Google Down to 7 AdWords Lawsuits–Ascentive v. Google Voluntarily Dismissed
By Eric Goldman Ascentive v. Google, Inc., 2:09-cv-02871 (E.D. Pa. voluntary dismissal July 30, 2009) The litigation count on Google’s keyword ad lawsuits has started trending downward. For the second time in a week, a plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed its…
Microsoft-Yahoo Alliance Comments
By Eric Goldman Some comments on the proposed search alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo: * I remember a time, long ago back in the mid-1990s, when Yahoo was the unquestioned leader in search. * The beginning of the end is…
Biosafe-One v. Hawks Dismissed
By Eric Goldman Biosafe-One, Inc. v. Hawks, 2009 WL 2170150 (S.D.N.Y. July 25, 2009) I previously blogged about this case in 2007. The parties are competitors in the septic system cleaning products business. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant ripped…
Griping Blogger Gets Fair Use and Anti-SLAPP Win–Sedgwick v. Delsman
By Eric Goldman Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. v. Delsman, 2009 WL 2157573 (N.D. Cal. July 17, 2009). The Justia page. Delsman had a big issue with Sedgwick. The details of his gripes aren’t all that important. To make his…
Google Down to 8 AdWords Lawsuits–Jurin v. Google Voluntarily Dismissed
By Eric Goldman Jurin v. Google, Inc., 2:09-cv-03934-GHK-E (C.D. Cal. voluntarily dismissed July 23, 2009) Google’s AdWords litigation docket has reversed direction, at least temporarily, as Jurin has voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit against Google. This dismissal came shortly after Jurin…
AP Gets It Right and Then Overreaches–AP v. AHN
Faced with an allegedly cut-and-dried case of someone systematically copying and reusing its news articles, the Associated Press brought what should have been an easy copyright suit. Unfortunately, it also tried to lever these sympathetic facts to stretch the scope…
Ripoff Report Hires New General Counsel
By Eric Goldman I don’t normally blog on personnel matters, but news about the Ripoff Report is a perennial favorite of blog readers. So I’m sharing the news that David S. Gingras has taken the mantle as the General Counsel…
47 USC 230(c)(2) Talk Slides Draft–COMMENTS REQUESTED
By Eric Goldman Later this week I’m giving a brand new talk on 47 USC 230(c)(2), the overlooked sibling of 47 USC 230(c)(1). With the help of a research assistant, we tried to identify and review every case referencing 47…
Lifestyle Lift Settles NYAG Claim Over Fake Consumer Reviews
By Eric Goldman Lifestyle Lift has settled a claim from the New York Attorney General’s office over its employees posting fake consumer reviews to the web. According to the NYAG press release, Lifestyle Lift will stop posting anonymous positive product…
Republishing Third Party Ratings in Marketing Material Might Be Copyright/Trademark Infringement–Health Grades v. Robert Wood Johnson Univ. Hospital
By Eric Goldman Health Grades, Inc. v. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Inc., 06-CV-02351-JLK (D. Colo. June 19, 2009) A Colorado judge has reached the remarkable conclusion that a hospital publicizing its star ratings and other recognition from a third…