Donald Trump successfully argued to keep his defamation lawsuit against Penguin Random House, the New York Times, and the authors of Lucky Loser in the Middle District of Florida. The defendants moved to dismiss—or at least transfer—the case based on jurisdiction, arguing that since the majority of the reporting and writing happened in New York, the case should be tried there. Trump countered that the book was published in Florida’s Middle District and he experienced reputational and business harm there, plus he operates a business in the district. Judge Steven D. Merryday sided with Trump, noting, “The defendants’ claim is […]
Legal
Register of Copyrights Can Keep Job While Suit Continues, SCOTUS Says
On Tuesday, The Supreme Court denied the Trump Administration’s request to stay former Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter’s return to her job while her lawsuit challenging her firing is pending. In a brief unsigned order, the Court writes, “The application for stay is denied. The denial of the application is not a ruling on the merits of the legal issues presented in the litigation.” The Supreme Court previously held that Perlmutter could remain in her position pending final judgment on the legality of the president’s removal of staff at the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. […]
Wynn-Williams Sues Meta To Overturn CARELESS PEOPLE Gag Order
Careless People author Sarah Wynn-Williams is suing Meta to overturn the gag order that prevents her from talking about her whistleblowing book. The day after the publication of Careless People in March 2025, an arbitrator ruled that Wynn-Williams discussing or otherwise promoting her book would violate the non-disparagement agreement she signed when Facebook fired her in 2017. The order remains in effect and Wynn-Williams appeared silently at the UK’s Hay Festival in May. The lawsuit claims that Meta is “punishing” Wynn-Williams for speaking to lawmakers and writing her book about Meta’s problematic workplace culture, including sexual harassment from her superiors, […]
Authors Who Opted Out of Settlement Sue Anthropic for Infringement
One-hundred-seventeen authors who opted out of the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement are suing Anthropic separately for copyright infringement, led by Thomas William Shakespeare. (Just two of the plaintiffs, Laura Esquivel and Jordi Castells, have sought court approval for opting out after the deadline.) The authors all assert that they “did not discover, and could not have reasonably discovered, that their specific works were included in Anthropic’s private, internal database” until “November 24, 2025, when the direct notice to class members was completed and/or their claims were tolled pending the approval of the settlement of Bartz, or February 9, 2026, the […]
Publishers Sue Pirate Site WeLib
After winning their suit against Anna’s Archive in May, thirteen publishers are suing another pirate site, WeLib. “Plaintiffs bring this case to protect and enforce their copyrights and to stop Defendants’ intentional, widespread, and ongoing unlawful reproduction and distribution of literary works in the United States, to the detriment of Publishers, authors, and the public,” the filing reads. According to the complaint filed by Apress Media; Cengage; Elsevier; Hachette Book Group; Harper Collins; Wiley; Bedford, Freeman, & Worth; Macmillan Publishing Group; McGraw Hill; Pearson; Penguin Random House; Simon & Schuster; and Taylor & Francis, WeLib hosts 43 million books and […]
Amy Griffin Files Anti-SLAPP Motion Plus A Countersuit for Defamation Against Former Classmate Who Sued Her
Amy Griffin, author of the NYT-bestselling memoir The Tell, has filed an Anti-SLAPP motion to strike down the lawsuit brought against her in California Superior Court by a former classmate, and now has countersued her accuser for defamation in the US District Court of Nevada. In March, a plaintiff filing as “Jane Doe” sued Griffin for invasion of privacy, claiming negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and more, and stating Griffin used details of the plaintiff’s own sexual assaults in the book. The suit named the Griffin’s collaborator, Sam Lansky, as well as the book’s publisher and imprint, Penguin Random House and […]