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.

Liberty Media Holdings v. John Does

Date: 05/06/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Other
Liberty Media Holdings, an adult film company, filed suit on May 6, 2011, against approximately 50 Massachusetts residents for copyright infringement of material allegedly shared over a BitTorrent file transfer protocol. The complaint claims that defendants, through the use of...
- 02/21/2012 - 10:46am - 0 comments

Associated Press v. Meltwater News

Date: 02/14/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
On February 14, 2012, the Associated Press (AP) filed a lawsuit in federal court against Meltwater News, Inc. AP alleges multiple counts of copyright infringment, as well as hot news misappropriation and 17 U.S.C. § 1202 (b) removal/alteration of copyright...
- 02/16/2012 - 4:53pm - 0 comments

PhoneDog, LLC v. Kravitz

Date: 07/15/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Micro-blog
PhoneDog, LLC, an "interactive mobile news and reviews resource," filed suit against former employee Noah Kravitz on July 15, 2011, for ownership of a Twitter account Kravitz used while he was employed by PhoneDog. As a product reviewer for PhoneDog, Kravitz was...
- 02/09/2012 - 5:09pm - 0 comments

Ascentive v. Opinion Corp.

Date: 09/24/2010
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Denied
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Forum
Ascentive, LLC, a software company, filed suit against Opinion Corp. d/b/a PissedConsumer.com on September 24, 2010, claiming that Opinion Corp., through its PissedConsumer website, infringed on Ascentive trademarks. The complaint alleges seven claims for relief against Opinion Corp.: The first...
- 02/09/2012 - 4:53pm - 0 comments

United States v. Megaupload Limited

Date: 01/05/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Website
On January 5, 2012, a grand jury convened in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued an indictment against Megaupload Limited, its affiliate Vestor Limited, and principals Kim Dotcom (a resident of New Zealand and Hong Kong,...
- 02/06/2012 - 4:48pm - 0 comments

Johns-Byrne Company v. TechnoBuffalo

Date: 09/01/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Publication: Blog
On September 1, 2011, Johns-Byrne Company filed a Rule 224 action in Illinois state court. Rule 224 allows a party to conduct limited discovery, before filing a lawsuit, in order to determine the identity of the party that allegedly caused...
- 02/01/2012 - 11:31am - 0 comments

Hard Drive Productions v. Does

Date: 09/27/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
Publication: Other
On September 27, 2011, adult-film company Hard Drive Productions filed a lawsuit in federal court against 1,495 anonymous defendants. The complaint alleged that the defendants were all involved in transferring one of Hard Drive's copyrighted films through the file-sharing protocol...
- 02/01/2012 - 11:08am - 0 comments

Ron Paul 2012 v. Does 1-10

Date: 01/13/2012
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Social Network
On January 13, 2012, Ron Paul's presidential campaign organization sued anonymous YouTube users in federal court over a video posted on YouTube by user "NHLiberty4Paul" on January 4, 2012. The video is critical of then-Republican presidential candidate Jon Hunstman,...
- 01/20/2012 - 2:10pm - 0 comments

Jones v. Dirty World, LLC

Date: 12/23/2009
Status: Pending
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Kentucky
Publication: Blog
On December 23, 2009, a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit in federal court. The plaintiff intended to sue TheDirty.com, alleging that a number of posts on the blog (self-described as a "reality blogger . . . all about gossip...
- 01/13/2012 - 9:09am - 0 comments

Fraley v. Facebook

Date: 03/18/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Social Network
On March 18, 2011, five plaintiffs (including two minors) sued Facebook in California state court. The plaintiffs claimed to represent the class of people injured by Facebook's introduction of a "Sponsored Story" system, through which Facebook turns certain types of user...
- 01/04/2012 - 2:02pm - 0 comments

Shawnee Mission East High School v. Sullivan

Date: 11/21/2011
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Kansas
Publication: Micro-blog
The Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas on Nov. 22, 2011, ordered Emma Sullivan, a student, to write an apology to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback after Sullivan tweeted criticism of Brownback during a school field trip to the Kansas state capitol....
- 12/05/2011 - 4:54pm - 0 comments

United States v. Puerto 80 Projects, S.L.U.

Date: 01/31/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Police Activity
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
Puerto 80 is a solely-owned limited liability company based in Arteixo, Spain. The company operates a website entitled Roja Directa, which provides a chronological listing of sporting events with links to websites that are streaming live broadcasts of those events over the...
- 12/05/2011 - 9:20am - 0 comments

Ingraham v. Gray

Date: 08/18/2010
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Maine
Publication: Blog
In August 2010, married couple Alexis and Brett Ingraham sued blogger Madeline Gray for defamation based on statements posted on Gray's website (NickerNews.net) and distributed via flyers. The Ingrahams' alleged that in a series of blog posts in 2010, Gray accused them...
- 12/05/2011 - 9:12am - 0 comments

Pan Am Systems v. Hardenberg

Date: 09/06/2011
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Maine
Publication: Print, Other
In September 2011, Pan Am Systems, Inc. (a railway transportation company), its subsidiary Springfield Terminal Railway Co., and its former President and CEO David Fink sued Atlantic Northeast Rails & Ports (ANRP) for defamation and false light. The complaint also named...
- 12/05/2011 - 9:00am - 0 comments

Milwaukee Police Dept. v. Kristyna Wentz-Graff

Date: 11/02/2011
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Criminal Charge
Jurisdiction: Wisconsin
Publication:
Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel photographer Kristyna Wentz-Graff was arrested by Milwaukee police while Wentz-Graff was photographing a protest by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students at the school's campus on Nov. 2, 2011. Wentz-Graff, a three-time Wisconsin "Photographer of the Year," was later released...
- 11/07/2011 - 4:31pm - 0 comments

Apple, Inc. v. Odioworks, LLC

Date: 11/01/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Wiki
In November 2008, Apple, Inc. threatened legal action against Odioworks, LLC, a corporation that operates public wiki site BluWiki, if Odioworks did not take down information published on BluWiki about how to use an iPod or iPhone with third-party software.   Odioworks...
- 11/07/2011 - 4:27pm - 0 comments

Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox

Date: 01/14/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Oregon
Publication: Blog
On January 14, 2011, Obsidian Finance Group, LLC, and Obsidian Senior Principal Kevin Padrick filed a defamation suit in Oregon federal court against blogger Crystal Cox. The complaint alleged that Cox had written a number of false and defamatory statements...
- 11/07/2011 - 1:14pm - 0 comments

Antioch University v. The Antioch Papers

Date: 02/29/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Publication: Website
The Antioch Papers, an investigative journalism and media arts website, maintains and "open archive for primary source materials that document the institutional life of Antioch College and by extension Antioch University."  Source materials have been gathered through publicly accessible archives and through...
- 11/04/2011 - 10:06am - 0 comments

Justin Bieber v. FreeBieber.org

Date: 10/25/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Fight for the Future is an advocacy organization focusing on free speech and consumer rights issues related to intellectual property and technology. The organization is opposed to Senate Bill S.978, introduced in May 2011, which alters the criminal penalties for copyright...
- 10/31/2011 - 3:04pm - 0 comments

Darm v. Craig

Date: 07/01/2011
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Oregon
Publication: Social Network
In July 2011, medical spa doctor Jerrold "Jerry" Darm sued blogger Tiffany Craig for defamation in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon.  Darm alleged that Craig defamed him when she wrote about a 2001 disciplinary order against the doctor from...
- 10/12/2011 - 5:37pm - 0 comments

Pages