Twitter Trial Torpedoed

The National Law Journal reports that a settlement is likely in fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir's lawsuit against singer Courtney Love over Tweets criticizing the designer, which is scheduled to go to trial in February.  As noted previously, the case would have been the first defamation trial in U.S. based on comments posted on Twitter.

My Thrill on TWiL

This morning I was among the guests on the This Week in Law webcast, during which we discussed several current issues in Internet and technology law, ranging from Tweeting from courtrooms, which I do know something about, to the implications of copyright and patent protection for various video codecs, which is pretty much beyond my expertise. 

Audio and video of the webcast is available here.

Swag, and Swagger, at the Auto Show

Friday's Detroit News had an article on the "freebies galore" that journalists received during the "press preview" days of the 2011 North American International Auto Show.  The Wall Street Journal also had a blog posting on one car company's popular giveaway.

But how many of these reporters are going to tell their editors -- or their readers -- about the swag they received?

Mistrial in Pennsylvania Gives Me a Voice

The Citizen Voice newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. called me Friday afternoon to comment on a mistrial in a capital murder case after a juror did research online and shared the information with other jurors.  To be quoted in a late-breaking story in the East, it's good to be on Pacific Time.

I'm also scheduled to be a guest on This Week in Law this coming Friday [Jan. 21], at 2 p.m. Eastern time.  You can watch it at http://twit.tv/twil.

U.K. Extends Consumer Disclosure Laws Online, As In U.S.

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
The Office of Fair Trading, the British equivalent of the United States Federal Trade Commission, has determined that the hiring of bloggers and other social media contributors to promote particular products without adequate disclosure of the relationship may violate U.K. consumer protection laws. Handpicked Media Ltd (Handpicked Media), Case Ref. CRE-E-25932 (OFT Dec. 13, 2010).  This is the first time these laws have been applied online.

This is similar to the stance that the FTC has taken in a 2009 update to its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising," which includes disclosure requirements for similar arrangements.  I and others have written extensively about the guides and their application.

OMG! Twitter Trial Looks GTG*

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir's lawsuit against singer Courtney Love over Tweets criticizing the designer is going to trial next month.  [UPDATE: The National Law Journal reports that a settlement is likely.]  If there is no pre-trial settlement, this would apparently be the first defamation trial in U.S. based on comments posted on Twitter.