Timothy L. Alger represents technology and media companies in intellectual property and free speech matters. An experienced business litigator, Mr. Alger has represented many prominent news media, Internet and entertainment industry companies in the trial and appellate courts against claims for invasion of privacy, right of publicity, trademark and copyright infringement, defamation, unfair business practices, and breach of contract. His work ranges from complex, multi-defendant privacy class actions to disputes over subpoenas and public access to government proceedings and records.
Mr. Alger has successfully defended Internet companies in high-profile free speech cases such as Garcia v. Google, in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected, en banc, an effort under the Copyright Act to force Google and YouTube to remove the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” video trailer. Mr. Alger also represented the defendants in the watershed Ninth Circuit cases interpreting Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, Fair Housing Council v. Roommates.com and Carafano v. Metrosplash.com. In two appeals, the Ninth Circuit in Roommates set a high bar for plaintiffs who seek to hold online intermediaries liable for user postings, and established as a matter of first impression that the First Amendment protects speech relating to cohabitation. In Carafano, the Ninth Circuit held that Section 230 immunizes online services that facilitate and format allegedly unlawful user postings.
Mr. Alger’s recent work has included representation of a billboard company that challenged the City of Los Angeles’ inconsistent regulation of outdoor signs, resulting in an important state Court of Appeal decision extinguishing 100 digital displays erected by competitors and prohibiting municipalities from entering into agreements that conflict with land use laws, Summit Media v. City of Los Angeles. Other recent victories include the dismissal of a federal lawsuit challenging a social network’s decision to remove material violating the network’s policies, and the state Court of Appeal’s holding that electronic communications cannot be disclosed by a service provider without the user’s express consent, Negro v. Superior Court. Mr. Alger’s recent business litigation work included post-trial and appellate representation of an international office supply company, in which Mr. Alger obtained the reversal of a $32 million jury verdict for fraud and breach of an advertising contract.
From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Alger served as Deputy General Counsel at Google, where he supervised the Litigation, Employment and Trademark groups. During his tenure at Google, these groups experienced several major victories, including winning a summary judgment in the Viacom/YouTube copyright litigation, a summary judgment in the Rosetta Stone trademark keyword litigation and two patent jury trials in the Eastern District of Texas. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Mr. Alger was a partner in two major law firms, and prior to attending law school was a newspaper reporter and editor.
Mr. Alger splits his time between the firm’s Silicon Valley and Southern California offices. He is a frequent speaker on online intermediary liability, publicity and privacy rights, and defamation.
