Another Ruling Challenging “Check the Website for Amendments” Contract Provisions–Roling v. E*Trade
By Eric Goldman Roling v. E*Trade Securities LLC, 2010 WL 4916401 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 22, 2010). The plaintiffs are suing over E*Trade’s allegedly unilateral imposition of an account maintenance fee for folks who didn’t make at least one quarterly trade….
Web Host Denied 230 Defense When It Allegedly “Actively Contributes” to Website–Kruska v. Perverted Justice
By Eric Goldman Kruska v. Perverted Justice Foundation Incorporated.org, 2010 WL 4791666 (D. Ariz. Nov. 18, 2010). The CMLP page. I previously posted on this lawsuit in 2008, when the court dismissed GoDaddy as a defendant. This ruling deals with…
Junk Fax Claim Fails Due to “Established Business Relationship” Exception — Cardinal Partners v. Fernandez Discipline
[Post by Venkat] Cardinal Partners, Ltd. v. Fernandez Discipline, LLC, Case No. L-10-1180 (Ohio Ct. App.; Nov. 19, 2010) Background: Toledo chiropractor Dr. William J. Houttekier II shared a fax number with Cardinal Partners (they both apparently had the same…
Apple Gets Partial Win in Case Alleging Copyright Infringement by iPhone App — Stewart v. Apple Inc.
[Post by Venkat] Stewart v. Apple Inc., 10-Cv-01012-RSL (W.D. Wash.; Nov. 08, 2010) (Order on Motion to Dismiss) (Complaint) (Answer) Martyn Stewart recorded a bunch of nature sounds, including bird sounds, which a third party developer allegedly incorporated into the…
Wildcarding Subdomains Is OK; Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Isn’t–Goforit v. Digimedia
By Eric Goldman Goforit Entertainment LLC v. Digimedia.com LP, 2010 WL 4602549 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 25, 2010). See the related personal jurisdiction ruling from 2007 featuring a completely different but still ridiculously large and expensive cast of lawyers. This is…
Forwarding Defamatory Email Immunized by 47 USC 230–Mitan v. A. Neumann
By Eric Goldman Mitan v. A. Neumann & Associates, 2010 WL 4782771 (D. N.J. Nov. 17, 2010) This is another email forwarding case. Others in this line include Phan v. Pham (2010), John Doe Anti-Terrorism Officer v. City of New…
Disclosure of the Substance of Privileged Communications via Email, Blog, and Chat Results in Waiver — Lenz v. Universal
[Post by Venkat] Lenz. v. Universal Music Corp., Case No. C 07-03783 JF (PVT) (N.D. Cal.; Oct. 22, 2010) [pdf] The “‘Let’s Go Crazy’ Dancing Baby” takedown case yielded an interesting discovery ruling. Universal (the defendant) argued that: “[plaintiff] made…
“Trends in Internet Law” Talk Slides
By Eric Goldman A couple weeks ago, I spoke at the California State Bar IP Section’s IP Institute on the nominal topic of Hot Topics in Internet and Technology Law. I don’t normally do “hot topics” CLE presentations, and as…
Request for Discovery of Facebook Profile and Photos Rejected as a Fishing Expedition — McCann v. Harleysville Insurance
[Post by Venkat] McCann v. Harleysville Insurance Co. (2010 NY Slip. Op. 08181) (Nov. 12, 2010) We’ve blogged about several decisions involving disputes around the discovery of social network profiles. An appeals court in New York recently rejected a party’s…
Anti-Bot Restrictions Aren’t Copyright Misuse–Oracle v. Rimini Street
By Eric Goldman Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini Street, Inc., 2:10-CV-00106-LRH-PAL (D. Nev.). Decision on Rimini Street’s motion to dismiss, Aug. 13, 2010. Decision on Oracle’s motion to dismiss Rimini Street’s counterclaims, Oct. 29, 2010. As the world watches the…