In an important victory for government transparency, the California Supreme Court has strictly limited the costs that public agencies can demand from members of the public and the media who request public records in an...more
San Francisco police made national news May 10 when officers burst into a journalist’s house using sledgehammers and kept him handcuffed for hours while they ransacked his home and office. It was a shocking attack on the free...more
A California city cannot hold one of its citizens liable for copyright infringement for using clips of city council meetings in his critical YouTube videos, a federal judge has ruled. The August 20, 2015 order in City of...more
9/22/2015
/ California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
City Councils ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Digital Media ,
Fair Use ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Online Videos ,
Public Meetings ,
Public Records ,
YouTube
A California city cannot hold one of its citizens liable for copyright infringement for using clips of city council meetings in his critical YouTube videos, a federal judge has ruled. The August 20, 2015, Order in City of...more
8/26/2015
/ Attorney's Fees ,
City Councils ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Fair Use ,
First Amendment ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Public Records ,
Public Records Act ,
YouTube
Federal agencies cannot avoid their obligation to disclose public records in modern electronic formats merely by invoking budgetary constraints, a judge has ruled in a rare decision exploring the scope of the Electronic...more
4/20/2015
In a victory for all authors of fiction, a screenwriter of the film “What Maisie Knew” has successfully defended a lawsuit that sought to hold him liable for defamation based on the portrayal of a character drawn from an 1897...more
The California Supreme Court has held that the names of police officers involved in shootings generally must be disclosed under state public records law, rejecting arguments by police unions and municipalities that the names...more