Uproar Over 9th Circuit “Innocence Of Muslims” Decision

No one is disputing that actress Cindy Garcia was duped into taking the role she played in an infamous anti-Muslim film and that she had no idea what the movie was going to be about. After it appeared, she received death threats, and subsequently sued to have it taken down from YouTube on the grounds that she, as an actress, had a copyright interest in the film. She lost in district court, but a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overruled and ordered Google to remove the film from YouTube and any other Google properties where it appears. The ruling “sent shockwaves through the cyberlaw community,” observes Focal PLLC attorney Venkat Balasubramani. “When the inevitable petition for rehearing is filed, expect to see a long list of who’s who among internet companies as potential amici.”