Injunction Against a Twitterer

A recent case saw the first injunction to be served via a social networking site. An unknown individual, who was posing as the political blogger and solicitor Donal Blaney of Griffin Law, was served with a court order to prevent him from continuing under that guise and to require him to reveal his true identity. The injunction, now referred to as ‘Blaney’s Blarny Order’, was groundbreaking due to the fact that it was served via the Twitter website.

The injunction was granted on the basis that the Twitterer had breached Mr Blaney’s copyright. It is understood that the unknown Twitterer contacted Donal Blaney two days after the injunction was served and a four-figure sum was agreed in settlement.