Top Cyberlaw Developments of 2006
By Eric Goldman and John Ottaviani [Eric’s Note: I will be in Israel for the rest of the year. So while it’s a little premature to publish an end-of-the-year recap,…
Courts Can’t Figure Out if Buying Keywords Constitutes Trademark Use–Buying for the Home v. Humble Abode
…competitive keyword purchases on its trademarks when it does the same thing itself. (But this seems to happen fairly frequently–for example, it was an embarrassing fact in the 1-800 Contacts…
Google Wins Keyword Lawsuit–Rescuecom v. Google
By Eric Goldman Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc., No. 5:04-CV-1055 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2006). You can find the ruling here (WARNING: 1.7MB file) Introduction and the 1-800 Contacts Precedent Last…
Search Engine Liability for Selling Keywords Redux–800-JR Cigar v. GoTo.com
By Eric Goldman 800-JR Cigar, Inc. v. GoTo.com, Inc., 2006 WL 1971659 (D. N.J. July 13, 2006) This is a confusing but important case about search engine liability for selling…
Merck v. Mediplan Redux–Keyword Purchases Really Aren’t Trademark Use
…1-800 Contacts precedent. It wouldn’t surprise me if Merck asks them to do so. Meanwhile, if the Merck court is right about the reach of the 1-800 Contacts precedent, then…
Keyword Purchases Not a Trademark Use–Merck v. Mediplan Health Consulting
…1127(1)-(2)). This section effectively requires that consumers “see” the trademark usage for it to qualify. The Merck court, citing to the Second Circuit 1-800 Contacts ruling from last summer (as…
Competitor’s Keyword Ad Purchase May Be Trademark Infringement–Edina Realty v. TheMLSonline
…precedent on point, such as the first Geico ruling (finding Google made a use in commerce by selling keywords) and the 1-800 Contacts 2nd circuit opinion (finding that WhenU didn’t…
Top Cyberspace IP Cases of 2005
…1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. WhenU. Com, Inc., 414 F.3d 400 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 126 S.Ct. 749 (2005). The owner of a website and the mark “1-800 Contacts” sued a…
RipoffReport.com Loses 47 USC 230 Motion to Dismiss–Hy Cite v. badbusinessbureau.com
By Eric Goldman Hy Cite Corp. v. badbusinessbureau.com, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38082 (D. Ariz. Dec. 27, 2005) This is the third 47 USC 230 ruling involving badbusinessbureau.com/RipoffReport.com. The first…
2005 Blog Year-in-Review
…Case–1-800 Contacts v. WhenU. This is one of my favorite posts of the year. 4. Grokster Supreme Court Ruling 5. Steinbuch v. Cutler Update–Cutler’s Motion to Dismiss. This one got…