Microsoft Adopts Google-Style Trademark Policy for Keyword Advertising
By Eric Goldman I have gotten several emails relaying this announcement from Microsoft: We are writing to alert you to some pending changes to the trademark policy within the Microsoft Advertising adCenter Intellectual Property Guidelines. Starting March 3, 2011, adCenter…
Debt Collection Text May Result in Liability under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act — Gutierrez v. Barclays Group
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Gutierrez v. Barclays Group, Case No. 10cv1012 DMS (BGS) (S.D. Cal.; Feb. 9, 2011) The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a big stick. And it’s being wielded against debt collectors. Plaintiffs (a husband and wife) applied…
Defamation, False Information & 47 USC 230 Talk Slides
By Eric Goldman Earlier this week, I spoke at a PLI event, “Social Media 2011: Addressing Corporate Risks,” on the topic of “Defamation, False Information and 47 USC 230” (this link takes you to the talk slides). I tried to…
California Supreme Court Rules That a ZIP Code is Personal Identification Information — Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma, S178241 (Cal. Supreme Court; Feb. 10, 2011) Plaintiff made a purchase at Williams-Sonoma and when she went to pay, the cashier asked for plaintiff’s ZIP code. Thinking she was required to provide it…
Comparative Domain Name and Keyword Regulation Talk Slides
By Eric Goldman I have a busy semester of talks, so I will be rolling out some talk slides over the next few days. Today, I’m posting my talk slides from a talk I gave last month at the University…
Second Life Forum Selection Clause Upheld–Evans v. Linden
By Eric Goldman Evans v. Linden Research, Inc. (E.D. Pa. Feb. 3, 2011) This lawsuit is similar to the Bragg lawsuit from a few years ago, which argued that land purchases in Second Life were equivalent to real property purchases…
Court Dismisses Class Action Against Spokeo for Lack of Standing — Robins v. Spokeo
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Robins v. Spokeo, 10-cv-05306 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 27, 2011) Spokeo is a website that bills itself as an aggregator of hard-to-find information about people. Robins filed a complaint against Spokeo for violation of the Fair Credit…
Regulating Reputational Information Chapter Now Available
By Eric Goldman I have posted my book chapter, The Regulation of Reputational Information, which I published as part of The Next Digital Decade compilation I’ve previously mentioned. I have another version of this chapter coming out later this year…
Grimmelmann on “Search Neutrality”
By Eric Goldman James Grimmelmann, Some Skepticism About Search Neutrality, in THE NEXT DIGITAL DECADE: ESSAYS ON THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET (Berin Szoka & Adam Marcus, eds. 2010). James Grimmelmann wrote a terrific must-read book chapter on search neutrality….
Court: Husband’s Access of Wife’s Email to Obtain Information for Divorce Proceeding is not Outrageous
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Miller v. Meyers, 09-cv-6103 (W.D. Ark.; Jan 21, 2011) This case presents another fact pattern involving an increasingly common twist to the modern divorce proceeding – someone surreptitiously accesses his or her spouse’s email and on-line…