Business School Professors May Be Liable for Defamatory Blog Post–ZAGG v. Catanach

By Eric Goldman ZAGG, Inc. v. Catanach, 2012 WL 4462813 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 27, 2012) Anthony H. Catanach Jr. and J. Edward Ketz are business school professors, Canatach at Villanova’s business school and Ketz at Penn State’s business school. Together,…

Lovelorn Plaintiffs Strike Out Against Match.com – Robinson v. Match.com

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Robinson v. Match.com, 10-CV-2651-L (N.D. Tex. Aug. 10, 2012) [pdf] This is another suit brought by users of a dating site who claim that a dating site deceptively leaves inactive users in its system, thus reducing…

“Notes and Questions” About the UMG v. Shelter Capital Case (Excerpt from my Internet Law Reader)

By Eric Goldman As I previously mentioned, I have posted my Internet Law reader as a $7.50 download. In connection with adding the UMG v. Shelter Capital case, I completely redid the “Notes and Questions” section following the edited case….

We Need Federal Anti-SLAPP Legislation, But Sen. Kyl’s “Free Press Act of 2012? Isn’t the Answer (Yet) (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman It’s a sad but all-too-common story nowadays.  A consumer posts a negative online review about a business.  Angered by the negative feedback, and fearful of the lost business, the business threatens the consumer with a lawsuit. Recognizing…

Stored Communications Act Bars Disclosure of Facebook Records to Surviving Family Members in the UK

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Request for Order Requiring Facebook, Inc. to Produce Documents and Things, C 12-80171 LHK (PSG) (N.D. Cal.; Sept. 20, 2012) In 2008, Sahar Daftary fell from a 12th floor building in England. Her surviving…

Latest “Hot Topics in Internet Law” Talk Slides

By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, I spoke at the “IP and the Internet” conference sponsored by the California State Bar’s IP Section on the perennial favorite topic, “Hot Topics in Internet Law.” My talk slides. Given the conference’s theme,…

Improperly Designating Fashion Designs as “Unpublished” May Invalidate Copyright Registration–Family Dollar Stores v. United Fabrics

[Post by Jake McGowan] Family Dollar Stores, Inc., v. United Fabrics International, Inc., No. 11 Civ. 2574 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) A few weeks ago, we blogged about whether websites are “published” for copyright law purposes in Rogers v. BBB of Metropolitan…

Split 9th Circuit Panel Approves Facebook Beacon Settlement – Lane v. Facebook

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lane v. Facebook, 10-16380 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2012) Facebook’s Beacon initiative has generated more than a few blog posts. Judge Seeborg approved the class settlement, over the objections of several objectors, including Ginger McCall. The…

Cafepress Suffers Potentially Significant Trademark Loss for Users’ Uploaded Designs (Forbes Cross-Post)

Cafepress.com ($PRSS) provides a popular user-to-user marketplace websites that allows users to upload logos or slogans and sell items bearing those logos or slogans, which Cafepress.com manufactures on demand (a so-called “print-on-demand” service). Like any other user-generated content website, there’s always…

Newly Released Consumer Survey Indicates that Legal Concerns About Competitive Keyword Advertising Are Overblown (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman Competitive keyword advertising—buying ads triggered by a keyword search for a competitor’s trademarks at venues like Google AdWords, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing—has generated enormous legal angst over the past decade, including hundreds of law review articles, occasional…