Blog Host Can’t Be Bound by TRO for User Posts (Blockowicz redux)–Bobolas v. Does
By Eric Goldman Bobolas v. Does 1-100, 2010 WL 3923880 (D. Ariz. Oct. 1, 2010) This lawsuit involves Bobolasgate.info, a Greek-language blog/website that appears to criticize Greek real estate and media mogul George Bobolas (ranked as one of the top…
Inflatable Giant Gorilla Attacks Google (for Copyright Infringement)–Scherba v. Google
By Eric Goldman Scherba Industries v. Google, Inc., 1:10-cv-02288 (N.D. Ohio complaint filed Oct. 7, 2010). Scherba makes giant inflatable gorillas. See an example. A little improbably, it has a copyright registration for a 3D sculptural work called “Gorilla Inflatable”–the…
September 2010 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Contracts * Hutchison v. Yahoo, 2010 WL 3706571 (9th Cir. Sept 20, 2010). AT&T’s early termination fee wasn’t a penalty, even as applied to a termination with only 2 weeks of service left. * Evan Brown: Software…
September 2010 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP Edition)
By Eric Goldman Copyright * US v. ASCAP (2d Cir. Sept. 28, 2010): “the Internet Companies offer their customers the ability to download musical works over the Internet. It is undisputed that these downloads create copies of the musical works,…
Tip for Clean Living: Don’t Use a 14 Year Old’s Self-Portrait in Advertising for Porn–Lara Jade Coton v. TVX
By Eric Goldman Coton v. Televised Visual X-ography, Inc., 2010 WL 3768039 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 16, 2010). The initial complaint. Lara Jade’s blog post on the court victory. Comprehensive recap from Plagiarism Today, who has been tracking the case all…
New Internet Law Work-in-Progress Series
By Eric Goldman Announcing a New Internet Law Works-in-Progress Series and Call for Participation The High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law and the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School are…
Seventh Circuit Tosses Beverly Stayart’s False Endorsement Claims–Stayart v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Stayart v. Yahoo! Inc., 2010 WL 3785147 (7th Cir. Sept. 30, 2010). I have previously blogged about Beverly Stayart’s lawsuits against Yahoo and Google for apparently sploggy (and possibly cloaked) objectionable search results delivered when she searched…
StubHub Can’t Beat Tax Collection Obligation Using 47 USC 230–Chicago v. StubHub
By Eric Goldman City of Chicago, Ill. v. StubHub!, Inc., 2010 WL 3768072 (7th Cir. Sept. 29, 2010) In my recent post about Milgram v. Orbitz, I wrote that “online tickets have become a major subfield of cyberlaw” and collected…
Deleted Facebook and MySpace Posts Are Discoverable–Romano v. Steelcase
By Eric Goldman, with additional comments from Venkat Romano v. Steelcase Inc., 2010 WL 3703242 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 21, 2010). On my personal blog, I have repeatedly blogged about plaintiffs who tell one story in court only to have…
Georgia Pacific’s Effort to Control Towel Dispenser Refills Fails in 8th Circuit–Georgia Pacific v. Myers Supply (Guest Blog Post)
Georgia Pacific Consumer Products LP v. Myers Supply, Inc., 2010 WL 3564834 (8th Cir. Sept. 15, 2010) By guest blogger Mark Bartholomew After a decision by the Fourth Circuit seemed to open the door for businesses to use contributory trademark…