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Section 230 of the CDA protects online news website from defamatory comment posted by anonymous person — Hadley v. Gatehouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc.,2012 WL 2866463 (N.D. Ill. July 10, 2012)

This is a pretty straightforward Section 230 case.  Gatehouse Media Freeport Holdings, Inc. publishes The Journal-Standard.  Like many modern newspapers, The Journal-Standard is available in print and online.  The Journal-Standard published an article about Bill Hadley, a candidate for political office.  An anonymous person using the name “Fuboy” posted an online comment to the article saying that “Hadley is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed.  Check out the view he has of Empire from his front door.”  Hadley sued Gatehouse Media for defamation.

Gatehouse Media got the lawsuit dismissed based on Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which provides that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”  47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1).  As a website host that allows readers to post comments, Gatehouse Media was an “interactive computer service.”  A user who posts comments on the newspaper’s website is “another information content provider.”  That means Gatehouse Media is not considered the publisher or speaker of the allegedly defamatory comment directed at Hadley.

Hadley hypothesized that Gatehouse Media could have invented a fictitious person named “Fuboy” to post the comment anonymously.  There being no evidence, the court disregarded the argument as “sheer speculation.”

LegalTXT Lesson: Section 230 is a powerful shield against defamation in the digital age, and a much needed one given the ease with which anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can post outlandish remarks under the cover of anonymity on a website hosted by a member of the mainstreammedia.

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Photographer barred from claiming statutory damages and attorneys’ fees for copyright infringement of unregistered photographs — Davis v. Tampa Bay Arena, Ltd., 2012 WL 2116136 (M.D. Fla. June 11, 2012)

This case is a good illustration of a basic concept in copyright litigation.  If you want to preserve the right to seek statutory damages and attorneys’ fees in case someone infringes on copyrights you own, make sure you register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office.

The plaintiff (“Davis”) photographed events at the Tampa Bay Times Forum under contract with the owner of the Forum (the “Forum”). The contract allowed the Forum use Davis’ photos for limited purposes, but apparently, publishing the photos on its Facebook page was not one of them.  Davis maintained ownership and copyright of all the photos he took at the Forum’s events.  Davis sued the Forum for copyright infringement for posting 255 of his photos on the Forum’s Facebook page, where other users could download the photos free of charge and without restriction.

In the face of as motion to dismiss filed by the Forum, the court let most of the claims in Davis’ complaint proceed because factual allegations in a complaint are assumed to be true at that early stage of the case.  However, Davis admitted that he had a registration certificate for only 40 of the 255 photographs.  The court therefore dismissed Davis’ infringement claims for statutory damages and attorneys’ fees for based on the 215 photographs for which Davis did not allege he had a registration certificate.

LegalTXT Lesson:  The takeaway from Davis is pretty straightforward.  A copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is required to recover statutory damages and attorneys’ fees for copyright infringement.  Without being able to recover statutory damages, the copyright holder has to prove actual damage or profit from the alleged infringement, which could be a difficult exercise.  The prospect of shifting attorneys’ fees to the loser in a copyright infringement case also gives the copyright holder added leverage.  Consult an attorney to make sure you satisfy all the requirements for bringing a copyright infringement action.