Filmmakers, musicians, and anyone else wishing to perform “Happy Birthday To You” no longer has to worry about paying hefty royalties to Warner/Chappell, the publisher that has long claimed to hold the copyright for the ditty. Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the classic party tune is in the public domain. [More]
lawsuits
New Lawsuit Claims Monkey Should Get Copyright & Royalties For Famous Selfie
By 9.22.15
The “monkey selfie” saga continues. More than a year after the U.S. Copyright Office made it pretty clear that a non-human animal can’t hold copyright, a new lawsuit argues the grinning macaque “has the right to own and benefit from the copyright… in the same manner and to the same extent as any other author.” [More]
ITT Educational Services Target Of Federal Fraud Investigation
By 9.22.15
Things don’t appear to have gotten better for for-profit college operator ITT Educational Services since it announced in September 2014 that it was under increased scrutiny from federal regulators, as the owner of the ITT Technical Institute chain revealed on Monday that the Department of Justice is looking into whether the company defrauded the federal government. [More]
29 U.S. Lawmakers Agree: Don’t Gut Net Neutrality Again
By 9.21.15
The Federal Communications Commission is currently (and once again) locked in a legal battle with the telecom industry over net neutrality — the idea that Internet service providers should treat online traffic equally, regardless of what’s being sent and who’s sending or receiving it. In advance of a Dec. 4 hearing on this appeal, a group of 29 federal legislators has let its position be known. [More]
Walmart In Courtroom Battle With Texas Over “Irrational” Liquor Law
By 9.18.15
Having spent a large part of my life in a state where getting wine or booze meant going to a state-operated “wine and spirits shoppe,” it doesn’t seem all that awful that Walmart and other publicly trade companies are barred from selling hard liquor in the state of Texas. But for the nation’s biggest retailer, that law makes no sense — and it’s in the middle of a legal battle with the Lone Star state for the right to dispense spirits. [More]
FCC: Net Neutrality Doesn’t Violate Internet Service Providers’ First Amendment Rights
By 9.18.15
About a week after the FCC narrowly voted to approve new net neutrality rules that prevent Internet service providers from deciding which types of online content get preferential or detrimental treatment, the telecom industry was ready with lawsuits. One of those plaintiffs argues that net neutrality is a restriction on ISPs’ First Amendment right to free expression, but the FCC counters that this is like trying to claim that your TV or radio have their own constitutionally protected rights to free speech. [More]
Adidas Lawsuit Claims Skechers Ripped Off Its Popular “Stan Smith” Shoe Design
By 9.16.15
Adidas is suing fellow shoe peddlers Skechers, claiming in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday that Skechers’ “Onix” sneaker rips off the design of its “Stan Smith” shoe. [More]
Uber Appeals Certification Of California Suit Against Them As Class Action
By 9.16.15
Not long ago, Uber took an unsurprising step: they changed their driver agreements so their independent contractors would have to give up their right to sue the company in a class action. The drivers eligible for a recently-certified class action in California are those who never agreed to that provision, but that doesn’t mean that Uber isn’t appealing its certification as a class action anyway. [More]
59 Law Professors Urge Congress To Pass Bill Protecting Free Speech From Frivolous Lawsuits
By 9.16.15
Imagine you run a local news site and you’re working on a great new story about the town’s largest employer that uncovers some very bad behavior. You’re all set to publish, then you receive notice that this company has filed a lawsuit against you for something frivolous, like copyright or trademark infringement, that could never be proven at trial — but which could bankrupt you and your small-time operation long before it ever gets to that point. It’s a practice known as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and it’s a not-uncommon way for deep-pocketed companies and individuals to try to intimidate potential whistleblowers and others into remaining quiet. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Twitter Eavesdrops On Direct Messages
By 9.15.15
When you send a direct message on Twitter, you might imagine it zipping straight from your account to its intended recipient, arriving exactly how you wrote it, untouched and unchanged. But a new lawsuit in California claims Twitter is effectively snooping on users’ direct messages, and changing them to benefit its own advertising goals. [More]
CFPB Sues Debt Relief Firm, Alleging It Bilked Customers For $67M
By 9.15.15
Being in debt can be paralyzing, leaving some people with the feeling like they’ll never climb their way out of the hole. So when a company promises it can help ease that burden, it might some like a good idea to spend even more money in the hope that you’ll ultimately be pointed in the right financial direction. Federal regulators say one debt relief operation took in $67 million from customers in need of help, but most of that money just went to the firm’s fees while the customers’ debts continued to pile up. [More]
Woman Settles Dunkin’ Donuts Hot Coffee Lawsuit For $522K
By 9.15.15
As long as chains and restaurants sell hot beverages sold, we’ll probably continue to hear about lawsuits tied to accidents with hot coffee, or hot cider, or any hot liquid. To wit: in a recent hot coffee lawsuit development, a woman who claimed she fell in the parking lot of a New Jersey Dunkin’ Donuts, spilling hot coffee on her face and neck, has settled with the chain for $522,000. [More]
Appeals Court Makes Important Ruling In “Dancing Baby” Copyright Case
By 9.14.15
By now, you’ve probably heard about the “Dancing Baby” lawsuit, involving a botched attempt by Universal Music to have YouTube remove a video 29-second video of a playful toddler because a Prince song can be heard in the background. Today a federal appeals court sided on one important issue with that kid’s mother, who is suing Universal, claiming the music giant overstepped the law by not considering that the background music falls under the umbrella of an acceptable fair use. [More]
Chicago Sued Over 9% “Cloud Tax” On Streaming Services
By 9.14.15
Back in July, the city of Chicago started levying an unpopular new tax on its residents: cloud services, including streaming media like Netflix, suddenly cost 9% extra. Neither denizens of the Windy City nor the businesses who serve them are at all happy with this, however, and now the lawsuits have begun. [More]
The Country’s Two Largest Debt Buyers Must Refund Consumers $61M Over Illegal Collection Practices
By 9.9.15
Encore Capital Group and Portfolio Recovery Associates are two of the biggest names in the debt-buying game, and according to federal regulators they have often used deceptive and harmful tactics to collect their newly acquired debts. Now, as a result of these actions, the companies must refund consumers $61 million and pay $18 million in penalties. [More]
![The building in San Francisco's Mission district is now being renovated, "presumably for wealthier tenants," notes the judge. [image via Google Maps]](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/luckystreet.png?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
San Francisco Landlord Charged $4K/Month In Rent For Rodent-Infested “Death Trap” Apartments
By 9.8.15
A San Francisco man who fancied himself a landlord and building manager — but who apparently failed to do more than just collect rent that he didn’t always pay up the ladder — has been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to tenants who paid exorbitant sums to live in “squalid” conditions with phantom appliances, exposed wiring, and rodents run amok. [More]
Lawsuit: American Airlines Failed To Protect Girl From Passenger Accused Of Touching Her Inappropriately
By 9.8.15
The parents of a girl who said she was touched inappropriately while she was flying alone on an American Airlines flight to New York from Iowa in July have sued the airline, claiming it failed to protect her. [More]
Disney, Lucasfilm, Sanrio Sue Makers Of Counterfeit Marvel, Star Wars, Hello Kitty Cake Frosting
By 9.4.15
We’ve all seen local bakeries and supermarkets selling cakes decorated with the images of trademarked cartoon/movie/comic characters and not many people seem to care that the decorator may not have permission to use these images. But there’s also a difference between someone’s hand-iced Captain America cake and a company that uses movie stills and promotional art to make pre-fab cake frosting sheets. Thus, Disney, Lucasfilm and Sanrio — tired of seeing cakes featuring the unauthorized faces of Yoda, Iron Man, and Hello Kitty — have teamed up to sue two Michigan men for trademark and copyright infringement. [More]
