September 08, 2008

Recent Threats Added to the CMLP Database

Tatum, LLC v. Onecle, Inc.

Date: 10/25/2007	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence	Location: Georgia	Publication: Website

Onecle, a site that collects examples of business contracts, posted a copy of a Tatum employment agreement. Tatum, through its attorney DLA Piper, sent a letter demanding that the contract be taken down, threatening legal action if the material was not removed....

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 09/05/2008 - 7:04pm - 0 comments

Albritton v. Cisco Systems, Inc.

Date: 03/03/2008	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Texas	Publication: Blog

Richard Frenkel authors the Patent Troll Tracker blog, where he comments on lawsuits that in his view abuse the patent system. Eric M. Albritton, a patent lawyer practicing in Texas, sued Frenkel and his employer,...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 09/03/2008 - 6:03pm - 0 comments

Parker v. Learn The Skills

Date: 04/07/2006	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Delaware	Publication: Forum

Gordon Roy Parker (aka Ray Gordon), who runs a business teaching men how better to seduce women, sued several of his "seduction business" competitors for defamation, false advertising, unfair competition, tortious interference, antitrust violations, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ("RICO") Act violations,...

Legal Threat - Matt C. Sanchez - 09/03/2008 - 3:38pm - 0 comments

FBI v. Wolf

Date: 02/06/2006	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Settled
Type: Subpoena	Location: California	Publication: Broadcast; Website

The Federal Bureau of Investigations subpoenaed video blogger and freelance journalist Josh Wolf for information regarding a political demonstration that resulted in harm to a police officer. The FBI sought the identities of protestors who appeared in Wolf's video recording of the...

Legal Threat - Matt C. Sanchez - 09/03/2008 - 3:07pm - 0 comments

Dailey v. Popma

Date: 09/01/2006	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: North Carolina	Publication: Forum

North Carolina resident Jack Dailey filed a defamation suit against Donald Popma after Popma allegedly criticized him in Internet postings. According to court documents, Dailey claimed that Popma and co-defendant R. W. Beavers accused him of being a crook, a liar, and...

Legal Threat - Matt C. Sanchez - 09/03/2008 - 1:46pm - 0 comments

LDS Church v. Wikileaks

Date: 05/05/2008	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence	Location:	Publication: Wiki

Intellectual Reserve, Inc., the legal entity that owns the intellectual property of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, sent a DMCA takedown notice to Wikileaks after someone posted the...

Legal Threat - 09/03/2008 - 1:00pm - 0 comments

Dugas v. Robbins

Date: 07/07/2008	Status: Pending	Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Massachusetts	Publication: Blog

Robbins wrote a blog post that criticized a group of abutters for their actions in delaying the implementation of a dredging project through their appeals and interventions in numerous fora. The lead abutter, Joe Dugas, and his lawyer, Paul Revere,...

Legal Threat - 09/04/2008 - 10:41pm - 0 comments

Tylo v. Bluestone

Date: 08/28/2008	Status:	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: New York	Publication: Blog

Brooklyn attorney Marina Tylo filed a lawsuit against Andrew Lavoott Bluestone of the New York Attorney Malpractice Blog on August 28, 2008. According to the Summons with Notice, Tylo seeks $10,000,000 in damages for...

Legal Threat - Sam Bayard - 09/02/2008 - 11:05am - 0 comments

Vanginderen v. Cornell

Date: 10/29/2007	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: Print; Website

Kevin Vanginderen, a Cornell graduate, sued Cornell University seeking $1 million in damages for libel and publication of private facts after Cornell made available online an 1983 issue of the Cornell Chronicle newspaper that reported that Vanginderen had been charged for third...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/29/2008 - 6:51pm - 0 comments

Arizona National Guard v. Clark

Date: 07/19/2005	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Disciplinary Action	Location: Iraq	Publication: Blog

Specialist Leonard A. Clark, a member of the Arizona National Guard serving in Iraq, was demoted to Private First Class for allegedly releasing classified information on his blog. According to press accounts, Clark's blog was openly critical of the war...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/29/2008 - 4:33pm - 0 comments

Williams v. Advertising Sex, LLC

Date: 03/18/2005	Status: Pending	Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: West Virginia	Publication: Website

Former Miss West Virginia, Allison Williams, filed a lawsuit against approximately sixty defendants, including Joseph Vitagliano, who operates Taxi Driver, a website that focuses on celebrity gossip and regularly features nude or semi-nude photographs of female celebrities. Williams alleges...

Legal Threat - Jill Button - 08/29/2008 - 4:10pm - 0 comments

Viacom v. Knight

Date: 08/29/2007	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Correspondence	Location: California	Publication: Website

Viacom Inc. alleged that independent filmmaker Christopher Knight infringed its copyright by posting a clip of a VH1 television program containing Knight's own video that VH1 had used without permission. YouTube removed Knight's clip at the request of ...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/29/2008 - 2:21pm - 0 comments

Highfields Capital Management v. Doe

Date: 07/29/2004	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Subpoena Quashed; Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California; Massachusetts	Publication: Forum

Highfields Capital Management sued an anonymous user of a Yahoo! forum about the company Silicon Graphics, Inc. ("SGI"), of which Highfields was the largest shareholder. Using the name "highfieldscapital," the user posted three messages allegedly suggesting that Highfields...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/29/2008 - 1:32pm - 0 comments

United States v. Cogill

Date: 08/27/2008	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Criminal	Location: California	Publication: Blog

Kevin Cogill, a blogger on Antiquiet, a site that provides "uncensored music reviews and interviews," was arrested on August 27, 2008, at his home near Los Angeles on suspicion of violating federal copyright law after he allegedly posted nine songs from...

Legal Threat - David Ardia - 08/28/2008 - 3:17pm - 0 comments

ViroLogic v. Does

Date: 04/23/2002	Status: Pending	Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: Forum

ViroLogic, a biotechnology company, sued ten anonymous users of the Yahoo! Finance forum dedicated to it, after they allegedly posted internal ViroLogic information and made statements critical of the company and its officers. The original complaint included claims for defamation, trade...

Legal Threat - CMLP Staff - 08/27/2008 - 7:19pm - 0 comments

Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals v. Does

Date: 12/12/2000	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Dismissed (total); Subpoena Quashed
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: Forum

Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals ("HEPH") sued several anonymous users of a Yahoo! forum in California state court for defamation, trade libel, and tortious interference after the posters criticized the company and its management on the Yahoo! Message Board devoted to the company. According...

Legal Threat - Arthur Bright - 08/27/2008 - 6:46pm - 0 comments

Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law v. Craigslist

Date: 02/03/2006	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Illinois	Publication: User Comment

The Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law ("CLC") sued Craigslist for violations of the Fair Housing Act ("FHA") arising from its users' postings of allegedly discriminatory housing ads on the popular classfied advertising site. Craigslist hosts ads...

Legal Threat - Arthur Bright - 08/27/2008 - 6:14pm - 0 comments

IT Service Management Forum USA v. Prunty

Date: 12/07/2007	Status: Pending	Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Lawsuit	Location: California	Publication: User Comment

IT Service Management Forum USA (ITSMF), a nonprofit organization supporting IT professionals, filed a defamation lawsuit against its former executive director, James Prunty, alleging that he attempted to discredit the organization by posting comments on the IT Skeptic...

Legal Threat - Jason Crow - 08/27/2008 - 5:48pm - 0 comments

SPX Corp. v. Doe

Date: 03/01/2002	Status: Concluded	Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Ohio	Publication: Forum

SPX sued a pseudonymous user of a Yahoo! forum as a John Doe for defamation in Ohio state court after the user accused SPX of illegal and immoral business conduct. According to court documents, Doe criticized SPX and its business...

Legal Threat - Arthur Bright - 08/27/2008 - 5:43pm - 0 comments

Privé Vegas, LLC v. Politz

Date: 08/20/2008	Status: Pending	Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit	Location: Nevada	Publication: Blog

Privé Vegas, LLC and two of its owners sued Las Vegas-based blogger Michael Politz in August 2008, alleging trademark infringement, dilution, and "disaparagement" under the Lanham Act, defamation, trade libel, tortious interference with business relations, and extortion. The company operates...

Legal Threat - Sam Bayard - 08/25/2008 - 6:27pm - 0 comments

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