The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled that there are limits on when attorneys are protected by the judicial proceedings privilege or by attorney immunity. Following the Court's decision in Landry's Inc. et al. v. Animal...more
January 6, 2021, is likely to have a long section in the indices of history books for some time to come. Those of us who fight to uphold press freedom will view it not only as a day that imperiled our legislators and our...more
College sports in the United States is a cash cow, with billion-dollar television deals, hundred-million dollar apparel deals, and some coaches earning in excess of seven-million dollars annually. This revenue generation has...more
1/4/2019
/ Bribery ,
Coaches ,
Colleges ,
Criminal Investigations ,
FBI ,
Gambling ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Indictments ,
NCAA ,
Recruitment Incentives ,
Sports Gambling ,
Student Athletes ,
Universities
Rudy Giuliani’s remarkable statement in an interview with Chuck Todd that “truth isn’t truth” has very much become the meme that Todd, on the spot, predicted it would be. But if Hizzoner is right, it has serious ramifications...more
Hello. The First Amendment here. So many people are talking about me these days, including people in high office, that I thought it was time I spoke for myself. For my intro song as I walk on stage to speak for a minute or...more
It was a memorable 42nd season for Saturday Night Live, bookended by oddly compelling versions of “Hallelujah” by Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump. It has not been such a good season for the...more
6/1/2017
/ Chilling Effect ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
George W Bush ,
Journalists ,
Libel ,
Lyndon B Johnson ,
Media Relations ,
News Stories ,
Satire ,
Saturday Night Live (SNL) ,
Television Shows ,
Trump Administration
Bob Latham recently penned a short commentary for U.K.-based Lawyer Monthly magazine on the topic of twibel, a newly-coined term that refers to defamatory statements made over Twitter. In the article, he discussed the idea of...more
Are Ex Parte Reexaminations An Overlooked Method of Challenging Patents?
In the wake of the September 16, 2011, enactment of the America Invents Act ("AIA"), many third-party individuals and organizations began utilizing...more
In the past two months, the role of satire in a free society has been front and center, once for tragic reasons and several times for sentimental reasons. The horrifying and outrageous murders at the Charlie Hebdo offices in...more
Traditionally, media companies (as well as non-media companies) almost exclusively utilized their own content. However, because of the exponential growth in the public’s desire and ability to interconnect through social media...more
11/12/2014
/ Communications Decency Act ,
Copyright ,
Defamation ,
DMCA ,
Facebook ,
Instagram ,
License Agreements ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Safe Harbors ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Twitter ,
User-Generated Content ,
YouTube
Another soccer World Cup has come and gone, and the event again demonstrated the increasing willingness of American sports fans to be drawn into what the rest of the world was watching. But Americans may not be as keenly...more
9/4/2014
It has been said that everyone likes to make fun of lawyers – until they need one. The same might be said for another group of oft-criticized professionals: journalists. And in a world where information is available from so...more
Eastern District of Texas Adopts Model Order for Focusing Patent Claims and Prior Art -
On Tuesday, October 29, 2013, Chief District Judge Leonard Davis, on behalf of the Eastern District of Texas, adopted a model...more
Many of you have been there – the scheduling conference in a courtroom in the Eastern District of Texas for the court's patent litigation docket. The purpose of these mass gatherings is, of course, to assemble all the...more
As a relatively recent joke goes, an editor is lamenting the demise of payphones while speaking to a reporter. Editor: "With no more payphones, where would Superman change?" Reporter: "Change? Where would he work?!"
To...more
The Newseum Institute's First Amendment Center recently released its annual survey of the "State of the First Amendment: 2013" and the results are cause for pause, though perhaps not alarm. The annual survey, which has a...more
In This Issue:
- Paul Watler's Perspective:
Texas Anti-SLAPP Wins for Media Defendants - Two recent cases show that Texas Courts of Appeals will take the Citizens Participation Act's evidentiary requirements...more
In This Issue:
- Steve Fogle's Feature:
Out of the Blue - A recent unexpected court order restricting the media from reporting on certain details of a high-profile criminal case serves as a reminder that the...more
In This Issue:
- Chip Babcock Communique:
Has the Internet Changed the First Amendment? - Chip Babcock participated in a panel discussion on this topic at a recent American College of Trial Lawyers...more
In This Issue:
- Stacy Allen Speaks:
Right of Publicity: Advantage Athletes - Recent court decisions regarding unlicensed likenesses of celebrities in programs, products or video games represent a disturbing...more
In This Issue:
- Bob Latham Bulletin:
Pulitzer And Parody - Almost 50 years after the Kennedy assassination, a panel discussion on "Oswald Has Been Shot!" brings together those who witnessed or played a significant...more
2/1/2013
In This Issue:
- Paul Watler's Perspective: One of the few places of refuge from the political campaign advertising onslaught was public television and radio. That may change depending on a little-noticed First Amendment...more