eBay Sued for Failing to Take Down Listings–Hansson v. Brower

By Eric Goldman Hansson Inc. v. Brower, 4:07-cv-05898-CW (N.D. Cal. complaint filed Nov. 21, 2007) In my Cyberspace Law course, I teach students that they should not just consider the liability of the person who committed the allegedly tortious behavior,…

ISC2 v. Degraphenreed Update

By Eric Goldman I previously blogged on ISC2 v. Degraphenreed. This case involves an individual (Degraphenreed) who was formerly certified as a CISSP and, after losing the certification, developed and used a new title with the same acronym. Not only…

Taxonomies and Commercial Reputations

By Eric Goldman This coming Saturday, the Information Society Project at Yale Law School is sponsoring a very attractive event entitled “Reputation Economies in Cyberspace.” I’m especially excited about this event because I think my next big project will focus…

Online Word of Mouth and its Implications for Trademark Law

By Eric Goldman I’ve posted my latest academic work, Online Word of Mouth and its Implications for Trademark Law, to the web. This is a chapter in a book edited by Graeme Dinwoodie and Mark Janis containing contributions from leading…

Google and Yahoo Sued for Hosting Content That Allegedly Infringes Trademarks–(ISC)2 v. Degraphenreed

By Eric Goldman International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium v. Degraphenreed, 2:07 CV 1195 (S.D. Ohio complaint filed Nov. 16, 2007) International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium (“ISC2”) offers a professional designation entitled “Certified Information Systems Security Professional,” or “CISSP”…

Google Resists Subpoena for Keyword Ad Purchases–Connor Sport Court v. Google

By Eric Goldman Connor Sport Court International, Inc. v. Google Inc., CV-06-3066 PHX JAT // CV 07-80252 (N.D. Cal. motion to compel filed Oct. 31, 2007) This summer, I reported on trademark litigation between Connor Sport Court and Rhino Court….

Blogger Wins Lawsuit Over Gripe Post–BidZirk v. Smith

By Eric Goldman BidZirk, LLC v. Smith, 2007 WL 3119445 (D.S.C. Oct. 22, 2007) I have previously blogged about BidZirk v. Smith, a flagship example of how a pernicious and misguided plaintiff with a thin skin can ruin a blogger’s…

Google’s Motion to Dismiss American Airlines’ Lawsuit Denied

By Eric Goldman American Airlines, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 4:07-cv-00487 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 24, 2007) In an uninsightful one-page order, the court has denied Google’s motion to dismiss American Airlines’ lawsuit over Google’s keyword advertising sales. Because the judge reveals…

Utah Trademark Protection Act Dying a Slow Death

By Eric Goldman As I reported before, the backroom negotiations over the Utah Trademark Protection Act have produced a compromise where Utah would still create a mark registry but there would no legal consequences to selling/purchasing a registered mark. Obviously,…

AFP v. Google News Redux–AP v. Moreover

By Eric Goldman Associated Press v. Moreover Technologies, Inc., 07 CIV 8699 (SDNY complaint filed Oct. 9, 2007) I don’t understand Moreover. From their website, they describe themselves as: the premier provider of real-time news, current awareness and business information,…