Marijuana Activist Can’t Change His Name to “NJWeedman.com” — In re Forchion
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with additional comments by guest blogger Laura Heymann and Eric] [Eric’s note: this may be our first post with *three* different bloggers covering the same case! Venkat starts us off:] In re Robert Edward Forchion, Jr.,…
Overreactive Guidance for Social Networking Du Jour — NLRB Edition
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] NLRB Memo – Memorandum OM 11-74 (Aug. 18, 2011) (“Report of the Acting General Counsel Concerning Social Media Cases”) There has been a steady drumbeat from employment lawyers warning about the increasingly watchful eye of the…
Resetting the Righthaven Fiasco (July-August 2011 Quick Links, Part 1)
By Eric Goldman The Righthaven empire is in tatters. It hasn’t expanded its inventory of cases for months (no new cases in July or August); its existing inventory of cases is shrinking for lack of standing and, increasingly, for lack…
Seventh Circuit Awards e360 a Whopping $3 in Damages Against Spamhaus — e360 v. Spamhaus
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] e360 Insight, Inc. v. The Spamhaus Project, 10-3538 & 10-3539 (7th Cir. Sept. 2, 2011) The lawsuit between e360 and Spamhaus was a long-running, tortured affair, and it looks like it finally came to a close….
Google Gets a Good Win in the MyTriggers Lawsuit
By Eric Goldman BFS Finance v. My Triggers Co., 09CV-14836 (Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Aug. 31, 2011) This lawsuit started all so innocently. It was just a routine collections matter against MyTriggers, an AdWords advertiser, for a few…
Pillow Pets Knockoff Enjoined from Keyword Advertising–CJ Products v Snuggly Plushez
By Eric Goldman CJ Products LLC v. Snuggly Plushez LLC, 2011 WL 3667750 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 22, 2011) Pillow Pets are cuddly and soft, but if you make knockoff versions of them, be prepared to meet the sharp end of their…
Second Circuit Says No First Sale Doctrine for Works Manufactured Outside the U.S. — Wiley & Sons v. Kirtsaeng
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Kirtsaeng, 09-4896-cv (2nd Cir. Aug. 15, 2011) Wiley asserted copyright infringement claims against Kirtsaeng, who imported into the United States and sold “foreign editions” of Wiley textbooks. The books had legends…
Fall 2011 Internet Law Reader and Syllabus
I have posted my Internet Law syllabus for Fall 2011. In addition, as I did last year, I have posted my Internet Law course reader to Scribd as a DRM-free pay-to-download PDF. You can also buy a print-on-demand copy at…
Levi Strauss’s Trademark and Domain Name Claims May Block Unauthorized Resales — Levi Strauss v. Papikian
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Levi Strauss & Co v. Papikian Enterprises, C 10-05051 JSW (N.D. Cal.; Aug. 24, 2011) [pdf] Facts: Levi Strauss owns trademarks for “Levi’s,” “501” and other terms. It sells its products directly and to authorized retailers…
Bev Stayart Racks Up Two More Losses–Stayart v. Yahoo and Stayart v. Google
By Eric Goldman Stayart v. Yahoo, Inc., 2011 WL 3625242 (E.D. Wis. Aug. 17, 2011) Stayart v. Google Inc., 2:10-cv-00336-LA (E.D. Wis. Aug. 17, 2011) Persistence is a virtue, but sometimes, enough is enough. You probably remember Bev Stayart as…