Recent Threats Added to the DMLP Database

NOTE: The information and commentary contained in this database entry are based on court filings and other informational sources that may contain unproven allegations made by the parties. The truthfulness and accuracy of such information is likely to be in dispute. Information contained in this entry is current as of the last event mentioned in the "Description" section below; additional proceedings might have taken place in this matter since this event.

Zhang v. China Free Press, Inc.

Date: 06/14/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Zhang Ziyi is an international motion picture actress who has appeared in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha. On June 14, 2012, Zhang filed a complaint in the Central District of California against the corporation China...
- 07/15/2013 - 1:56pm - 0 comments

Monsarrat v. Filcman

Date: 04/30/2013
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Website
On February 4, 2013, Jonathan Graves Monsarrat filed a complaint in the Superior Court Department of Middlesex County, Massachusetts against defendants Deb Filcman, Ron Newman, and John and Jane Does 1-100. The complaint alleges that the defendants posted defamatory comments...
- 07/12/2013 - 9:47am - 0 comments

Baker v. Haiti-Observateur Group

Date: 09/10/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Print, Website
On Sept. 10, 2012, Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and "prominent businessman" Patrice Baker filed suit in federal court against Haiti-Observateur Group, an online and printed news publication, and Leo Joseph, a Haitian-American journalist who owns and edits Haiti-Observateur. The plaintiffs claimed...
- 06/28/2013 - 10:59am - 0 comments

Backpage.com v. Cooper, et al.

Date: 05/21/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Issued
Type: Legislation
Jurisdiction: Tennessee
Publication: Website
On May 21, 2012, Tennessee State Governor Bill Haslam signed Public Chapter 1075 ("SB 2371") into law. Tennessee's SB 2371 defined the felony offense of advertising "commercial sexual abuse of a minor" which a person commits if he or she...
- 06/25/2013 - 2:40pm - 0 comments

Craigslist v. 3taps

Date: 07/20/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Lawsuit Filed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Craigslist is a classified advertisements website with one section of its site dedicated to housing. With a simple design that has not been significantly updated since its creation, craiglist allows users to post (among other things) apartment rental listings. In order to...
- 06/11/2013 - 7:46am - 0 comments

Peteski Productions, Inc. v. Gawker Media, Inc.

Date: 05/06/2013
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Peteski Productions is the copyright owner of the television show the Dr. Phil Show, and Gawker Media is the owner of the sports news website Deadspin.com. This dispute concerns coverage by both Deadspin.com and the Dr. Phil Show addressing the...
- 05/10/2013 - 9:49am - 0 comments

Tuteur v. Crosley-Corcoran

Date: 01/25/2013
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Blog
On January 25, 2013, Dr. Amy Tuteur, an obstetrician-gynecologist residing in Massachusetts, filed suit in federal court against Gina Crosley-Corcoran, a resident of Illinois, based upon a dispute arising out of blogs written by each individual: The Skeptical OB, by Tuteur, and...
- 04/29/2013 - 1:08pm - 0 comments

David v. CBS Interactive, Inc.

Date: 11/14/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
On Nov. 14, 2011, a group of musicians and music companies claiming to be the legal owners of copyrighted works available for unlicensed use through various peer-to-peer (P2P) BitTorrent clients filed suit against CBS Interactive, Inc. (CBSI) and CNET Networks,...
- 04/29/2013 - 10:10am - 0 comments

Duffy v. Godfread

Date: 02/19/2013
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida, Illinois
Publication: Blog, Email, Forum
This action is closely linked to two other threats in the database: Prenda Law v. Godfread and Steele v. Godfread. Several of the related filings can be found in the database entry for Prenda Law v....
- 03/07/2013 - 11:49am - 0 comments

Steele v. Godfread

Date: 02/24/2013
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Florida
Publication: Blog, Email, Forum
This action is closely linked to two other threats in the database: Prenda Law v. Godfread and Duffy v. Godfread. All related filings can be found in the database entry for Prenda Law v. Godfread. Plaintiff...
- 03/07/2013 - 11:49am - 0 comments

Prenda Law v. Godfread

Date: 02/12/2013
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Blog, Email, Forum
This action is closely linked to two other threats in the database: Steele v. Godfread and Duffy v. Godfread. Plaintiff Prenda Law is a law firm that has brought numerous plaintiff-side copyright cases concerning the sharing of movies...
- 03/07/2013 - 11:49am - 0 comments

Haywood v. St. Michael’s College

Date: 07/24/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Vermont
Publication: Website
In January 2012, a professor at St. Michael's College posted a profile of John D. Haywood, a candidate for President of the United States in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, to a college-owned website. His students, Logan R. Spillane and Christopher...
- 02/14/2013 - 5:06pm - 0 comments

Saltsman v. Goddard

Date: 10/25/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Publication: Blog
In August 2012, two football players from Steubenville High School were arrested and charged with the rape of a 16-year-old girl. Classmates circulated Twitter posts, videos, and photographs indicating that the players may have carried the girl, unconscious, from party to party...
- 01/17/2013 - 1:00pm - 0 comments

Dietz Development LLC v. Perez

Date: 10/31/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Forum
Dietz Development is a construction contractor based in Washington, DC. According to the complaint, Jane Perez, a high school classmate of Dietz Development owner Christopher Dietz, hired Dietz Development to do work on Perez's home. Disagreements arose over the nature...
- 12/14/2012 - 11:24am - 0 comments

AF Holdings LLC v. Doe

Date: 04/24/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Other
On April 24, 2012, AF Holdings LLC filed a complaint against a John Doe defendant as well as individual defendant Josh Hatfield in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, arising out of the alleged distribution via...
- 11/28/2012 - 2:09pm - 0 comments

Directory Assistants, Inc. v. SuperMedia, LLC

Date: 08/26/2011
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Email, Website
On August 26, 2011, Directory Assistants, Inc., a Connecticut-based advertising consulting agency, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against advertising company SuperMedia, LLC, and three of its employees. The claims, which sound...
- 11/15/2012 - 4:50pm - 0 comments

Seaton v. TripAdvisor, LLC

Date: 10/11/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Tennessee
Publication: Website
In January 2011, TripAdvisor, operator of the travel review website http://www.tripadvisor.com, published a list entitled "Dirtiest Hotels, as reported by travelers on TripAdvisor," which purported to be a list of the dirtiest hotels in the United States. Grand Resort Hotel...
- 10/22/2012 - 3:19pm - 0 comments

Garcia v. Nakoula

Date: 09/18/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Social Network
This case concerns the "Innocence of Muslims" video, which portrays the Prophet Muhammad in a highly offensive light and caused protests throughout the world in the fall of 2012. Cindy Lee Garcia was an actress who appeared in the film....
- 09/26/2012 - 9:41am - 0 comments

New York County v. Twitter, Inc. (subpoena)

Date: 01/26/2012
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Enforced
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Micro-blog
Malcolm Harris is one of hundreds of protesters charged with disorderly conduct after the Occupy Wall Street protest march across the Brooklyn Bridge in October 2011. In the course of this investigation, on January 26, 2012, the New York County District Attorney...
- 08/09/2012 - 9:30am - 0 comments

Backpage.com v. McKenna, et al.

Date: 06/04/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Legislation
Jurisdiction: Washington
Publication:
On March 29, 2012, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signed Washington Senate Bill No. 6251 ("SB 6251") into law. SB 6251 defines the felony offense of "advertising commercial sexual abuse of a minor," which a person commits if he or...
- 08/02/2012 - 3:15pm - 0 comments

Pages