Tom Burke concentrates his practice on Internet, media law and entertainment litigation matters. He has two decades of trial and appellate court litigation experience defending libel, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, shield law, and copyright and trademark lawsuits on behalf of publishers, Web sites, networks, studios, authors and journalists.
A veteran newsroom lawyer, Tom is experienced in obtaining access to public records and proceedings, protecting First Amendment rights using California's anti-SLAPP statute, and vetting books, articles, scripts and Web content on a pre-publication basis.
Tom's Internet law practice focuses on Internet content liability issues, including DMCA (copyright) and Section 230 online immunity issues, domain ownership disputes, online accessibility issues (for persons with disabilities), and online privacy and data breach issues across all industries.
Tom's clients include: Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, The Bakersfield Californian, California Lawyer Magazine, Chico Community Publishing, CNN, California Newspaper Publishers Association, Lions Gate Entertainment, The Los Angeles Times, McClatchy Company, Microsoft Corporation, The New York Times Co., San Francisco Bay Guardian, San Francisco Business Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Sierra Club.
Selected Experience
Hollingsworth v. Perry
2010
Represented national media coalition (ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Fox News, Dow Jones & Company, the Hearst Corporation and The Associated Press) in expedited proceedings in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker's proposal to broadcast trial proceedings to overflow courtrooms in five cities and to make the proceedings publicly available on YouTube.com in this landmark federal constitutional challenge to California's Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage.
Production & Pre-publication Counseling
Ongoing
Regularly provides production advice for television programs and documentary films, including "Mad Men," "Weeds" and "Crash"; vets web content for CNN.com and books for publishers, including Sierra Club Books.
Simpson Strong-Tie v. Gore
Pierce Gore
Ongoing
Obtained summary dismissal in the trial and appellate court of a trade libel lawsuit arising from a plaintiff class action attorney's constitutionally-protected efforts to locate potential class representatives. This matter is fully briefed and awaiting oral argument in the California Supreme Court (S164174) regarding the burden of proof under CCP 425.17(c) of California's anti-SLAPP statute.
Stewart v. Wenner Media
Wenner Media
Ongoing
Defending publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine in a putative class action right of publicity lawsuit arising from an editorial feature published inside a butterfly gatefold.
Adams County Historical Society v. Kinyoun
Adams County Historical Society
2009
Secured unanimous decision from the Nebraska Supreme Court making historic burial records from the state's largest mental health cemetery publicly available. Over objections by the Nebraska Attorney General and reversing more than a century of secrecy, the Nebraska Supreme Court, interpreting state and federal privacy law, held that the names of some 1,400 former patients buried between 1890 and 1959 at the Hastings Regional Center are public under the state's Public Records Act.
Club Members for an Honest Election v. Sierra Club
Sierra Club
2008
Obtained unanimous California Supreme Court ruling for Sierra Club, dismissing a lawsuit targeting the environmental organization's First Amendment-protected election activities.
Mark v. Nextweb
Nextweb, Inc.
2009
Obtained voluntary dismissal of class action lawsuit asserting unfair competition claims against mobile advertising companies.
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights v. U.S. Treasury
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR)
Ongoing
Successfully prosecuted Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to compel the public disclosure of documents reflecting individuals mistakenly identified on the federal government's public terrorist watch list.
Chamber of Commerce of the United States
The Yes Men
Ongoing
Defending the free speech rights of the Yes Men against trademark claims filed after the Yes Men performed a political parody of the Chamber's controversial position on global climate change.
Taus v. Loftus
Elizabeth Loftus
2007
Obtained dismissal of claims (in the Court of Appeal and California Supreme Court) in complex defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit against prominent psychologists and national magazine arising from the scientific debate over “repressed memories” of alleged sexual abuse.
Savage v. Council on American-Islamic Relations
Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
2008
Obtained summary dismissal of a copyright/RICO lawsuit brought by conservative syndicated radio talk show host Michael Savage targeting the free speech rights of the nation's largest Muslim civil rights organization.