Is a search engine liable for publishing defamatory materials that are assembled for the first time in an automated manner by its programmed computers? In the recent Australian case Trkulja v Google Inc LLC & Anor (No 5) [2012] VSC 533 (12 November 2012), a jury found Google liable. The trial judge confirmed the jury’s ruling holding that search engines are publishers for the purposes of defamation law when their computers produce and put together search results in accordance with their intended operation.
Archive for the ‘Internet defamation’ category
Search engines liability for defamation – Trkulja v Google
November 28th, 2012Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2011-2012)
June 21st, 2012Here are the slides used in my presentation to the Toronto Computer Lawyers Group earlier today, The Year in Review: Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2011-2012). It covers significant developements since my talk last spring, Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2010-2011).
The slides include a summary of the following cases:
Kraft Real Estate Investments, LLC v Homeway.com, Inc. 2012 WL 220271 (D.S.Car. Jan 24, 2012)
Swift v. Zynga Game Network, Inc., 805 F.Supp.2d 904, (N.D.Cal., 2011)
Fteja v. Facebook, Inc., 2012 WL 183896 (S.D.N.Y. 2012)
Grosvenor v. Qwest Corp., 2012 WL 602655 (D.Colo., 2012)
Posted in APIs, authorization, C-11, CASL, click wrap agreement, Computer & Internet Law Update, conflicts of laws, contracts, contributory infringement, Copyright, copyright reform, data protection, defamation, DMCA safe harbor, E-commerce, Google Book Scanning, hyperlinking liability, innocent disseminator, intellectual property, Internet defamation, ISP Liability, IT Contracts, jurisdiction, misleading advertising, OSFI Guidlines, Presentations, Privacy, Reproduction, shrink wrap license, spam, Trade Marks, web wrap agreement
Tags: barry sookman canada clickwraps computer law copyright class actions copyright computer programs copyright infringement dmca E-commerce forum selection clauses Google Adwords hosting liability Internet Intermediary liability internet jurisdiction internet law ISP Liability keywords and misleading advertising online defamation webwraps
Copyright law 2011 –the year in review in Canada and around the world
January 13th, 2012Yesterday, I gave a talk at the Law Society of Upper Canada’s 16th Annual Intellectual Property Law: The Year in Review program. My talk canvassed developments in copyright in 2011. My slides are shown below. The associated paper prepared in collaboration with Glen Bloom, with the help of others, is available here.
My slides and/or the paper summarize the following copyright cases from Canada, the USA, UK and Europe:
CANADA
Re: Sound v Motion Picture Theatre Association of Canada 2011 FCA 70
Reference re Broadcasting Act 2011 FCA 64
Crookes v. Newton 2011 SCC 47
Posted in authorization, C-11, communication to the public, Copyright, copyright reform, Counterfeiting, cyberlockers, Fair Dealing, Fair Use, Google Book Scanning, human rights, hyperlinking liability, infringment, Internet defamation, jurisdiction, Piracy, Presentations, Reproduction, statutory damages, storage lockers
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