From free speech to copyrighted images, here are some prominent court cases businesses need to know about

With prominent court cases constantly in the news, it can be tricky to interpret how major court decisions involving the First Amendment impact businesses, individuals and the community. Aaron Saykin, partner, media and First Amendment practice leader at Hodgson Russ LLP, dives into this hot topic with Buffalo Business First Publisher John Tebeau, in the latest episode of the Thought Leaders in Law and Business podcast.

In part 1 of this conversation, when these two were together for the podcast’s premiere episode, they tackled Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, one of the most frequently cited and complained about statutes in Washington, D.C., from both parties, according to Saykin. This time, in addition to continuing the conversation about free speech, they cover defamation of character and fair use of copyrighted images. 

“If you post something on a social media site — and you go into those terms and conditions — you are typically giving them a license to do certain things with that photo. It doesn't mean somebody else can come and take the photo and publish it somewhere else, and that's the vast majority of what you see cases on,” Saykin said. “But if you're an artist, I would be very careful of posting your copywritten work. Just by signing up and creating an account on that platform, you may be waiving a particular right.” 

Listen to this podcast episode to learn more about several big court cases, including: 

• The “don’t say gay” statute in Florida (Disney v. DeSantis). 
• The $787 million settlement Fox agreed to pay in the election defamation lawsuit (Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News).
• “A one-of-a-kind case” when Sarah Palin’s campaign was falsely linked to the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona (Sarah Palin v. The New York Times). 
• The fair use defense involving copyrighted photographs taken of Prince in the 1980s (Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc., v. Goldsmith). 

Learn more about Hodgson Russ at hodgsonruss.com.

This podcast does not provide legal advice.