January 13 roundup

• IP turf-staking: charity tries to trademark the phrase “Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness” [Likelihood of Confusion]
• Bad excuses dept.: Ohio 17-year-old killed his mom but lawyers “insisted youth and video game addiction made him less responsible,” a theory judge wasn’t buying [AP/WBBM]
• Lawsuit over Yelp review (chiropractor vs. disgruntled ex-client) settled [CNet; earlier]
• “Can U.S. Laws Protect Online Speech from Foreign Libel Suits?” [Neuberger/PBS]
• Coverage of Philadelphia’s Fumo scandal trial, “law firms [and some big ones] used in an alleged blackmail scheme” [Lowe, AmLaw Daily, earlier]
• “Another wrongful-paternity case from hell” (wrong guy, but default judgment) [Balko, Reason]
• Never trust content from “ProPublica” [Kopel @ Volokh on environmental effects of oil hydraulic fracturing, response from ProPublica, Kopel's riposte; their attack on Goldman Sachs in California and New Jersey; Carter Wood at NAM "ShopFloor"]
• Few places have emulated San Francisco and Santa Cruz ban on discrimination based on appearance, i.e., against less attractive folks [WorkplaceProf]

Tagged as: blue-ribbon excuses, discrimination law, online speech, Philadelphia, scandals, trademarks