The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has ruled in favor of Stris & Maher client Smashwords, Inc., the world’s largest distributor of independent e-books. The case, a privacy dispute involving a self-published novel about NFL player Robert “Gronk” Gronkowski, arose after a couple’s image appeared on the cover of “A Gronking To Remember”—an erotic tale about a woman who fantasizes about an intimate relationship with Mr. Gronkowski. The unhappy couple sued the book’s author for invasion of privacy, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. The court dismissed the case against the three companies, holding that they could not be held liable for the book’s cover.
Stris & Maher represented Smashwords, on behalf of which firm partner Elizabeth Brannen commented to Law360 about the case.
Read our case study:
Smashwords: Summary Judgment Victory in Ohio
Related press coverage:
Court Lets Amazon, B&N Off the Hook in Erotic E-Book Case (Bloomberg BNA, March 18, 2016)
Amazon, B&N Not Liable In Erotic Book Cover Privacy Suit (Law360, March 16, 2016) (subscription required)
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