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.

Subway v. Quiznos (Letters)

Date: 11/01/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
In late 2006, restaurant franchisor Quiznos and video-sharing site iFilm co-sponsored a nationwide contest, “Quiznos v. Subway TV Ad Challenge,” inviting members of the public to submit videos comparing a Quiznos sandwich to a Subway sandwich using the theme "meat, no meat." Contestants submitted their videos...
- 10/24/2007 - 9:47pm - 0 comments

Maricopa County v. Phoenix New Times

Date: 07/01/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Withdrawn
Type: Criminal Investigation
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Website
Starting in 2004, the Phoenix New Times published a number of articles critical of Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. In one article published on its website in 2004, the newspaper disclosed Arpaio's home address as part of a story raising questions about...
- 10/24/2007 - 7:12pm - 0 comments

Zomba Recording, LLC v. Lavandeira

Date: 10/11/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Blog
Zomba Recording, LLC filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement and conversion against popular Hollywood blogger Mario Lavandeira (aka Perez Hilton) for allegedly uploading unreleased Britney Spears tracks onto his celebrity gossip blog, www.perezhilton.com. Zomba, a Sony BMG subsidiary which owns the...
- 10/24/2007 - 9:18am - 0 comments

Weedsport Central School District v. Wisniewski

Date: 04/26/2001
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Other
Aaron Wisniewski, an eighth grader, sent instant messages to several of his friends using his home computer. The instant messages contained a "buddy icon" that Aaron had designed, which was a picture of a pistol firing at a man's head with the...
- 10/23/2007 - 5:19pm - 0 comments

Doninger v. Niehoff

Date: 07/16/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Connecticut
Publication: Blog
Administrators barred a Connecticut high school student from running in a student election after the student critized admininstrators online for their handling of a student festival. In the spring of 2007, Jamfest, a yearly music festival at a Connecticut high school, experienced...
- 10/23/2007 - 2:13pm - 0 comments

Goldman v. Digg.com

Date: 08/03/2007
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
An attorney for Fred Goldman and his copyright management company, Ron Goldman, LLC, sent a cease and desist letter to Digg.com, a social linking site. In the letter, the attorney alleged that Digg was "encouraging and inducing users of...
- 10/22/2007 - 9:54pm - 0 comments

Rapacchiano v. Visceglia

Date: 01/08/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Default Judgment, Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Publication: Forum, Social Network
Patrick Rapacchiano sued Anthony and Felice Visceglia for defamation for publishing critical statements about him on Mr. Visceglia's MySpace page and in an online forum. Rapacchiano sued in New Jersey state court, and the Visceglias failed to answer. The court appears to...
- 10/18/2007 - 11:29am - 0 comments

DirectBuy v. Leonard

Date: 09/21/2007
Status:
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Forum
Justin Leonard of Scottsdale, Arizona publishes three websites: infomercialblog.com, infomercialratings.com, and infomercialscams.com. These websites give consumers the opportunity to voice their criticisms and defenses of various products and services. On September 21, 2007, DirectBuy, a company...
- 10/18/2007 - 9:51am - 0 comments

Unknown Homeowner v. Madison

Date: 09/01/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: n/a
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Blog
Mike Madison and two co-bloggers published Blog-Lebo, which covers matters of local interest in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. In September 2007, Madison posted about a neighborhood dispute that arose when a local homeowner re-landscaped his backyard and blocked (or threatened to block)...
- 10/18/2007 - 9:34am - 0 comments

Taubman v. Mishkoff (Letters)

Date: 05/17/2001
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Texas
Publication: Website
After hearing that the Taubman Company Limited Partnership was building a large shopping mall near his home, Henry Mishkoff created a website and registered a domain name for it at "shopsatwillowbend.com." (Taubman's official website for the mall was located at "theshopsatwillowbend.com" and...
- 10/15/2007 - 4:56pm - 0 comments

Coons v. Oliphant (Letter)

Date: 12/23/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Tennessee
Publication: Email
On December 22, 2006, John Oliphant sent a mass email entitled "the Worst Party Guest Ever," in which he made insulting remarks about Ron Coons and accused him of drugging women at a party. The email included a picture of Coons and...
- 10/15/2007 - 2:26pm - 0 comments

Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy

Date: 05/24/1995
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Forum
In October 1994, an unknown user posted statements on Prodigy's "Money Talk" bulletin board indicating that Stratton Oakmont, Inc., a Long Island securities brokerage firm, and its president, Daniel Porush, had committed criminal and fraudulent acts in connection with the initial public...
- 10/15/2007 - 10:45am - 0 comments

Cubby v. Compuserve

Date: 01/01/1990
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Withdrawn
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: New York
Publication: Forum
In this landmark internet case, internet service provider Compuserve was absolved from liability for content hosted on its servers. Don Fitzpatrick published a daily newsletter called "Rumorville" that provided news and gossip pieces about the journalism industry and individual reporters. Rumorville...
- 10/15/2007 - 10:42am - 0 comments

Trosch v. Layshock

Date: 04/01/2007
Status: Pending
Disposition: n/a
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Publication: Social Network
In December 2005, Justin Layshock and three other high school students created fake MySpace profiles for their principal, Eric Trosch. The profiles included an official school portrait of Trosch and answers to the website's template questions for creating a profile. Many of...
- 10/12/2007 - 7:44pm - 0 comments

Hudson High School v. Bowler

Date: 05/17/2005
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (partial), Settled (total)
Type: Disciplinary Action
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Publication: Print, Website
In the fall of 2004, two students at Hudson High School ("HHS") in Hudson, Massachusetts formed a Conservative Club in an effort to provide a forum for pro-conservative views on campus. The HHS Conservative Club was affiliated with a national organization, the...
- 10/10/2007 - 2:40pm - 1 comments

Covington v. King

Date: 06/11/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
Publication: Forum
Sometime in 2007, statements appeared on Harold King's forum site, "McAlister Watercooler," questioning the legality of Steve Covington's payday loan business and linking him to a former State Senator who had pled guilty to charges of perjury, conspiracy to obstruct a Federal...
- 10/09/2007 - 5:25pm - 0 comments

Jankovic v. International Crisis Group

Date: 07/15/2004
Status: Pending
Disposition: Dismissed (partial)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
Publication: Email, Print
Milan Jankovic, aka Philip Zepter, along with two of his businesses, Fieldpoint B.V. and United Business Activities Holding, filed suit against International Crisis Group (ICG), claiming defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and tortious interference with business expectancy. Non-profit ICG publishes newsletters,...
- 10/06/2007 - 2:37pm - 0 comments

Lowe's v. Harkleroad

Date: 09/19/2007
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Settled (total)
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Publication: Website
Allen Harkleroad was dissatisfied with the installation of a fence he purchased from Lowe's. When Lowe's refused to provide further assistance, Harkleroad launched a "gripe" site, Lowes-sucks.com. On the site, Harkleroad posted photos and text detailing his complaints about the...
- 10/03/2007 - 11:34am - 0 comments

Best Western v. Doe

Date: 06/16/2006
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Dismissed (total)
Type: Lawsuit
Jurisdiction: Arizona
Publication: Forum
Best Western International (BWI) is a non-profit organization whose members operate Best Western hotels around the world. In May 2006, the website "www.freewrites.com" was established as a forum for BWI members and "governors" to discuss matters about BWI administration on a confidential...
- 09/26/2007 - 12:02pm - 0 comments

Reynolds v. Falk (Letters)

Date: 08/25/2004
Status: Concluded
Disposition: Lawsuit Filed
Type: Correspondence
Jurisdiction: California
Publication: Website
Edward Falk operates a spam watchdog website, the "Spam Tracking Page." On the website, Falk indicated that Jerry Reynolds was associated with a number of spamming companies and pornographic websites. On August 24, 2004, Reynolds's lawyer sent Falk a cease-and-desist letter, threatening...
- 09/25/2007 - 8:00pm - 0 comments

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