Now Available: My Internet Law Syllabus and Reader for Fall 2012

By Eric Goldman I posted my syllabus and my course reader (a $7.50 download at Gumroad) for Fall 2012. If you teach Internet Law (or hope to), email me if you’d like a free copy of the reader plus my…

4th Circuit Limits the Reach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act – WEC Carolina Energy Solutions v. Miller

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] WEC Carolina Energy Solutions LLC v. Miller, et al., 2012 WL 3039213 (4th Cir.; July 26, 2012) We’ve blogged about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act being stretched by plaintiffs in civil…

Judge Koh Whittles Down iPhone App Privacy Lawsuit – In re iPhone Application Litig.

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re iPhone Application Litig., 11-MD-02250-LHK (N.D. Cal.; June 12, 2012) Plaintiffs brought a putative class action against Apple and several “mobile industry defendants.” The basic allegations are that apps available for free in the app…

Court Refuses to Dismiss Claims Against Alleged Twitter-Bot Spammer–Twitter v. Skootle

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Twitter, Inc. v. Skootle Corp., et al., 2012 WL 2375486 (N.D. Cal.; June 22, 2012) Twitter sued several alleged spammers, including (1) those who provided software for the use of automated account creation and tweeting, and…

Plaintiffs Squeak Past Motion to Dismiss in Amazon P3P Case – Del Vecchio v. Amazon

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Del Vecchio v. Amazon.com, 2012 WL 1997697 (W.D. Wash.; June 1, 2012) I previously posted on Del Vecchio v. Amazon, a case that challenged Amazon’s alleged failure to respect the P3P protocol….

Comments on the Ninth Circuit’s En Banc Ruling in U.S. v. Nosal

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] US v. Nosal, 2012 WL 1176119 (9th Cir. Apr. 10, 2012) Nosal was a Korn/Ferry employee who, after his departure, convinced some remaining employees to provide him with confidential information to help…

Facebook and Zynga Privacy Litigation Dismissed With Prejudice [Catch up Post]

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Facebook Privacy Litigation, 10-02389 (N.D. Cal.; Nov. 22, 2011) In re Zynga Privacy Litigation, 10-04680 (N.D. Cal.; Nov. 22, 2011) These decisions are several months old, but they remain worth mentioning despite the fact…

Facebook Gets Decisive Win Against Pseudo-Competitor Power Ventures — Facebook v. Power Ventures

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc., et al., C 08-05780 JW (N.D. Cal.; Feb. 16, 2012) The long-running dispute between Facebook and Power Ventures came to a close last week, with Judge…

Court Denies Kravitz’s Motion to Dismiss PhoneDog’s Amended Claims — PhoneDog v. Kravitz

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] PhoneDog v. Kravitz, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10561 (N.D. Cal.; Jan. 30, 2012) PhoneDog and Kravitz are fighting over ownership of the Twitter account Kravitz used while he was working for PhoneDog. In an earlier order,…

Another Set of Parties Duel Over Social Media Contacts — Eagle v. Sawabeh

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Eagle v. Morgan, 11-4303 (E.D. Pa.; Dec. 22, 2011) Background: Dr. Linda Eagle, who holds a Ph.D. in communication and psychology, teamed up with Clifford Brody and founded Edcomm. They were later joined by Davi Shapp….