A Complaint’s Silence About Section 230 Helps It Survive Judgment on the Pleadings–Moretti v. Hertz
This is a class action lawsuit against car rental companies for an alleged “currency exchange rate scam.” Allegedly, the rental car companies quote foreign rentals in dollars but then actually charge customers in the local currency at an inflated exchange…
E-SIGN and EFTA Permit Telephonic Consent to Automatic Debits with Mailed Confirmation–Blatt v. Capital One (Guest Blog Post)
[By guest blogger John Ottaviani. John is an attorney with the Rhode Island and Massachusetts-based law firm Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP. His practice focuses on transactions, contracts, and intellectual property protection for businesses of all sizes. He is also a member of the…
Trademark Lawsuit Claiming Organic Search Results Create Initial Interest Confusion Falls Apart–Larsen v. Larson
Disclosure note: I provided an expert report in this now-dismissed case, so you might consider my comments to be advocacy. I’ll explain my expert role in a bit. The Court Opinion Susan Larsen practices business law in the Denver, Colorado…
Does “Raiders Fancast” Infringe the “Fancaster” Trademark?
I don’t normally blog demand letters, but this particular matter would benefit from additional visibility. Over 5 years ago, I blogged a lawsuit involving the Fancaster trademark, which I characterized as “the saddest trademark case of 2011.” Among other rulings,…
Your Periodic Reminder That Initial Interest Confusion Lawsuits Are Stupid–Epic v. YourCareUniverse
The plaintiff has a registered trademark for “CARE EVERYWHERE” for B2B healthcare software. The defendant, YourCareUniverse, also makes healthcare software. It extended its brand to include “YOURCAREEVERYWHERE” and launched a public-facing patient healthcare portal under the extended brand. The plaintiff…
Retailer’s TOS Fails, But New Jersey Warranty Notice Claim Loses Anyway
Plaintiff alleges that she purchased a cosmetic product from Lush Internet. While she did not allege anything was wrong with the product and does not appear to have any other qualms with the transaction itself, she alleged that Lush’s terms…
WARNING: Draft “No Immunity for Sex Traffickers Online Act” Bill Poses Major Threat to Section 230
I rarely blog about draft bills that have not yet been introduced. Sometimes those drafts never get introduced at all; other times, the draft bills are revised in key ways before introduction. This particular draft has been circulating for a…
Judge Balks At Section 230 Protection For Email Forwarding–Samsel v. DeSoto County School District
Today’s blog post covers a very long opinion (70 pages!) involving a school principal effectively firing a successful football coach in football-crazed northern Mississippi. If you want a taste of how much angst that can create, try to wade through…
eBay Isn’t Liable for Patent-Infringing Marketplace Sales–Blazer v. eBay
Blazer owns patent 8,375,624 for “Carpenter Bee Traps.” He filed NOCIs with eBay alleging the sale of infringing items on eBay. The court says “eBay has a policy to quickly remove listings when a [patent] NOCI provides a court order,…
Appeals Court Affirms Rejection of Gambling Claims Against Machine Zone
This is a lawsuit against Machine Zone relating to the “Game of War” in-app game of chance mechanics. Players download GoW—an online strategy game—for free. However, they can purchase virtual gold at prices ranging from 4.99 to 99.999. They can…