In a somewhat unsurprising move, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied an interlocutory appeal (28 U.S.C. §1292) requested by publisher defendants in Heavy, Inc. v. Goldman.[1] The order can be found here 18-910_goldman-CA2_intapp_dend. As discussed in an earlier posting on this blog, the district court case, Goldman v. Breitbart News Network, LLC, held that embedded tweets constituted copyright infringement. Given the importance of this issue, as well as the heavy use of Twitter feeds in both everyday business and personal use, the judge allowed an immediate appeal before a final ruling was issued. The Second Circuit remained cautious, however, and denied that request, finding an “immediate appeal unwarranted.”
The case will now revert back to the district court and presumably continue with trial and a final ruling on the issue of fair use. After a ruling has been made, the case will most likely land back at the Second Circuit, where it will issue what will then be a timely appeal.
We will report back on the blog as developments occur.
[1] Case No. 18-910 (2nd Cir. Jul. 17, 2018), denying appeal as unripe, Goldman v. Breitbart News Network, LLC, Case No. 1:17-cv-03144-KBF (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 15, 2018).