Table Of ContentINTERNET LAW:
CASES & PROBLEMS
James Grimmelmann
Tessler Family Professor of
Digital and Information Law
Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School
Twelfth Edition © 2022 James Grimmelmann
ISBN 978-1-943689-15-6
!
www.semaphorepress.com
Copyright and Your Rights
The author retains the copyright in this book. By downloading a copy of this book
from the Semaphore Press website, you have made an authorized copy of the book
from the website for your personal use. If you lose it, or your computer crashes or
is stolen, don’t worry. Come back to the Semaphore Press website and download a
replacement copy, and don’t worry about having to pay again. Just to be clear,
Semaphore Press and the author of this casebook are not granting you permission
to reproduce the material and books available on our website except to the extent
needed for your personal use. We are not granting you permission to distribute
copies either.
We ask that you not resell or give away your copy. Please direct people who are
interested in obtaining a copy to the Semaphore Press website, www.semaphore-
press.com, where they can download their own copies. The resale market in the
traditional casebook publishing world is part of what drives casebook prices up to
$200 or more. When a publisher prices a book at $200, it is factoring in the com-
petition and lost opportunities that the resold books embody for it. Things are dif-
ferent at Semaphore Press: Because anyone can get their own copy of a Semaphore
Press book at a reasonable price, we ask that you help us keep legal casebook ma-
terials available at reasonable prices by directing anyone interested in this book to
our website.
Printing A Paper Copy
If you would like to have a printed copy of the book in addition to the electronic
copy, you are welcome to print out a copy of any part, or all, of the book. Please
note that you will find blank pages throughout the book. We have inserted these
intentionally to facilitate double-sided printing. We anticipate that students may
wish to carry only portions of the book at a time. The blank pages are inserted so
that each chapter begins on a fresh, top-side page. Printed copies of the full book
are also available through Amazon.com.
Finding Aids and Annotations
Finally, please note that the book does not include an index, a table of cases, or
other finding aids that are conventional for printed books. This is because a Sem-
aphore Press book, in pdf form, can be searched electronically for any word or
phrase in which you are interested. With the book open in Adobe Reader, simply
hit control-f (or select the “find” option in the “Edit” pull-down menu) and enter
the search term you want to find. We also enable Reader’s commenting features in
our pdf books, so you can highlight text, insert comments, and personally annotate
your copy in other ways you find helpful. If your copy of Reader does not appear to
permit these commenting features, please check to make sure you have the most
recent version; any version numbered “8” or higher should permit you to annotate
a Semaphore Press book.
For my parents.
INTERNET LAW: CASES AND PROBLEMS
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................11
CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND .............................................................................................17
A. Computer Technology ...............................................................................................17
Technical Primer: Computers ............................................................................17
Technical Primer: The Internet .........................................................................27
Columbia Pictures Indus. v. Fung ......................................................................37
Technical Primer: Cryptography .......................................................................40
Internet Applications Problem ..........................................................................45
B. Theory .........................................................................................................................46
Lawrence Lessig, Code 2.0 .................................................................................46
Jonathan Zittrain, The Future of the Internet .................................................50
CHAPTER 2: JURISDICTION .............................................................................................57
A. Cyberspace ..................................................................................................................57
Note on “Cyberspace” ..........................................................................................57
John Perry Barlow, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace .......58
Orin S. Kerr, The Problem of Perspective in Internet Law ............................60
David R. Johnson and David Post, Law and Borders .....................................62
Mary Anne Franks, Unwilling Avatars .............................................................65
State v. Decker ......................................................................................................68
Slot Machine Problem .........................................................................................70
Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC ...........................................................................71
Dead Aim Problem ..............................................................................................73
B. Jurisdictional Conflicts .............................................................................................74
Dow Jones & Co. v. Gutnick ...............................................................................74
Jack Goldsmith and Timothy Wu, Digital Borders .........................................78
Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc. [Equustek I] .....................................82
Google LLC v. Equustek Solutions Inc. [Equustek II] ...................................87
Equustek Solutions Inc v. Jack [Equustek III] ...............................................89
SeaHaven Problem ..............................................................................................91
Gambling Treaty Problem ..................................................................................92
Diplomatic Mission Problem .............................................................................93
C. American Law ............................................................................................................94
1. Civil Jurisdiction ...................................................................................................94
Burdick v. Superior Court ...................................................................................96
Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A. .......................................101
Ayyadurai v. Floor64, Inc. ................................................................................104
Flying Pig Problem ............................................................................................108
2. Criminal Jurisdiction .........................................................................................108
United States v. Auernheimer ..........................................................................110
3. The Commerce Clause .......................................................................................113
United States v. Yücel ........................................................................................114
Note on Preemption and the Dormant Commerce Clause ..........................115
In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation ..........................116
South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. ...........................................................................118
4 Internet Law
CHAPTER 3: SPEECH ......................................................................................................123
A. First Amendment Basics ........................................................................................123
United States Constitution, Amendment I ....................................................123
Note on First Amendment Tiers of Scrutiny .................................................123
Packingham v. North Carolina ........................................................................124
Note on the Press ...............................................................................................128
B. What is Speech? .......................................................................................................131
Texas v. Johnson ................................................................................................131
Bland v. Roberts [I] ..........................................................................................131
Bland v. Roberts [II] ........................................................................................133
Bernstein v. U.S. Dept. of Justice .....................................................................134
C. Harmful Speech .......................................................................................................140
danah boyd, It’s Complicated ...........................................................................141
Blu-Ray Problem ...............................................................................................143
1. Violent Speech ....................................................................................................144
United States v. Hobgood .................................................................................146
2. Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct ..............................................................148
Commonwealth v. Carter ..................................................................................149
3. False Speech ........................................................................................................151
Restatement (Second) of Torts [Defamation] ..............................................152
Note on Defamation ..........................................................................................153
4. Harassment .........................................................................................................154
Restatement (Second) of Torts [Emotional Distress] ..................................154
Snyder v. Phelps .................................................................................................155
Lebo v. State .......................................................................................................157
5. Sexually Explicit Speech ....................................................................................159
6. Harm to Minors ..................................................................................................161
State v. Bishop ....................................................................................................163
Note on School Discipline ................................................................................166
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union .........................................................167
7. Intellectual Property ..........................................................................................170
D. Section 230 ..............................................................................................................171
Restatement (Second) of Torts [Defamation] ..............................................171
Communications Decency Act § 230 .............................................................172
Zeran v. America Online, Inc. ..........................................................................173
Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment Recordings LLC .................................179
Doe v. MySpace, Inc. .........................................................................................190
Note on FOSTA .................................................................................................193
People’s Front of Judea Problem .....................................................................194
CHAPTER 4: PRIVACY ....................................................................................................195
A. The Fourth and Fifth Amendments ......................................................................195
Fourth and Fifth Amendment Overview ........................................................195
1. Device Searches ..................................................................................................199
Riley v. California ..............................................................................................199
United States v. Spencer ...................................................................................208
Coffeeshop Problem ..........................................................................................211
2. Remote Searches ................................................................................................211
United States v. Warshak ..................................................................................211
Carpenter v. United States ...............................................................................216
Table of Contents 5
Bank Robbery Problem ....................................................................................224
B. Wiretapping .............................................................................................................225
Wiretap Act ........................................................................................................225
O’Brien v. O’Brien ..............................................................................................229
Stored Communications Act ............................................................................231
Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp. ....................................235
Pen Registers and Trap and Trace Devices ....................................................239
Note on Technical Assistance ..........................................................................241
Zipper Problem ..................................................................................................243
C. Anonymity ................................................................................................................243
Stored Communications Act ............................................................................244
Jukt Micronics Problem ...................................................................................245
Doe I v. Individuals, Whose True Names are Unknown ..............................245
Arista Records, LLC, v. Does 1–19 .................................................................251
In re Bittorrent Adult Film Copyright Infringement Cases .........................253
D. Personal Privacy ......................................................................................................260
Restatement (Second) of Torts [Privacy Torts] .............................................260
Pennsylvania Right of Publicity .......................................................................261
People v. Golb [Golb I] .....................................................................................262
Golb v. Attorney General of the State of New York [Golb II] .....................264
State v. Austin ....................................................................................................266
E. Consumer Privacy ....................................................................................................275
Note on Cookies .................................................................................................275
Eichenberger v. ESPN, Inc. ..............................................................................277
TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez ............................................................................281
In re Google, Inc. Privacy Policy Litig. ...........................................................289
Chris Yiu (@CLRY2), Tweetstorm on Ad Tracking ......................................294
In re Snapchat, Inc. ...........................................................................................296
California Consumer Privacy Act ....................................................................303
Cookie Monster Problem ..................................................................................311
F. An International Perspective ..................................................................................311
General Data Protection Regulation ..............................................................311
Google Spain SP v. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos ...................320
CHAPTER 5: ACCESS TO COMPUTERS ...........................................................................325
A. Contracts ..................................................................................................................325
CX Digital Media, Inc. v. Smoking Everywhere, Inc. ....................................325
Meyer v. Uber Technologies, Inc. ....................................................................332
Cullinane v. Uber Technologies, Inc. ...............................................................337
Smurfberry Problem .........................................................................................340
SeaSells Problem ...............................................................................................340
B. Trespass to Chattels .................................................................................................340
Restatement (Second) of Torts [Trespass] ...................................................341
Intel v. Hamidi ...................................................................................................341
Note on Spam ....................................................................................................348
Wireless Router Problem .................................................................................350
C. Computer Misuse Statutes .....................................................................................350
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ......................................................................351
Orin S. Kerr, Cybercrime’s Scope ....................................................................353
United States v. Morris .....................................................................................354
6 Internet Law
Van Buren v. United States ...............................................................................356
hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp. .....................................................................361
LineJump Problem ...........................................................................................365
CHAPTER 6: TRADEMARK .............................................................................................367
A. Trademark Basics ....................................................................................................367
Multi Time Machine, Inc. v. Amazon. com, Inc. ...........................................368
Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay, Inc. ...........................................................................377
Happy Fun Ball Problem ..................................................................................383
B. Domain Names ........................................................................................................384
Title 15, United States Code ............................................................................384
Taubman Co. v. Webfeats .................................................................................386
Drunk Kids Problem .........................................................................................391
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy .....................................392
Flexegrity Problem ............................................................................................394
Curt Mfg., Inc. v. Sabin .....................................................................................395
CHAPTER 7: COPYRIGHT ...............................................................................................401
Copyright Overview ..........................................................................................401
A. Copyrightability .......................................................................................................403
PhantomALERT, Inc. v. Google Inc. [I] ........................................................403
PhantomALERT, Inc. v. Google Inc. [II] .......................................................409
Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc. .................................................................411
Rearden LLC. v. Walt Disney Co. ....................................................................417
James Grimmelmann, No Such Thing as a Computer-Authored Work ....419
B. The Exclusive Rights ...............................................................................................421
Copyright Act [Exclusive Rights and First Sale] ..........................................421
Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi, Inc. ..............................................................422
Note on RAM Copies ........................................................................................428
Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. ..............................................................429
McGucken v. Newsweek LLC ...........................................................................430
American Broadcasting Co. v. Aereo, Inc. ......................................................432
Music Locker Problem ......................................................................................435
C. Licenses .....................................................................................................................436
McGucken v. Newsweek LLC ...........................................................................436
Field v. Google Inc. ............................................................................................439
Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc. ....................................................................................443
MIT License .......................................................................................................448
GNU General Public License (GPL) ...............................................................449
Jacobsen v. Katzer .............................................................................................452
ZapChat Problem ..............................................................................................457
D. Fair Use ....................................................................................................................458
Copyright Act [Fair Use] ..................................................................................458
Katz v. Google Inc. .............................................................................................459
Note on Sony v. Universal [Fair Use] .............................................................463
Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. ..............................................................465
Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. ................................................................469
Bubonic Plagiarism Problem ...........................................................................476
E. Secondary Liability ..................................................................................................476
Perfect 10, Inc. v. Giganews, Inc. ....................................................................477
Table of Contents 7
Note on Sony v. Universal [Contributory Infringement] .............................481
A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. ...............................................................482
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. ..................................486
Cachet Problem .................................................................................................490
F. Section 512 ...............................................................................................................491
Copyright Act [Section 512] ...........................................................................492
Friday Problem ..................................................................................................496
Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. .........................................................................497
BMG Rights Management (US) LLC v. Cox Communications, Inc. ..........502
Section 512 Compliance Questions ................................................................507
Materials on Content ID ..................................................................................508
Mangle Problem ................................................................................................515
G. Digital Rights Management ..................................................................................516
Note on Digital Rights Management ..............................................................516
Note on the Motivation for Anti-Circumvention Law ..................................517
Copyright Act [Anti-Circumvention] .............................................................518
Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley [Corley II] ..........................................519
Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes [Corley I] ....................................522
Section 1201 Problems ....................................................................................527
Note on DMCA Exemptions ............................................................................528
CHAPTER 8: PATENT ......................................................................................................531
Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l ...........................................................................531
Soverain Software LLC v. Newegg Inc. ...........................................................537
Function Media, L.L.C. v. Google ....................................................................541
Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola, Inc. ....................................................................545
CHAPTER 9: PLATFORMS ...............................................................................................547
A. Points of Control ......................................................................................................547
Center for Democracy and Technology v. Pappert ........................................548
United States v. Keith .......................................................................................554
ICANN and the Domain-Name System .........................................................555
Arista Records, LLC v. Tkach ..........................................................................558
B. Content Moderation ................................................................................................563
Kate Klonick, The New Governors .................................................................564
Facebook Community Standards ....................................................................569
In re Trump ........................................................................................................577
Reddit Content Policy .......................................................................................589
r/SwingDancing Rules ......................................................................................594
Parler Content Policies .....................................................................................594
Ravelry Community Guidelines ......................................................................597
CurrenC Problem ..............................................................................................598
C. Platforms’ Rights .....................................................................................................599
Kimsey v. City of Sammamish .........................................................................599
Cyber Promotions, Inc. v. American Online, Inc. ..........................................604
Zhang v. Baidu.com Inc ....................................................................................608
Marshall’s Locksmith Service Inc. v. Google, LLC ........................................615
Song Fi, Inc. v. Google, Inc. [I] .......................................................................618
Song Fi, Inc. v. Google, Inc. [II] ......................................................................622
Section 230 Reform Problem ..........................................................................623
8 Internet Law
D. Marketplaces ...........................................................................................................624
Erie Insurance Co. v. Amazon.com, Inc. .........................................................624
Bolger v. Amazon.com, LLC .............................................................................626
In re Uber Technologies Inc. ............................................................................630
La Park La Brea A LLC v. Airbnb, Inc. ...........................................................635
5thWheel Problem ............................................................................................641
E. Antitrust ...................................................................................................................642
Note on Antitrust Law and Economics ..........................................................642
United States v. Microsoft Corp. ......................................................................645
LiveUniverse, Inc. v. MySpace, Inc. .................................................................652
Google Maps Problem ......................................................................................659
F. Network Neutrality ..................................................................................................659
Verizon v. FCC ....................................................................................................660
Broadband Internet Regulation: A Brief History .........................................663
Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet ...............................................671
Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Ajit Pai ...........................................677
The story continues ...........................................................................................681
DoubleNet Problem ..........................................................................................682
CHAPTER 10: BEYOND THE INTERNET ........................................................................685
A. Virtual Property .......................................................................................................685
Kremen v. Cohen ...............................................................................................685
United States v. Aleynikov ................................................................................691
People v. Aleynikov ............................................................................................694
Bragg v. Linden Research, Inc .........................................................................697
Post.Mortem Problem .......................................................................................710
Davy Jones Problem ..........................................................................................710
B. Blockchains ..............................................................................................................711
Note on Bitcoin ..................................................................................................711
United States v. Ulbricht ..................................................................................714
Kevin Werbach and Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina ......................717
In the Matter of Munchee Inc. .........................................................................720
C. Defective Software ...................................................................................................726
Kennison v. Daire ..............................................................................................727
Pompeii Estates, Inc. v. Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y., Inc. ....................728
Rosenberg v. Harwood ......................................................................................730
Houston Fed. of Teachers v. Houston Independent School District ...........733
AI Confidential Problem ..................................................................................739
D. Litigation ..................................................................................................................740
Baidoo v. Blood-Dzraku ....................................................................................740
Griffin v. State ....................................................................................................744
Amicus Curiae Brief of Eugene Volokh ..........................................................749
Herssein v. United Servicees Automobile Association .................................752
Florida Standard Jury Instructions ................................................................755
Note on Mass Adjudication ..............................................................................756
E. The Physical World .................................................................................................757
Adam Thierer and Adam Marcus, Guns, Limbs, and Toys ..........................757
Andy Greenberg, Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway ...............763
Ethan Zuckerman, Beware the Listening Machines ....................................764
FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 ..................................................................766
Table of Contents 9
Coda ....................................................................................................................767
10 Internet Law
