Court Declines to Dismiss Video Privacy Protection Act Claims against Hulu

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Hulu Privacy Litigation, C 11-03764 LB (N.D. Cal.; Aug. 10, 2012) Hulu is facing a putative class action alleging that Hulu improperly disclosed the video viewing choices of its users without obtaining consent. Hulu…

Judge Alsup Tries to Out the Shills in Oracle v. Google

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Oracle v. Google, Case No. C 10-03561 WHA (N.D. Cal.; Aug. 7, 2012) Judge Alsup recently issued an order in Oracle v. Google, voicing concerns that the parties or counsel may have…

Craigslist’s Latest Moves Show It Cares More About Its Market Position Than Delivering Value to Its Users (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman Craigslist is resorting to increasingly desperate measures to control its users’ classified ad listings. Last month, Craigslist sued 3Taps and Padmapper for scraping and repackaging its classified ads.   Since then, it has extracted greater IP rights from its…

Online Marketplace Isn’t Liable for Bad Conduct by Merchants It Certifies–Englert v. Alibaba

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Englert v. Alibaba, 11CV1560 RWS (E.D. Miss.; Apr. 27, 2012) Englert and other plaintiffs purchased products found on alibaba.com. The products included “ExtenZe male enhancement, Vimax,VigRX Plus, Energy Wristband (Power Balance), and Razor Blades Fusion Power.”…

Backpage Gets Important 47 USC 230 Win Against Washington Law Trying to Combat Online Prostitution Ads (Forbes Cross-Post & More)

By Eric Goldman [I’ve added some bonus content to the end of this Forbes cross-post] In 1996, Congress enacted a powerful statutory immunity for user-generated content, located at 47 U.S.C. 230 (“Section 230”).  Section 230 says that websites aren’t liable…

Franchisor Isn’t Liable Under the TCPA for Franchisees’ Text Message Campaign – Thomas v. Taco Bell

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Thomas v. Taco Bell Corp., SACV 09-01097-CJC(ANx) (C.D. Cal.; June 25, 2012) Thomas allegedly received unauthorized text messages as part of an advertising campaign for Taco Bell’s Nachos BellGrande (“[a] large platter…

Offering P2P File-Sharing Software for Downloading May Be Copyright Inducement–David v. CBS Interactive

By Eric Goldman David v. CBS Interactive Inc., CV 11-9437 DSF (C.D. Cal. July 13, 2012). The complaint. When the Grokster Supreme Court opinion came out in 2005, there was a lot of confusion about the relationship between copyright “inducement”…

Judge Koh Puts the Kibosh on LinkedIn Referral ID Class Action — Low v. LinkedIn

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Low v. LinkedIn, 11-CV-01468-LHK (N.D. Cal.; July 12, 2012) This case involves the fact that LinkedIn put users’ unique identifiers into its URLs, allowing advertisers (and others) to associate that unique identifier with users–and, potentially, access…

Why Defensive Domain Name Registrations Aren’t a Good Deal for Small Businesses (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman [Introductory note: every article has a backstory, but some backstories are more complicated than others. Earlier this year, I was commissioned by a well-known publication to participate in a point/counterpoint regarding registering domain names in new TLDs….

Announcing a New Casebook: “Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases & Materials” by Tushnet & Goldman

By Eric Goldman I’m thrilled to announce the public release of a new casebook, Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases and Materials by Rebecca Tushnet and me. We are publishing the book as a DRM-free PDF download at Scribd for only…