Moritz Legal Information Blog

Mister Softee v. Master Softee has been litigated, and per the usual, Mister Softee prevailed . For more on trademark law, check out these books in our catalog: Understanding Trademark Law: A Beginner's Guide Mastering Trademark and Unfair Competition Law Trademark and Unfair Competition Law in a Nutshell

Today's Dispatch explains how to request public records in Ohio. "It’s your government and your money, and they’re your records." The recommendation: make an oral request rather than a written one so as to avoid "dragging" lawyers in causing delay. It seems lawyers really are the Rodney Dangerfield of professions. That dig at lawyers aside, the article is a helpful primer and provides insights like the following: Ohio is among only a handful of states that doesn’t set a deadline for government to provide records. The legal standard is “prompt.” Court rulings have signaled, though, that waits of more than two weeks likely are unreasonable. What's more, the article suggests folks might try working with a lawyer if they get any friction when making requests. "Lawyers who know Sunshine laws could help shake your records loose."

From beSpacific , a research paper from the Pew Research Center identifies patterns on Twitter that may help us understand social media conversations better. "There are at least six distinct types of conversations on Twitter based on the structure of people's networks, the subjects and content sources that matter to them, and the way they interact. These networks have different structures that reflect the social activity within them: divided, unified, fragmented, clustered, and inward and outward hub ad spokes." Essentially, the study looks at who replies to and mentions who in tweets. For example, for political topics, "it is common to see two separate, polarized crowds take shape," forming two groups that don't interact with each other. Here's an image of the Polarized Crowd: So, while social media sites are good sources of information about possible clients, witnesses, and the like, consider the bigger trends and points you can make when looki

The International Privacy Law Library on WorldLII has been expanded. The World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII) is a free, independent and non-profit global legal research facility developed collaboratively by the following Legal Information Institutes and other organizations (one of which should be quite familiar): Australasian Legal Information Institute ( AustLII ) British and Irish Legal Information Institute ( BAILII ) Canadian Legal Information Institute ( CanLII ) Hong Kong Legal Information Institute ( HKLII ) Legal Information Institute (Cornell) ( LII (Cornell) ) Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute ( PacLII ) Wits University School of Law ( Wits Law School )  The International Privacy Law Library includes 32 databases and court decisions from hundreds of courts around the world. More content will be added regularly. h/t LLRX

You have probably never heard of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).   If Senator Tom Coburn has his way, this may be the last time you do.   The NTIS “ seeks to promote American innovation and economic growth by collecting and disseminating scientific, technical and engineering information to the public and industry, by providing information management solutions to other federal agencies.”   This agency sells many publications, including the Homeland Security Annual Privacy Report for April 2003-June 2004 – listed at $38.   You can also find this report at the Department of Homeland Security website – for free.   As simple Google searches often yield free versions of NTIS materials, Senator Coburn has introduced a bill entitled the “Let Me Google That For You Act” to abolish the NTIS.   So like any remaining NTIS users, consider multiple places to look as you research!

We've written previously about liability waivers for "brutal" adventure races like Tough Mudder, positing that "if a participant signed a waiver (that he or she may not have read), he or she may be out of luck if injured." Those liability waivers are being challenged in court with greater frequency. For a slide show on "times an adventurous outing went so wrong it spawned a court case," check out the ABA Journal .

With shooting rampages cropping up in the news every few months, you may wonder (as did an author at Slate.com ), "Under what circumstances can a family member, social worker, or law enforcement officer have a person involuntarily committed because they represent a danger to society? With the recent spate of shootings perpetuated by people with known mental illness, do those laws need updating?" The laws vary by state, but you can find them on a handy website here . To determine which states have the strongest or weakest laws regarding civil commitment, this site recently (February 2014) rated them.