Media Matters

The Truth Sets Lifetime Free

In a decision sure to generate sighs of relief from “true-story” producers everywhere, a New York appellate court has granted … Read More

Fair Report, Fairly Done.

It can be challenging to report on legal proceedings while steering clear of defamation landmines. A recent federal court decision, … Read More

Shake It Off

Look what Taylor Swift made the Supreme Court do. Citing the pop icon, the Supreme Court recently hinted approval for … Read More

New York SLAPPs Back

Anti-SLAPP statutes have been a powerful weapon for media companies defending claims arising from a wide range of content – … Read More

Section 230 Under Attack

On Tuesday, July 28th, Missouri Senator Joshua Hawley introduced a bill to limit protections for companies that “display manipulative, behavioral … Read More

When Fair Use Is Foul

Although publishers often cry “fair use” to defend their use of copyrighted images, two recent federal court decisions highlight the … Read More

10/29 - Bill Maher and HBO have been sued by conservative political activist Laura Loomer for a joke made on the HBO talk/comedy series Real Time with Bill Maher. Maher joked that Loomer was “maybe in an arranged relationship” with former President Trump and that the answer to the question “who’s Trump f***ing” “might be Laura Loomer.” The lawsuit claims Loomer is a strong advocate for Trump, and “became a target of Bill Maher and Home Box Office, both of whom advocate for Democrat Party officials and values.” Loomer claims defendants published their comments with actual malice, and is seeking more than $150 million in damages.

10/22-Following the Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Former President Trump, the five wrongly convicted men known as the Central Park Five are suing Trump over allegedly defamatory remarks he made about them. During the debate, Trump falsely claimed the men had killed someone and pled guilty. The Central Park Five were exonerated in 2002 of the sexual assault charges bought against them in 1989. The lawsuit cites the fact that these statements are demonstratively false, and along with the full page advertisement that Trump took out in The NY Times two weeks after the incident calling for their execution to prove a continuing tort. A Trump Presidential campaign spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as “frivolous”.

9/23-Manhattan prosecutors have accused Michael Smith, a 52-year-old man from North Carolina, of using mass produced AI generated music and a complicated network of bots and fake internet accounts to fraudulently acquire $10 million in royalties. The alleged scheme ran over an eight-year period, during which Smith uploaded hundreds of thousands of AI created songs to popular streaming platforms and then used fake bot accounts to continuously stream them, earning him millions in royalties (and in turn depriving legitimate artists of them). Smith has pleaded not guilty to the charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.

9/14 - Federal district court judge Judge John G. Koeltl ruled that Donald Trump’s unlicensed use of the 1982 hit song Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant in a video posted on his and an aide's Twitter feeds constituted copyright infringement. Trump’s counsel argued that the use was protected by the fair use doctrine because it was not used in a commercial seeking donations, and that the clip sufficiently transformed the song - points that the judge disagreed with. Now a jury will determine the amount of Grant’s damages. Grant is seeking $300,000 plus his legal fees.

8/28 - Late last week a defamation lawsuit brought against Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey in Okeechobee County, FL was dismissed. Sheriff Ivey created an online show called “Wheel of Fugitives", and on four occasions featured the plaintiff, David Austin Gay, who claimed that he was not a fugitive at the time of filming any of those instances. After three Brevard County judges recused themselves for ties to the sheriff, the case was moved to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court where Judge Laurie Buchanan threw out the case, citing a prior Florida appellate court ruling that asserts that public officials have “absolute immunity” over comments made in the course of their official duties.

Media Matters

Cameron Stracher

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