Social Media Marketing Is Relevant to Trademark Confusion Analysis–Quia v. Mattel
By Eric Goldman Quia Corp. v. Mattel, Inc., 2011 WL 2749576 (N.D.Cal. July 14, 2011) Both parties offer educational games under the brand “IXL” (presumably a homophone for “I excel”). The parties dispute who came first. Mattel sought a determination…
P2P Swarm Defendants Can’t Be Joined in the Same Lawsuit — Pac. Century Int’l Ltd. v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Pacific Century International Ltd. v. Does, C-11-02533 (DMR) (N.D. Cal. July 8, 2011) There have been a slew of recent procedural rulings in mass copyright cases, with plaintiffs mostly getting smacked down by courts. Plaintiffs have…
Judge Ware OKs Immediate Appeal of Street View ECPA Ruling — In re Google Inc. Street View Electronic Communications Litigation
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Google Inc. Street View Electronic Communications Litigation, 2011 WL 2571632 (N.D. Cal. July 18, 2011) (Order granting Google’s request to certify and staying case) [pdf] Judge Ware recently denied Google’s request to avail itself…
The “Graduated Response” Deal: What if Users Had Been At the Table? (Co-Authored Post)
[Cross-posted to EFF’s Deeplinks as well as here] By Corynne McSherry and Eric Goldman As was widely reported last week, several major internet access providers (including, very likely, yours) struck a deal last week with big content providers to help…
Court Denies Injunction in Webcam Case Against Aarons — Byrd v. Aarons, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Byrd, et al. v. Aaron’s, Inc., et al., 11-cv-00101-SJM-SPB (W.D. Pa. July 8, 2011). Magistrate report. Judge’s approval. Plaintiffs leased (and then purchased) their computer from Aspen Way, a franchisee of Aaron’s. Many of the computers…
17 USC 512(f) Preempts State Law Claims Over Bogus Copyright Takedown Notices–Amaretto v. Ozimals
By Eric Goldman Amaretto Ranch Breedables, LLC v. Ozimals, Inc., 2011 WL 2690437 (N.D. Cal. July 8, 2011). I generally like furry critters, but I’m beginning to hate the virtual horses and virtual bunnies for their deleterious effect on Internet…
Coventry First Withdraws Twittersquatting Lawsuit Against @Coventryfirst — Coventry First, LLC v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Coventry First, LLC v. Does, 11-cv-03700-JS (voluntarily dismissed) I previously posted about Coventry First’s lawsuit against the operator of the @coventryfirst Twitter account. (“Trademark Owner Sues Over Alleged Twittersquatting–Coventry First, LLC v. Does.”) I did not…
“Recent and Future Developments in Trademark Law” Talk Slides
By Eric Goldman Last month, I spoke with Mark Lemley and Peter Menell at a Silicon Valley IP Law Association dinner event designed to be a “year-in-review” of IP. I spoke on trademark law. My talk slides. To avoid the…
Mortuary Sciences College Student Disciplined for Threatening Facebook Posts–Tatro v. University of Minnesota
By Eric Goldman Tatro v. University of Minnesota, 2011 WL 2672220 (Minn. App. Ct. July 11, 2011) This sounds like it could have been an episode of Six Feet Under! Tatro is a student in University of Minnesota’s mortuary sciences…
Court Orders Plaintiff to Turn Over Facebook and MySpace Passwords in Discovery Dispute — Zimmerman v. Weis Markets, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Zimmerman v. Weis Markets, Inc., CV-09-1535 (Pa. Ct. Common Pleas; May 19, 2011) Courts continue to struggle with the discoverability of social network evidence in civil cases and the logisictal problems posed by these discovery disputes….