Re-registration of Domain Name is not a “Registration” Under the ACPA — GoPets Ltd. v. Hise

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] GoPets Ltd. v. Hise, 08-56110; 08-56112 (9th Cir. Sept. 22, 2011) Although Eric is not a big fan of them, the Ninth Circuit has produced a slew of domain name opinions this year. GoPets Ltd. v….

Pennsylvania Appeals Courts Says no to Circumstantial Authentication of Text Messages — State v. Koch

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] State v. Koch, 2011 PA Super 201 (Sept. 16, 2011) Courts continue to struggle with the authentication of electronic communications. Although several courts have opined that the rules of authentication are not upended by new technologies…

Court Declines to Dismiss or Transfer Lawsuit Over @OMGFacts Twitter Account — Deck v. Spartz, Inc.

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Deck v. Spartz, Inc., 11-Cv-1123 (E.D. CA.; Sept. 27, 2011) I posted about the lawsuit involving the @OMGFacts Twitter account some time ago. (“Thoughts on the Lawsuit Over the @OMGFacts Twitter Account.”) The account was created…

In Facebook’s Lawsuit Against Alleged Spammer, Court Denies MaxBounty’s Motion to Dismiss

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Facebook v. MaxBounty, 10-Cv-04712 (N.D. Cal. Sept 14, 2011) Facebook is suing MaxBounty for allegedly running an affiliate network which dupes people into fanning Facebook pages, promoting the page to their friends, and signing up for…

Gilbert Arenas’ Tweets Sinks His Motion to Enjoin “The Basketball Wives” — Arenas v. Shed Media

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Arenas v. Shed Media, CV 11-05279 (C.D. Cal.; Aug 22, 2011) Arenas is a basketball player for the Orlando Magic. He goes by various nicknames, including “Agent Zero, Agent Arenas, and Hibachi.” Arenas and Laura Govan…

iPhone Privacy Class Action Dismissed for Lack of Standing — In re iPhone App. Litigation

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re iPhone Application Litigation, 2011 WL 4403963 (N.D. Cal.; Sept. 20, 2011) iPhone users sued Apple and various advertising networks alleging that defendants violated their privacy rights “by . . . allowing third party applications…

Court Revisits and Dismisses Fair Credit Reporting Act Lawsuit Against Spokeo — Robins v. Spokeo, Inc.

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Robins v. Spokeo, Inc., 10-CV-05306 (C.D. Cal.; Sept. 19, 2011) Spokeo collects information about individuals and allegedly markets this information to employers and HR professionals. Robins sued Spokeo in a putative class action, alleging violations of…

Copyright Preempts State Tort Claims Over Loss of Control Over Website — 78th Infantry Div. v. Oprendek

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] 78th Infantry Division, WWII Living History Ass’n v. Oprendek, 11-165 (D.N.J.; Aug 4, 2011) This is another web vendor dispute. Professor Goldman posted about one earlier this week. As in that case, here the parties did…

1st Circuit Reinstates $675,000 File-Sharing Award Against Tenenbaum — Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, 2011 WL 4133920 (1st Cir. Sept. 16, 2011) [pdf] Sony’s lawsuit against Joel Tenenbaum was one of two file-sharing lawsuits brought by record labels against end users that proceeded to…

Lawyer Hit With $4.2 Million Judgment in Junk Fax Class Action — Holtzman v. Turza

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Holtzman v. Turza, 08 C 2014 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 29, 2011) Apparently reports of the fax machine’s death are greatly exaggerated. People still use fax machines. Holtzman sued Turza for receiving unsolicited faxes. The court certified…