Facebook Password Exchange Between Parties to Litigation Results in Spoliation Debacle – Gatto v. United Airlines

[By Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Gatto v. United Air Lines, 10-cv-1090-ES-SCM (D.N.J. Mar. 25, 2013) Background: Gatto brought a personal injury action against United and Allied arising out of an accident at the airport. Defendants sought a range…

FTC Warns Nordstrom Over Tweetup Freebies

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] The FTC conducted an investigation on Nordstrom’s marketing and promotion in connection with a “tweetup” held in Boise. Apparently Nordstrom provided free gifts to “influencers”, including $50 gift cards to Nordstrom Rack. [Sadly, I did not…

Why Google’s Commitment Letter to the FTC Isn’t Commercial Speech (Guest Blog Post)

By Guest Blogger Josh King [Eric’s introduction: Josh King is Vice President, Business Development & General Counsel at Avvo. Among other ways we work together, he’s a fellow board member of Public Participation Project, which is advocating for a federal…

Judge Boots Privacy Lawsuit Against Pandora but Plaintiffs Can Replead – Yunker v. Pandora

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Yunker v Pandora Media, Inc., 2013 US Dist LEXIS 42691 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2013) Pandora has been sued before for allegedly revealing listening preferences, but this is a more run-of-the-mill privacy lawsuit against Pandora. Pandora…

Ex-Lover Can Use Non-Disparagement Provision to Suppress Revenge Porn–Walls v. Klein

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Walls v. Klein, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 2462 (Tx. Ct. App. 4th Dist. Mar. 13, 2013) Walls and Klein were in a romantic relationship that soured. The parties volleyed legal threats but ultimately entered into a…

The Supreme Court’s Kirtsaeng Ruling Is Good News for Consumers, but the First Sale Doctrine Is Still Doomed–Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, No. 11–697 (U.S. Supreme Court March 19, 2013).  Prior blog post of the Second Circuit ruling in the case. In Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ($JW-A), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled…

Minnesota’s Proposed Anti-Trademark Bullying Statute Misses the Mark (Guest Blog Post)

By Guest Blogger Leah Chan Grinvald Last April, Minnesota became the first state in the U.S. to introduce anti-trademark bullying legislation with the proposal of H.F. 2996. The proposed “Small Business Trademark Protection Act” had a whole host of problems,…

Linkwrap of Google’s Antitrust Deal With the FTC

By Eric Goldman It seems like forever since the FTC settled its antitrust investigation with Google, even though it’s been less than 3 months. My recap post from the initial announcement. We’re waiting for the European denouement, but in the…

First Amendment Protects Online Republication of Court Records–Nieman v. VersusLaw

By Eric Goldman Nieman v. VersusLaw, Inc., 2013 WL 1150277 (7th Cir. March 19, 2013) [As I mentioned in my prior post about the case, the plaintiff has made legal threats against me for the same conduct discussed in this…

N.Y. Yankees Block Clothing Manufacturer’s “Baseball’s Evil Empire” Trademark Registration (Catch-Up Post)

By Jake McGowan [writings][LinkedIn] New York Yankees Partnership v. Evil Enterprises, Inc., TTAB Opposition No. 91192764 (TTAB Feb. 8, 2013) With nagging injuries to several key starters, it looks like the New York Yankees are in for a long season….