Dan Laidman

Defending magazine publisher in one of the first wave of privacy class actions under California's "Shine the Light" law—which relates to the practice of businesses sharing personal information about their customers so third parties can directly market to them. The plaintiff claimed that the Men’s Journal website Privacy Policy does not satisfy certain notice requirements in the statute. Won dismissal with prejudice at the pleading stage based upon plaintiff's failure to allege any cognizable injury, and obtained precedential decisions that have been cited in other "Shine the Light" cases. Case is currently on appeal to the 9th Circuit. (C.D. Cal.; now pending in 9th Cir.)

Represented a UCLA Professor in a California Public Records Act lawsuit to obtain access to public records of a high school teacher disciplined by the SMMUSD. 202 Cal. App. 4th 1250 (2012)

Successfully defended Comedy Central, South Park Digital Studios, and other defendants against a copyright-infringement claim arising from "South Park's" parody of the Internet viral video "What What in the Butt." The district court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, finding that "South Park's" use of the plaintiffs' video was protected as a fair use under the Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The court also granted the defendants’ fee motion. Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal to the 7th Circuit, which affirmed the district court’s "well-reasoned and delightful opinion," and unequivocally held that "South Park's" parody was a fair use. Importantly, the 7th Circuit instructed that the fair-use defense may be decided without discovery in appropriate cases – something that other circuits have resisted – enabling content creators to avoid long and burdensome litigation. (E.D. Wis., 7th Cir. 2012)