Author Archives: Eric Misterovich

Though not strictly a claim for defamation, the publication of embarrassing or private photographs may constitute an independent tort. Provided the plaintiff created the photo, owns rights to the photo, or may obtain an assignment of the photo, the publication of a private photograph may constitute copyright infringement. Where such a copyright infringement has occurred, an […]

Public disclosure of private facts is a tort that falls under the general category of invasion of privacy. To establish a claim for public disclosure of private facts, a plaintiff must establish that the defendant has publicly disclosed private facts that are of no concern to the public and that, as disclosed, are offensive to […]

Like defamation and false light invasion of privacy, intrusion upon seclusion is one of several state law privacy torts that may be available to a plaintiff. Intrusion upon seclusion or solitude occurs where a defendant intrudes upon the privacy or seclusion of the plaintiff. Such an intrusion may occur by physical or electronic means, and […]

False light invasion of privacy, like defamation, is a tort intended to protect an individual against statements that place that individual in a false light. At common law, a plaintiff must prove the following to establish a claim for false light invasion of privacy: That the defendant published a statement to third parties; That the […]

Online defamation victims are often frustrated to find that a website on which defamatory posts appear will not remove the defamation. Many clients have contacted our firm because a third party has posted false or defamatory reviews or statements to one of the large consumer-oriented websites, such as RipOffReport, Complaints Board, or Pissed Consumer. These […]

Our expert Lansing trademark lawyers are here to serve all of your trademark needs. Whether you are faced with a trademark infringement lawsuit or seek trademark registration, our Lansing trademark attorneys can handle your matter at reasonable rates. Our trademark lawyers have handled numerous trademarks for businesses in Lansing and across the state and have […]

A venture capital firm has purchased Palo Alto-based cloud video gaming firm OnLive for a mere $4.8 million dollars. OnLive, which provides cloud-based streaming gaming through a simple set-top hardware device or through personal computers, was recently in the news because it was forced to create a new company and layoff workers to secure the […]

Microsoft has issued numerous DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notices to Google concerning the recent leak of the Windows 8 beta, including requests that Google de-index established  news websites TechCrunch, the Huffington Post, BBC.com, and Wikipedia. Additionally, Mashable notes, almost 65 of the URLs flagged to be de-indexed for copyright infringement fail to even mention […]

Sir Elton John’s newspaper defamation claim against the times of India has failed. The Times of India reports that the High Court of India has the statements made by the Times of India, specifically, that Elton John had engaged in tax avoidance, were incapable of a defamatory meaning. Though the article did not specifically mention […]

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that a movie downloading case will go to trial because it is unclear whether an IP address directly identifies a copyright infringer instead of simply the owner of an Internet account. Judge Michael Baylson noted, Among other things, the declaration asserts that the BitTorrent software does not work […]