Federal Courts Discuss Smartphone Policies

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
The U.S. Judicial Conference, which helps set policy for federal circuit (appeals) and district (trial) courts, has issued a memo, first reported by Wired's "Threat Level" blog, that is meant to help individual courts set policies on when and how smartphones and similar devices can be brought into and used in courthouses and in courtrooms.

Fine Day for FTC's Blogger Rules

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the first monetary penalty under the its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising": a $250,000 settlement with a company that sells guitar lessons on DVDs.

Mommies Blog Best

The New York Times apparently has "a thing" for "mommy bloggers," with two articles in recent weeks focusing on women who blog about their families, children and everyday lives; and also discuss services and products, which has gotten the attention -- and, in some cases, largesse -- of marketers.

Another Twibel Contender

As I noted yesterday, we're still waiting for the first defamation trial in an American court stemming from Twitter -- what the British apparently think us Yanks call "twible."

The Trouble with "Twibel"

In coverage of the first libel settlement award in Britain stemming from a posting on Twitter, a number of articles state that in the United States, libel via Twitter is referred to as "twibel." 

First Twitter Libel Damages, By the Pound

While the two American lawsuits that each could have been the first known defamation suit stemming from a Twitter posting both settled (for details, click here and here), the settlement of a British case has now led to the first damage award in that county in a Twitter defamation case: £3,000 in damages (~ $4,840), plus £50,000 (~ $80,730) in court costs.

Model -- and Modern -- Jury Instructions for the Digital Age

Thaddeus Hoffmeister, an Assistant Professor at the University of Dayton School of Law, has posted a set of "Model Jury Instructions for the Digital Age" on his blog on jury issues.

Cookie Twitter Lawsuit Crumbles

While the settlement of the Twitter libel lawsuit by fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir against singer Courtney Love is getting a fair amount of attention, there's been less attention paid to another Twitter libel suit that was also dismissed in early February.

Love's Twitter Settlement Revealed

In late January, I posted that it appeared that fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir's libel lawsuit against singer Courtney Love, which was expected to be the first defamation trial stemming from posts on Twitter, was going to end in a settlement. Now The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the amount of the pre-trial settlement: $430,000, plus interest.