Stanford Center for Internet and Society

A New Hampshire District Court has ruled that two state IP law claims - a right of publicity claim and a false designation of origin claim - are not preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

On January 4, the Supreme Court denied the petition for cert in Kahle v. Gonzales. On that same day, in a victory for CIS, the 10th Circuit refused the government's petition for rehearing in Golan v. Gonzales.

CIS has petitioned for review of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Kahle v. Gonzalez, asking the Supreme Court to clarify the scope of the “traditional contours of copyright protection” referred to in Eldred, and to decide whether the change from an “opt-in” to an “opt-out” system of copyright a change in a traditional contour of copyright protection.

After our win in Golan v. Gonzales, the government has petitioned the Tenth Circuit for a rehearing of the case, which decided that the Uruguay Round Agreements Act altered the "traditional contours" of copyright and therefore triggers First Amendment Review.

The Attorney General's office seeks a standard - that First Amendment review is only triggered by changes in the idea/expression dichotomy or in fair use - that the Supreme Court has already rejected in Eldred. Our response to the petition for rehearing urges the Tenth Circuit adhere to its carefully reasoned opinion in this case.

On October 12 we filed Floyd Webb's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiff, in his motion, asked the court to enjoin Floyd Webb from using on his website or in his documentary film any copyrighted materials or trademarks the Plaintiff claims to own.

Plaintiff William V. Aguiar III, sued documentary filmmaker Floyd Webb, alleging that Webb's promotional website and film trailer for his upcoming film infringe on copyrights and trademarks that Aguiar claims to own. Webb's film, "The Search for Count Dante," will chronicle the real-life odyssey of martial arts master John Keehan, a.k.a. Count Juan Raphael Dante -- "The Crown Prince of Death."