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.

FranklinCovey v. Lycos, Inc.

Date: 12/17/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Utah
Publication: Website
In December 2007, FranklinCovey Co., the owner of the copyright in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, filed suit against Lycos and five "John Doe" defendants, alleging copyright infringement. Lycos operates Angelfire, a website that offers free...
- 04/11/2008 - 1:38pm - 0 comments

Sykes v. Seidel

Date: 03/24/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: New Hampshire
Publication: Blog
On March 28, 2008, Clifford Shoemaker, acting on behalf of Lisa and Seth Sykes, subpoenaed blogger Kathleen Seidel. Seidel publishes the blog Neurodiversity, where she writes about autism issues. In February 2008, she wrote about the Sykes' lawsuit...
- 04/11/2008 - 11:58am - 4 comments

United States v. Givemeliberty.org

Date: 04/02/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Website
The United States government sought an injunction requiring Robert Schulz and his nonprofit organizations dedicated to "'institutionalizing' citizen vigilance and governmental accountability" to remove information promoting the non-payment of income taxes from the organizations' websites www.givemeliberty.org,...
- 04/10/2008 - 8:48pm - 0 comments

Perez Hilton v. Jonathan Jaxson

Date: 04/09/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog, Print, Verbal
On April 8, 2008, Perez Hilton sued fellow gossip-blogger Jonathan Jaxson for libel, slander, invasion of privacy, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jaxson, the former publicist for the Backstreet Boys whose real name is Jonathan Wayne Lewandowski, operates a blog called ...
- 04/10/2008 - 6:16pm - 0 comments

T-Mobile v. Engadget

Date: 03/20/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Publication: Blog
On March 20, 2008, Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile, sent a letter to Weblogs, Inc., the company that runs Engadget, requesting that it stop using the color magenta in the logo for its Engadget Mobile...
- 04/03/2008 - 12:21pm - 0 comments

Schuster v. The Fresno Bee

Date: 01/23/2008
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog, Website
A defense attorney for Larissa Schuster, who was convicted of murder, subpoenaed The Fresno Bee seeking the Internet protocol addresses and dates of access for all users of the paper's website and blog during the period surrounding the...
- 03/27/2008 - 6:50pm - 0 comments

Gillam v. Klein

Date: 04/11/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Blog
Tom Gillam, a Justice of the Peace in Texas, sued blogger and talkshow host Philip Klein for defamation stemming from statements Klein made on his blog, the Southeast Texas Political Review. Gillam also sued Klein Investments Inc., Klein's company, Fox...
- 03/27/2008 - 6:01pm - 0 comments

MediaDefender v. isoHunt.com and GPiO.org

Date: 09/17/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Arizona, Canada, Norway
Publication: Forum, Website
After internal e-mails from MediaDefender, a company that seeks to prevent the "spread of illegally traded copyrighted material over the Internet and Peer-to-Peer networks," were leaked, the company sent takedown notices to a number of sites that posted and...
- 03/27/2008 - 5:12pm - 0 comments

Wal-Mart v. Smith (Counterclaims)

Date: 03/28/2006
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Publication: Website, Other
Wal-Mart filed counterclaims in a lawsuit against Charles Smith, asserting trademark and unfair competition claims under federal and state law. The case arose after Smith created a website using the domain name www.walocaust.com and started selling nazi-themed "Walocaust" merchandise through his account...
- 03/24/2008 - 2:06pm - 0 comments

Wal-Mart v. Smith (Letters)

Date: 12/28/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Publication: Website, Other
On December 28, 2005 and again on February 1, 2006, Wal-Mart sent cease-and-desist letters to Charles Smith and CafePress asserting trademark and unfair competition claims. The letters came after Smith created a website using the domain name www.walocaust.com and started selling nazi-themed...
- 03/24/2008 - 11:14am - 0 comments

Unnamed Businessman v. Disqus

Date: 12/07/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Material Removed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Disqus is a provider of a website comment system, which enables website operators and bloggers to fight spam and manage the comments appearing on their platforms. It also allows commenters to create profiles that store their comments from all websites and blogs...
- 03/19/2008 - 6:11pm - 0 comments

GreatSchools, Inc. v. Maura Larkins

Date: 03/13/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Maura Larkins, who maintains the San Diego Education Report website and writes about education attorneys in San Diego, created a page on her website where she reproduced material from a forum thread from SchwabLearning.org's Parent-to-Parent message board....
- 03/19/2008 - 5:05pm - 0 comments

Kono v. Meeker

Date: 05/15/2003
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Verdict (plaintiff)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Iowa
Publication: Website
In May 2003, Dana Kono sued Lawrence and Carole Meeker in Iowa state court for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. After an acrimonious business dispute between the Meekers and Kono over a botched exchange of...
- 03/19/2008 - 4:15pm - 0 comments

World Wide Association of Specialty Programs v. PURE, Inc.

Date: 01/04/2002
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Verdict (defendant)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Utah
Publication: Forum, Print, Verbal, Website
World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools ("World Wide") is a Utah corporation that provides referral services, counseling, and recomendations with regard to schools and residential treatment programs for troubled and at-risk teenagers. In January 2002, World Wide sued PURE Foundation,...
- 03/19/2008 - 2:48pm - 0 comments

Floyd v. WBTW

Date: 07/17/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: South Carolina
Publication: Website
In July 2006, Dr. James Floyd sued South Carolina television station WBTW-TV and its parent company for defamation in South Carolina state court. The dispute revolved around a March 1, 2006 WBTW-TV report on local doctors suspended from the practice of medicine...
- 03/19/2008 - 10:52am - 0 comments

Garrido v. Bambauer

Date: 01/16/2008
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Publication: Blog
Derek Bambauer, a law professor and legal blogger, wrote a series of posts about the Garrido v. Krasnansky case on the blog Info/Law. In one of the posts, Bambauer expressed an unflattering opinion about Ms. Garrido, who...
- 03/12/2008 - 5:25pm - 0 comments

Garrido v. Krasnansky

Date: 12/07/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: Injunction Denied, Injunction Issued
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Vermont
Publication: Blog
Maria Garrido and William Krasnansky are spouses involved in divorce proceedings before a Vermont family court. Mr. Krasnansky wrote a "thinly-disguised, fictionalized account" of the end of their marriage on his blog, LookAtMyPugs's Jurnull. On the blog, Krasnansky...
- 03/12/2008 - 4:55pm - 0 comments

Utah Lighthouse Ministry v. Wyatt

Date: 04/25/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Utah
Publication: Website
The Utah Lighthouse Ministry (UTLM), an organization that publishes information critically analyzing the history and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), sued Allen Wyatt, his company Discovery Computing, Inc. (DCI), the Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research...
- 03/12/2008 - 3:46pm - 0 comments

Montana Holdings v. Doe

Date: 07/31/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total), Subpoena Quashed
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Website
Montana Holdings, a resort developer located in the Bahamas, filed a John Doe lawsuit in Arizona state court against the anonymous operator of the website www.resortbuyerbeware.com. The website allegedly contained false and defamatory statements about a Montana Holdings resort project and...
- 03/12/2008 - 2:03pm - 0 comments

In re Jimmie P. Cokinos

Date: 06/01/2004
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Subpoena Quashed
Type: Subpoena
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Email
Jimmie Cokinos, a former Jefferson County Commissioner, petitioned a Texas state court for permission to issue a subpoena to Time Warner Cable seeking the identity of a subscriber. The subscriber, using the pseudonym "recall+carl01," had sent a series of emails to...
- 03/12/2008 - 12:28pm - 0 comments

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