Is TRUSTe Irrelevant?
TRUSTe pulled its logo from some websites for breaking its rules for the first time in 2 years. The article focuses on TRUSTe’s refusal to specify the rules violation, but…
More on Utah Spyware Law Amendments
I finally had a chance to look at the proposed amendments to the Utah Spyware Control Act. They are much worse than I imagined! The law talks about spyware but…
Pornmeister Liable for Affiliate’s Spam
A settlement involving Sobonito Investments, a Cyprus pornmeister that used an affiliate marketing scheme to generate traffic. The affiliates engaged in bad email practices, and the advertiser was put on…
French Lawsuit Involving “Search Engine Optimization” Techniques
I haven’t seen much discussion on the recent French opinion Societe Kaligona v. Societe Dreamnex, French Court of Appeals, Jan. 12, 2005. (I’m working from a BNA report—subscription required). The…
Coca-Cola v. Purdy Permanent Injunction
The court issued a permanent injunction in the long-running Coca-Cola v. Purdy case. If you’re not familiar with Purdy, he is an anti-abortion activist. He targeted various publishers that he…
“They Don’t Own the Jews”
Does a “Jewish Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” infringe the “trademark” owned by the Cleveland “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”? Given the large number of “Hall of Fames”…
Google and Keyword/Domain Name Convergence
Bob Tedeschi speculates about why Google became a registrar. He discusses a number of good reasons but missed perhaps the most obvious. To Google, there’s no difference between selling domain…
Amicus Briefs in MGM v. Grokster
If you haven’t checked it out, 28 amici briefs have been filed so far in the MGM v. Grokster case, including three different briefs led by law professors. I find…
Utah/Urquhart on an Anti-Spyware Crusade Again
Utah is reworking its anti-spyware bill. I need to see the legislation but this news report sounds ominous. It reminds me of the expert report from the LICRA v. Yahoo…
Shopbots and Nash Equilibrium
Interesting News.com article by Paul Festa discussing a report by Prof. Michael Baye of Indiana University on why shopbots have not led to homogeneous prices by all retailers. The basic…