Tasini was the lead plaintiff in the case of New York Times Co. v. Tasini, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in June 2001) in favor of the copyright claims of writers whose work was republished in electronic databases without their permission.
New York City | New York | The New York Times | New York University | York | The Times | New York Yankees | Buffalo, New York | Los Angeles Times | Rochester, New York | New York Giants | New York Stock Exchange | New York Mets | Albany, New York | New York State Assembly | Syracuse, New York | New York State Senate | New York City Subway | New York Philharmonic | York University | New York Jets | New York Public Library | Lake Placid, New York | New York Rangers | Mayor of New York City | Chicago Sun-Times | New York Supreme Court | Governor of New York | Archbishop of York | University at Buffalo, The State University of New York |
He successfully argued in district court the case of Linus C. Pauling v. National Review that according to the reasoning behind the case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan that public figures were unable to sue for libel except when there was actual malice.
The decision held that, while news organizations were protected from liability when printing allegations about public officials under the Supreme Court's New York Times Co. v. Sullivan decision (1964), they may still be liable to public figures if the information they disseminate is recklessly gathered and unchecked.
In 1964, the pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case (New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254) ended most libel protection recourse for public figures in the United States effectively clearing the way for intrusive or adversarial reportage into the public or private affairs of public figures by news media outlets whether newspapers, TV or radio.
He also sued four black ministers mentioned in the ad, specifically Ralph Abernathy, S.S. Seay, Sr., Fred Shuttlesworth, and Joseph Lowery.