’s desperate pleas to the contrary. But hold the phone, because in Michigan, weight is a recognized basis for discrimination — and has been since 1976! From the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act’s preamble: AN ACT to define civil rights; to prohibit
Cool video / Our predictions come to pass
By J. DeVoy In March, I speculated that a third Creative Commons-licensed album was forthcoming from recording business pioneers Nine Inch Nails. This recently came to pass… kind of. First, music was released, but from How To Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor’s side project with his new wife. Second, no word yet as to whether the forthcoming album will be released under a Creative Commons license or traditional copyright license. The group’s first single shows a copyright registered to the Null Corporation at Amazon.com, but so too does Nine Inch Nails’s 2008 Ghosts I-IV release, which made a big splash upon
Court Allows Copyright Infringement Free For All On File Hosting Sites
by Christopher Harbin Right now, it appears that courts are willing to let file-hosting sites like Rapidshare, Hotfile, and Megaupload live in the void in the law between Grokster, Limewire, and Napster. Recently, Judge Huff of the Southern District of California denied Perfect 10’s request for a preliminary injunction against Rapidshare holding that P10 could not prove a likelihood of success on the merits. A couple of notes from the decision: 1. Judge Huff finds that Rapidshare is not violating the 106(3) distribution right because their activity is distinguishable from Hotaling and Napster. Judge Huff reasons that because Rapidshare does not index its files, it is
Ninth Circuit Holds Academic Liberty Pwns Workplace Harassment
by Christopher Harbin My man crush on Judge Kozinksi got kicked up a notch after reading his slammin’ opinion in Rodriguez v. Maricopa County Community College Dist. Here, Kozinksi, joined by Ikuta and Sandra Day (sitting by designation), held that a professor’s racist emails to a college employee listserv on a matter of public importance was protected speech under the First Amendment and thus cannot constitute workplace harassment. Walter Kehowski is a math professor at Maricopa County Community College. Kehowski sent three racially charged-emails (presumably to a list-serv) that were received by all employees of the District with email access: two challenging the District’s support of
Draw Mohammed Day
by Charles Platt aka Ahmed Mom I do hope the free speech advocates who frequent this forum will be observing Draw Mohammed Day, scheduled to begin tomorrow. Here’s the inevitable facebook page, and here’s news of the inevitable backlash (even before the day gets started–it can only get better). Personally I have upgraded my Facebook photo to get in the spirit of the thing, hoping that Northern Arizona won’t be high on the moslem hit list.
Attention Trademark Professors: I Found Next Year's Trademark Exam Question
You’re welcome in advance.
New dads also suffer post-partum depression
By J. DeVoy A new study, involving statistical review of 43 prior studies on post-partum depression that included 28,000 adult males and females, has shed new light on this form of depression. The condition, normally associated with women such as Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in a bathtub after a lengthy bout with it, generally isn’t associated with men. But maybe it should be: Some 10.4% of fathers experience depression during the postpartum period, the analysis showed. In the general population, 4.8% of men are believed depressed at any given point in time, according to government data. For
Indefinite detention OK for sex offenders
by Charles Platt “The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal officials can indefinitely hold inmates considered ‘sexually dangerous’ after their prison terms are complete.” (Washington Post) Since it is her duty to do so, nominee Elena Kagan argued the government’s case in favor of indefinite detention. She “compared the government’s power to commit sexual predators to its power to quarantine federal inmates whose sentences have expired but have a highly contagious and deadly disease.” Clarence Thomas dissented, saying he could find no provision for this in the US Constitution. That’s one cheer for Clarence. Scalia was the other dissenter. The