Another Ruling Challenging “Check the Website for Amendments” Contract Provisions–Roling v. E*Trade

By Eric Goldman Roling v. E*Trade Securities LLC, 2010 WL 4916401 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 22, 2010). The plaintiffs are suing over E*Trade’s allegedly unilateral imposition of an account maintenance fee for folks who didn’t make at least one quarterly trade….

Web Host Denied 230 Defense When It Allegedly “Actively Contributes” to Website–Kruska v. Perverted Justice

By Eric Goldman Kruska v. Perverted Justice Foundation Incorporated.org, 2010 WL 4791666 (D. Ariz. Nov. 18, 2010). The CMLP page. I previously posted on this lawsuit in 2008, when the court dismissed GoDaddy as a defendant. This ruling deals with…

Wildcarding Subdomains Is OK; Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Isn’t–Goforit v. Digimedia

By Eric Goldman Goforit Entertainment LLC v. Digimedia.com LP, 2010 WL 4602549 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 25, 2010). See the related personal jurisdiction ruling from 2007 featuring a completely different but still ridiculously large and expensive cast of lawyers. This is…

Forwarding Defamatory Email Immunized by 47 USC 230–Mitan v. A. Neumann

By Eric Goldman Mitan v. A. Neumann & Associates, 2010 WL 4782771 (D. N.J. Nov. 17, 2010) This is another email forwarding case. Others in this line include Phan v. Pham (2010), John Doe Anti-Terrorism Officer v. City of New…

“Trends in Internet Law” Talk Slides

By Eric Goldman A couple weeks ago, I spoke at the California State Bar IP Section’s IP Institute on the nominal topic of Hot Topics in Internet and Technology Law. I don’t normally do “hot topics” CLE presentations, and as…

Anti-Bot Restrictions Aren’t Copyright Misuse–Oracle v. Rimini Street

By Eric Goldman Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini Street, Inc., 2:10-CV-00106-LRH-PAL (D. Nev.). Decision on Rimini Street’s motion to dismiss, Aug. 13, 2010. Decision on Oracle’s motion to dismiss Rimini Street’s counterclaims, Oct. 29, 2010. As the world watches the…

Furniture Retailer Enjoined from Sending eBay VeRO Notices–Design Furnishings v. Zen Path

By Eric Goldman Design Furnishings, Inc. v. Zen Path LLC, 2010 WL 4321568 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 21, 2010). The initial complaint filed by Design Furnishings. I’m a little late to this party (see, e.g., Evan Brown’s coverage), but it’s a…

Amazon Isn’t Liable for Rogue Affiliate’s Keyword Ad Buys–Sellify v. Amazon

By Eric Goldman Sellify Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2010 WL 4455830 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 4, 2010). The initial complaint. Christopher Maki runs Sellify, which in turn runs a website/eBay store called OneQuality.com. An Amazon affiliate, “Cutting Edge Designs,” purchased the keywords…

Ad Networks Can’t Get 47 USC 230 Defense on Motion to Dismiss–Swift v. Zynga

By Eric Goldman Swift v. Zynga Game Network, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117355 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 3, 2010). Wendy Davis’ story on the complaint filing. I have repeatedly observed that the Ninth Circuit’s Roommates.com en banc decision has not…

Job Opening: Assistant Director, High Tech Law Institute

By Eric Goldman I’m sad to announce that Cindy Tippett, our current Assistant Director of the High Tech Law Institute, will be leaving the position due to a family relocation. Cindy has been an integral part of the HTLI’s operations…