Broadcaster Gets 230 Defense for Readers’ Website Comments–Miles v. Raycom
By Eric Goldman Miles v. Raycom Media, Inc., 2010 WL 3419438 (S.D. Miss. Aug. 26, 2010). WLOX is a TV broadcaster in coastal Mississippi (although with those call letters, I expected it would be located in Brooklyn). Toni Miles, a…
FTC Dings PR Firm for Fake Reviews — In re Reverb Communications
[Post by Venkat] In re Reverb Communications, FTC No. 092-3199 (Aug. 26, 2010) (Settlement) Professor Goldman has posted a bunch about the FTC’s endorsement guidelines. (See, e.g., “Do the FTC’s New Endorsement/Testimonial Rules Violate 47 USC 230?;” “A Fuller Explanation…
Internet Rewards Program Class Action Survives Initial Motion to Dismiss — In re Easysaver Rewards
[Post by Venkat] In re: Easysaver Rewards Litigation (S.D. Cal.) (Aug. 13, 2010) Plaintiffs brought a class action lawsuit against Provide-Commerce (which operated Pro.Flowers.com). The lawsuit alleged that effecting transactions on the Proflowers website resulted in plaintiffs being unwittingly enrolled…
Ghostwritten Attorney Newsletter is an “Ad” for TCPA Junk Fax Law Purposes–Holtzman v. Turza
By Eric Goldman Holtzman v. Turza, 08 C 2014 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 3, 2010) This case is a unremarkable straight-down-the-middle analysis of when editorial content becomes a regulated ad, which in turn makes it a remarkable case. Most editorial-content-as-ad cases…
Google Avoids Liability for Failed Google Search Appliance Installation–Market America v. Google
By Eric Goldman Market America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 2010 WL 3156044 (D. Del. Aug. 9, 2010) This lawsuit comes from an unhappy Google Search Appliance (GSA) customer, Market America, who (like many unhappy systems purchasers) claims that Google and…
Selling Replacement Supplies Could Constitute Contributory Trademark Infringement–Georgia Pacific v. Von Drehle (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Mark Bartholomew [Eric’s introduction: Mark is a law professor at the University of Buffalo. He has written several articles on secondary copyright and trademark infringement. See his SSRN page. We were swapping emails about this ruling, and…
47 USC 230 Preempts Sponsorship/Endorsement Liability–Black v. Google
By Eric Goldman Black v. Google, Inc., 2010 WL 3222147 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2010). The complaint. The Blacks run a roofing company. They claim someone posted an anonymous defamatory comment on an unspecified Google website, and this “comment misrepresents…
The Problems With Google House Ads
By Eric Goldman [Note: This blog post has taken me 7 months to write, so I’m glad to be sharing it finally. I am cross-posting it to Search Engine Land.] Introduction Many publishers run “house ads” to self-promote their own…
“Electronically Printed” Does not Include Automated Merchant Email — Shlahtichman v. 1-800 Contacts
[Post by Venkat] Shlahtichman v. 1-800 Contacts, Inc., Case No. 09-4073 (7th Cir.; Aug. 10, 2010) The Seventh Circuit recently concluded that the words “electronically printed,” as used in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, does not…
Creation of False Blog and LinkedIn Account Targeting Utah Resident Supports Personal Jurisdiction in Utah — Buckles v. Brides Club, Inc.
[Post by Venkat] Buckles v. Brides Club, Inc., Case No. 2:08-cv-00849 CW (D.Utah; Aug 11, 2010) A federal district court in Utah recently concluded that several individuals who were allegedly involved in the creation of a false blog and LinkedIn…