Latest “Hot Topics in Internet Law” Talk Slides
By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, I spoke at the “IP and the Internet” conference sponsored by the California State Bar’s IP Section on the perennial favorite topic, “Hot Topics in Internet Law.” My talk slides. Given the conference’s theme,…
Cafepress Suffers Potentially Significant Trademark Loss for Users’ Uploaded Designs (Forbes Cross-Post)
Cafepress.com ($PRSS) provides a popular user-to-user marketplace websites that allows users to upload logos or slogans and sell items bearing those logos or slogans, which Cafepress.com manufactures on demand (a so-called “print-on-demand” service). Like any other user-generated content website, there’s always…
Court Says No Negligence Claim for Third Party Infringement via Open Wi-Fi Connection – AF Holdings v. Doe
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] AF Holdings, LLC v. Doe, C 12 2049 (PJH) (N.D. Cal.; Sept. 4, 2012) I blogged about a case where a P2P infringement plaintiff argued that a defendant should be held liable for failing to secure…
Another Case Says No Liability for Linking to Allegedly Defamatory Content, Plus a Recap (Guest Blog Post)
Vazquez v. Buhl, 2012 WL 3641581 (Conn. Super. July 17, 2012) [Eric’s Note: Sam Bayard is an associate at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in New York. I got to know him during his stint at the Citizen Media Law Project….
Ranking of “Dirtiest Hotels” Based on User Ratings is “Unverifiable Rhetorical Hyperbole”–Seaton v. TripAdvisor (Partial Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman [This is another situation where I’m posting the first draft of this post here and linking to the Forbes version, which reads a little differently. As always, I welcome feedback about which version you liked better.] Seaton…
Amazon.com’s Anti-Counterfeiting Efforts Blessed by California Appellate Court (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman A California appellate court has blessed Amazon.com’s ($AMZN) efforts to police counterfeit goods sold by its third party merchants. This is especially good news for Amazon because the leading precedent on the topic had blessed eBay’s ($EBAY)…
Why Did Google Flip-Flop On Cracking Down On “Rogue” Websites? Some Troubling Possibilities (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, Google announced that it may downgrade search results for a website if Google receives a high volume of “valid” takedown notices against the website. Google’s move has confused many Google-watchers, largely because the exact…
Section 230 Immunizes Links to Defamatory Third Party Content–Directory Assistants v. Supermedia
By Eric Goldman Directory Assistants, Inc. v. Supermedia, LLC, 2012 WL 3329615 (E.D. Va. May 30, 2012) [For some reason, this case just appeared in my Westlaw alerts today. Even at this late date, it’s worth sharing. I have a…
Six-Month Retrospective of SOPA’s Demise [Forbes Cross-Post, A Month Late!] + SOPA/PROTECT-IP/OPEN Linkwrap #3
By Eric Goldman [This post is composed of three parts. The first part, all 2,700 words of it, is a cross-post from Forbes last month assessing where we stood 6 months after January 18, 2012. Sorry it’s taken me so…
No Liability for Takedown Notice that Results in Termination of Facebook Page — Lown Cos. v. Piggy Paint
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Lown Companies v. Piggy Paint, LLC, 1:11-cv-911 (W.D. Mich.; Aug. 9, 2012) Lown and Piggy Paint are squabbling over “piggy paint” trademarks. Lown has a registration for “PIGGY POLISH,” and alleges that…