Google Sued Again for AdWords Trademark Infringement–Home Decor Center v. Google

By Eric Goldman Home Decor Center v. Google, CV12-05706 (C.D. Cal. notice of removal filed July 2, 2012) After the 4th Circuit’s Rosetta Stone v. Google ruling, I wrote: Just like Google got hit with over a dozen lawsuits in…

Now Blogging at “Tertium Quid” at Forbes

By Eric Goldman I’ve launched a new blog called “Tertium Quid” through the Forbes blogging platform. My introductory post there gives some background and explains the name. I expect to cover a lot of the same topics I currently cover…

H1 2012 Quick Links, Part 5 (Consumer Reviews, Content Regulation, Miscellaneous)

By Eric Goldman [This is the last of the quick links for now. Hope you’ve enjoyed them!] Consumer Reviews * Deeply troubling development: Vacation rental companies are inserting non-disparagement clauses into their contracts to suppress negative online reviews. * Ascentive,…

H1 2012 Quick Links, Part 4 (Search Engines, eBay, Social Networking Sites)

By Eric Goldman [Note: if you click on any of the Scribd links below and get a warning that you’re accessing adult content, ignore that. In only the latest of Scribd’s f-ups, it has deployed a massively overinclusive adult content…

H1 2012 Quick Links, Part 3 (Advertising & Privacy)

By Eric Goldman Advertising * Gomez-Jimenez v. New York Law School: False advertising lawsuit against NYLS dismissed. Rebecca’s coverage. * Marketing Land: Pew Survey: 68% View Targeted Ads Negatively; 59% Have Noticed Targeting. Partially related: Search Engine Land: Pew Report:…

The “I Didn’t Understand Facebook’s Privacy Settings” Argument Isn’t Persuasive to Judges–Sumien v. CareFlite

By Eric Goldman Sumien v. CareFlite, 2012 WL 2579525 (Tex. App. Ct. July 5, 2012). Appellate court docket. Sumien and Roberts were CareFlite EMTs. Roberts posted on a third employee’s Facebook wall how she wanted to slap a patient. Responding…

H1 2012 Quick Links, Part 2 (Copyright)

By Eric Goldman * The scandal continues: Techdirt reports the Dajaz1 seizure was held up for months because the government was waiting for the RIAA to provide supporting evidence that never materialized. Wait, ICE seized an asset (that is used…

H1 2012 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks/Domain Names, Patents, Trade Secrets, IP)

By Eric Goldman [Eric’s note: I had an incredibly busy travel schedule since late March. My destinations included Akron, NYC, Seattle, Concord (NH), Boston, Chicago, Vancouver, the California Channel Islands (a blog post is coming later this week about that…

Angie’s List’s Telephone and Fax Information Services May Be Immunized by Section 230–Courtney v. Vereb

By Eric Goldman Courtney v. Vereb, 2012 WL 2405313 (E.D. La. June 25, 2012) Courtney and Vereb are both psychiatric professionals. Vereb posted allegedly defamatory comments about Courtney to Angie’s List in 2009. Courtney says he discovered the comments in…

Can Korean Copyright Owners Sue Australian Defendants in California? Judges Disagree–DFSB Kollective v. Bourne

By Eric Goldman DFSB Kollective Co. Ltd. v. Bourne, 2012 WL 2376209 (N.D. Cal. June 22, 2012). DFSB Kollective is a Korea-based copyright owner and a leading producer of Korean music. It went on a litigation tear on March 7,…