Ripoff Report Defeats Extortion Claim, But Plaintiffs Keep Trying–AEI v. Xcentric

By Eric Goldman Asia Economic Institute v. Xcentric Ventures LLC, 2:10-cv-01360-SVW-PJW (C.D. Cal. July 19, 2010). First Amended Complaint filed July 27, 2010. I’ve lost track of the different techniques plaintiffs have tried to bypass 47 USC 230 and hold…

Google Protected by 17 USC 512(d) for Links to Infringing Content; Perfect 10’s Takedown Notices Were Mostly Insufficient

By Eric Goldman Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 2:04-cv-09484-AHM-SH (C.D. Cal. July 26, 2010) In 2007, the Ninth Circuit issued an important but befuddling ruling in Perfect 10 v. Amazon and Google. That ruling addressed Perfect 10’s prima facie…

Internet Law Syllabus and Reader for Fall 2010

By Eric Goldman I have posted my syllabus for this semester’s Internet Law course, my 16th year teaching the course. This blog post describes some of the latest developments with the class, including the changes from my 2009 course reader….

E-SIGN Prevents Enforcement of Emailed Contract Terms–Buckles v. Investordigs

By John Ottaviani Buckles Management, LLC v. Investordigs, LLC, No. 10-cv-00508-LTB-BNB (D. Colo. July 23, 2010). It has been about 10 years now since Congress adopted the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (commonly known as “E-Sign”)….

Yet Another TM Owner Gives Up Against Google–Ezzo v. Google

By Eric Goldman Jamil Ezzo has apparently given up his lawsuit against Google over AdWords. The dismissal. This was a silly lawsuit that never should have been brought (it was over the purported trademark “Locate Plastic Surgeon” for gosh sakes),…

Private Facebook Group’s Conversations Aren’t Defamatory–Finkel v. Dauber

By Eric Goldman Finkel v. Dauber, 2010 WL 2872874 (NY Sup. Ct. July 22, 2010) I previously blogged about this case last year. The case involves a private Facebook group comprised of 6 high school students apparently mocking and criticizing…

Facebook’s Anti-Spam Filter Blocks Legitimate Conversations about Power.com

By Eric Goldman On Friday, Venkat and I posted about the latest ruling in Facebook v. Power.com. After Venkat or I make a blog post, I typically post the blog headline and URL to Twitter. I have enabled the app…

Judge Denies Facebook’s Request for Judgment on the Pleadings and Strikes Power.com Counterclaims — Facebook v. Power.com

[Post by Venkat, with additional comments by Eric] Facebook v. Power Ventures, Inc., Case No. C 08-05780 (N.D. Cal. July 20, 2010) Background: Facebook and Power Ventures (Power.com) have been locked in a battle over whether Power.com should be allowed…

Book Review: Building Web Reputation Systems by Farmer & Glass

By Eric Goldman Building Web Reputation Systems by F. Randall Farmer & Bryce Glass (O’Reilly 2010) [affiliate link] As you may know, for the past couple of years, I have been researching how we regulate reputation systems. My most recent…

Online Video Publisher Learns Why You Should Register Your Copyrights Early–LTVN v. Odeh

By Eric Goldman LTVN Holdings, LLC v. Odeh, 2010 WL 2612690 (D.Md. June 25, 2010). The 2009 ruling on jurisdiction in this case. Kramer is a litigator. He formed an organization that publishes educational videos about legal topics and provides…