EA Faces Uphill Battle in Its Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Zynga (Partial Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman [Eric’s note: I am still experimenting with how to write for different audiences. Below is the first draft of a post I wrote for my Forbes Tertium Quid blog. You’ll see it’s written for a lay audience,…
Now Available: My Internet Law Syllabus and Reader for Fall 2012
By Eric Goldman I posted my syllabus and my course reader (a $7.50 download at Gumroad) for Fall 2012. If you teach Internet Law (or hope to), email me if you’d like a free copy of the reader plus my…
The Newest Olympic Sport: Evasion of Geolocation (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble The Olympic Games can be credited for spreading awareness about and generating excitement for sports that might otherwise be unknown in various parts of the world. The global promotion of sports is one of the…
What Are Trademark Defendants’ Obligations to Clean Up the Internet After a Trademark Injunction?
By Eric Goldman We’re continuing to get cases interpreting a defendant’s obligation after a court has issued an injunction against continuing to use a trademark. (The same basic issue arises after a settlement agreement). I don’t know that we have…
Video Embedding Site Isn’t a Contributory Copyright Infringer, But Sideloading Could Be Direct Infringement–Flava Works v. myVidster
By Eric Goldman Flava Works, Inc. v. Gunter, No. 11-3190 (7th Cir. Aug. 2, 2012). Prior blog post on district court ruling. myVidster is a “social bookmarking” website that allows users to link to videos hosted elsewhere on the Internet…
Physical Props for Teaching the IP Survey Course
By Eric Goldman [Note: this post is intended for readers who teach the IP Survey course or related courses. If that’s not you, you might want to skip this post.] I’m sure many of you are aware of the Georgetown…
Backpage Gets Important 47 USC 230 Win Against Washington Law Trying to Combat Online Prostitution Ads (Forbes Cross-Post & More)
By Eric Goldman [I’ve added some bonus content to the end of this Forbes cross-post] In 1996, Congress enacted a powerful statutory immunity for user-generated content, located at 47 U.S.C. 230 (“Section 230”). Section 230 says that websites aren’t liable…
Offering P2P File-Sharing Software for Downloading May Be Copyright Inducement–David v. CBS Interactive
By Eric Goldman David v. CBS Interactive Inc., CV 11-9437 DSF (C.D. Cal. July 13, 2012). The complaint. When the Grokster Supreme Court opinion came out in 2005, there was a lot of confusion about the relationship between copyright “inducement”…
Why Defensive Domain Name Registrations Aren’t a Good Deal for Small Businesses (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman [Introductory note: every article has a backstory, but some backstories are more complicated than others. Earlier this year, I was commissioned by a well-known publication to participate in a point/counterpoint regarding registering domain names in new TLDs….
PissedConsumer Defeats Trademark Claim…On a Motion to Dismiss!?–deVere v. Opinion Corp.
By Eric Goldman deVere Group GmbH v. Opinion Corp., 2012 WL 2884986 (E.D.N.Y. July 13, 2012) Here’s something you don’t see every day: a trademark infringement lawsuit defeated for lack of consumer confusion–on a 12b6 motion to dismiss. For several…