Online Marketplace Isn’t Liable for Bad Conduct by Merchants It Certifies–Englert v. Alibaba
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Englert v. Alibaba, 11CV1560 RWS (E.D. Miss.; Apr. 27, 2012) Englert and other plaintiffs purchased products found on alibaba.com. The products included “ExtenZe male enhancement, Vimax,VigRX Plus, Energy Wristband (Power Balance), and Razor Blades Fusion Power.”…
Now Available: My Internet Law Syllabus and Reader for Fall 2012
By Eric Goldman I posted my syllabus and my course reader (a $7.50 download at Gumroad) for Fall 2012. If you teach Internet Law (or hope to), email me if you’d like a free copy of the reader plus my…
The Newest Olympic Sport: Evasion of Geolocation (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble The Olympic Games can be credited for spreading awareness about and generating excitement for sports that might otherwise be unknown in various parts of the world. The global promotion of sports is one of the…
CA Court Confirms that Pineda v Williams-Sonoma (the Zip-Code-as-PII Case) Applies Retrospectively — Dardarian v. OfficeMax
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Dardarian v. OfficeMax North America, Inc., 11-CV-0947-YGR (N.D. Cal.; Jun. 25, 2012) The Song-Beverly Act is a California statute that prohibits retailers from requesting personal identification information in connection with credit card transactions. In Pineda v….
What Are Trademark Defendants’ Obligations to Clean Up the Internet After a Trademark Injunction?
By Eric Goldman We’re continuing to get cases interpreting a defendant’s obligation after a court has issued an injunction against continuing to use a trademark. (The same basic issue arises after a settlement agreement). I don’t know that we have…
Video Embedding Site Isn’t a Contributory Copyright Infringer, But Sideloading Could Be Direct Infringement–Flava Works v. myVidster
By Eric Goldman Flava Works, Inc. v. Gunter, No. 11-3190 (7th Cir. Aug. 2, 2012). Prior blog post on district court ruling. myVidster is a “social bookmarking” website that allows users to link to videos hosted elsewhere on the Internet…
Physical Props for Teaching the IP Survey Course
By Eric Goldman [Note: this post is intended for readers who teach the IP Survey course or related courses. If that’s not you, you might want to skip this post.] I’m sure many of you are aware of the Georgetown…
P2P Infringement Lawyer Faces Possible Sanctions For Disregarding Court Order Regarding Subpoenas – In re: Bittorrent Adult Film Copyright Infringement Cases
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re: Bittorrent Adult Film Copyright Infringement Cases, 12-1147(JS)(GRG) and 12-1154(ADS)(GRB) (E.D.N.Y.; July 31, 2012) P2P lawyers have come under a lot of fire lately for their tactics. As detailed here by Ars, the Fifth Circuit…
Online Kevorkian’s First Amendment Challenge to Assisted Suicide Convictions Unsuccessful -– State v. Melchert-Dinkel
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] State v. Melchert-Dinkel, A11-0987 (Minn. Ct. App.; July 17, 2012) The State of Minnesota prosecuted a Minnesota nurse for engaging in Internet conversations with people who were contemplating suicide. The individuals who…
Backpage Gets Important 47 USC 230 Win Against Washington Law Trying to Combat Online Prostitution Ads (Forbes Cross-Post & More)
By Eric Goldman [I’ve added some bonus content to the end of this Forbes cross-post] In 1996, Congress enacted a powerful statutory immunity for user-generated content, located at 47 U.S.C. 230 (“Section 230”). Section 230 says that websites aren’t liable…