2007 Blog Year-in-Review

By Eric Goldman A look back at 2007: Most Popular Blog Posts 1) The Most Effective Anti-Terrorism Law EVER 2) Utah Bans Keyword Advertising 3) Rescuecom v. Google Law Professors’ Amicus Brief [overflow from #1] 4) Sex.com — An Update…

“SmartSearch” = Dumb Trademark — Applied Information Sciences v. eBay

By Eric Goldman Applied Information Sciences Corp. v. eBay, Inc., 2007 WL 4553999 (9th Cir. Dec. 28, 2007) This is not an earth-shattering case, but it’s a nice example of a worthless trademark enforcement action and a refreshing example of…

New Jersey Authorizes Ban of Sex Offenders’ Internet Access

By Eric Goldman New Jersey S1979 (signed December 27, 2007) New Jersey has passed a law allowing various punishment authorities (judges, parole officers, etc.) to restrict Internet use by convicted sex offenders. The main operative restriction says that these authorities…

December 2007 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Marketing * I’ve blogged about Various, which operates AdultFriendFinder.com, before. They made the news recently in two ways. First, they sold to Penthouse for half-a-billion dollars. Second, they settled with the FTC for “pelting” users with unwanted…

Keyword Advertising is TM Use in Commerce But Doesn’t Violate Injunction–Boston Duck Tours v. Super Duck Tours

By Eric Goldman Boston Duck Tours, LP v. Super Duck Tours, LLC, 2007 WL 4465464 (D. Mass. Dec. 5, 2007) In the latest advertiser-vs.-advertiser lawsuit over keyword advertising, a court from the First Circuit (in Massachusetts) deemed keyword advertising to…

Tiffany v. eBay Post-Trial Briefs

By Eric Goldman [UPDATE: If you’re looking for discussion of the July 2008 District Court ruling, go here.] Fred was kind enough to post the post-trial briefs filed by Tiffany and eBay in the lawsuit over eBay’s contributory liability for…

Avvo Wins Big in Ratings Lawsuit–Browne v. Avvo

By Eric Goldman Browne v. Avvo, C07-0920RSL (W.D. Wash. motion to dismiss granted Dec. 18, 2007) The lawsuit against Avvo for lawyer ratings has been dismissed without leave to amend. This is a big win for Avvo. The ruling turns…

Co-Blogger Identity Isn’t Disclosed via 512(h), but Takedown Letters Are Copyrightable

By Eric Goldman In re Subpoena Issued Pursuant to The Digital Millennium Copyright Action To: 43SB.Com, LLC, 2007 WL 4335441 (D. Id. Dec. 7, 2007) We have long known that the DMCA expedited subpoena procedures for identifying copyright infringers (17…

Oct.-Nov. 2007 Quick Links, Part 2

By Eric Goldman Marketing/Branding * To stimulate demand for its services, the British postal service is pointing out that snail mail is a good way to use olfactory marketing. Try to keep up with THAT, spammers! But doesn’t this give…

Roommates.com Updates

By Eric Goldman Howard Bashman provides some useful updates on the Roommates.com case. First, the Ninth Circuit has rejected the amicus brief filed by Amazon.com and numerous other Internet companies because, according to Bashman, the amicus brief would have created…