[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] I blogged some time ago about steps you can take to “‘Internet-Proof’ Your Cease and Desist Letter.” Here’s what happens when you don’t. The law firm Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh sent a cease and desist letter…

By Eric Goldman Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment, 2011 WL 221836 (N.D. Ky. Jan. 21, 2011). The complaint. On occasion I’ve ended up at thedirty.com. It’s not my kind of site, but clearly I’m not the target audience. Given its…

By Eric Goldman I’m pleased to call your attention to a new book called “The Next Digital Decade: Essays on the Future of the Internet,” edited by Berin Szoka and Adam Marcus of TechFreedom. This is a truly remarkable book….

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments from Eric] Hypertouch, Inc. v. Valueclick, Inc., et al., B218603 (Cal. Ct. App.; Jan. 18, 2011) A California appeals court weighed in on a long-running debate: whether CAN-SPAM preempts California’s spam statute. This…

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Microsoft Corp. v. Shah, et al., C10-0653 (W.D. Wash.; Jan. 12, 2011) WSJ’s Law Blog reports that Judge Martinez in the Western District of Washington (Seattle) issued an order allowing Microsoft to proceed on a novel…

By Eric Goldman Shropshire v. Canning, 2011 WL 90136 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 11, 2011) This lawsuit relates to the Christmas novelty song, “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer,” a song I listened to far too many times while preparing…

By Eric Goldman “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” — attributed to Niels Bohr I’ve written a few notorious posts in my 6 years of blogging, but none more so than my December 2005 prediction that Wikipedia would…

By Eric Goldman Soaring Helmet Corp. v. Nanal, Inc., 2011 WL 39058 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 3, 2011) I previously blogged on this case in 2009 when Soaring Helmet sued Google for selling keyword advertising triggered on its trademark. Soaring Helmet…

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Knight v. Woodfield, No. 2009-IA-01371-SCT (Mississippi; Jan 6, 2011) Personal jurisdiction questions in cyberspace have been pretty well hashed out over the last ten years, and it’s tough to tell whether recent cases are breaking any…

By Eric Goldman Pathak v. ICG America, Inc., 5:11-cv-00055-VAP -OP (C.D. Cal. complaint filed Jan. 6, 2011) Pathak’s lawsuit is the latest iteration in the litigation deathmatch royale taking place among retailers with “[Food] of the month club” trademarks. See…