Comments on: Glenn Beck, Parody, and Trademark

By: law webs » "law school ninja" torrent

law webs » "law school ninja" torrent — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:53:22 +0000

[...] 3.Glenn Beck, Parody, and Trademark Sep 16, 2009 … According to Ars Technica, in addition to the usual legal posturing and torrent of threatening letters Beck’s attorneys have filed a case with the … http://legalgeekery.com/2009/09/16/glenn-beck-domain-names-and-defamation/ [...]

By: Magnesium Ascorbate

Magnesium Ascorbate — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:39:44 +0000

in China, they do not respect intellectual property at all. too many software and movie pirates out there “‘`

By: Peren Galoy

Peren Galoy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:04:38 +0000

Glenn Beck has macular dystrophy, a progressive eye disorder that can lead to blindness.

By: Robert Ahmed

Robert Ahmed — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:51:18 +0000

Most countries in the third world never respects intellectual property rights. piracy is so rampant in asian countries.*,:

By: Escort Amsterdam

Escort Amsterdam — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:51:33 +0000

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By: Zak Muscovitch

Zak Muscovitch — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:34:02 +0000

Very insightful article. Thank you!

By: kris

kris — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:04:51 +0000

Sean makes an excellent point re slander per se.

this post from the citizen Media Law Project is interesting. http://www.citmedialaw.org/blog/2009/will-glenn-beck-sue-defamatory-website-2009

By: Chris_Wilson

Chris_Wilson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:24:30 +0000

@kris, The standard for defamation of a public figure is much higher than the standard for a private individual- and Beck certainly qualifies as a public figure. Satire must be over the top to make its point. There are no “claims” on the site that Beck is actually a rapist and a murderer. Furthermore, the “rape and murder a young girl in 1990″ portion of the joke comes directly from a Gilbert Gottfried bit during Comedy Central’s roast of Bob Saget. The precedence for that being a joke is clear.

Would it have been any better (or had the same effect) if the claim had been that Glenn Beck lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse while they were bith drunk on Campari?

By: Sean McGilvray

Sean McGilvray — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:29:53 +0000

Yeah. My knowledge of defamation is a little shaky, so I didn’t want to expound on that too much. I’m pretty sure that most states consider imputing criminal activity to be slander per se. Meanwhile, the Communications Decency Act should shield the ISP as far as I know. Then again, I think it would be hard to show New York Times malice in this case…

By: kris

kris — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:00:32 +0000

Satire of Beck, arguably, would be of a guy dressed like Beeker circling random people and drawing a conspiracy.

Call me crazy, but rape and murder might just be that step too far…

I get the “disclaimer” bit – but as you observe, how many people will not get it or overlook it altogether?

Beck’s argument may well include a claim for trademark infringement, but I would think it would also include an old fashioned claim for defamation. He will say the motivation was obviously malicious as the references to criminal behavior are untrue and aimed at damaging his reputation.

If these guys really thought it was satire, why remain anonymous?

Unfortunately (for us) this probably won’t be tested in the Courts. No doubt the ISP will settle.