TOS Isn’t a Browsewrap or a Clickwrap, But the Judge Upholds It Anyways–Regan v. Pinger
This case doesn’t break much new ground doctrinally, but it’s a characteristically clear opinion from Judge Koh that offers some helpful lessons/reminders. The app in question is called “Sideline,” “a paid service that allows users to create a ‘virtual,’ alternative…
IP Lawsuits Against Print-on-Demand Vendors Continue to Vex the Courts–OSU v. Redbubble & More
[This post covers three recent print-on-demand cases. After the Ohio State writeup, keep reading for more fun and confusion.] Redbubble operates in the print-on-demand industry, but it’s adopted a different organizational structure than some of its competitors. Redbubble outsources manufacturing…
Data Breach Plaintiff Doesn’t Have Standing in the Absence of Fraud or Identity Theft–Tsao v. Captiva
This is a data breach lawsuit. Plaintiff was a patron of a restaurant (PDQ) that suffered a breach that compromised credit card payment information. The breach occurred because a hacker gained access to customer data through “an outside vendor’s remote…
Ninth Circuit Sends Alexa Surreptitious Recording Case to Arbitration–Tice v. Amazon
Lawsuits over voice-activated assistants (and other smart home devices) are interesting. Plaintiffs have been creative about who asserts the claims to navigate around the issue that often sinks class actions: arbitration. This has resulted in claims brought by neighbors, spouses,…
Roundup of Some Influential 1990s Internet Law Articles
Section 230’s 25th anniversary sent me on a nostalgia kick, which prompted me to revisit some articles that influenced me when I first started thinking about Internet Law (I graduated grad school in 1994). Due to their age, many of…
Doctor Can’t Win Default Judgment Over Patient’s Yelp Review–Mirza v. Amar
This is another entry in my decade-long coverage of doctors suing patients for online reviews. The plaintiff is a Botox provider. The defendant-patient wrote a critical review on Yelp. The doctor sued the patient for defamation and related claims. The…
Congressional Jawboning of Internet Services Isn’t Actionable–AAPS v. Schiff
Members of Congress often send letters to various industry participants complaining about marketplace phenomena. Sometimes these letters demand additional information; other times, the letters just express opprobrium. All of these letters are backed by a coercive threat that the Congressmember…
An Account Suspension Case Fails Again–Perez v. LinkedIn
Perez sued LinkedIn for suspending his account. In October, a court in Southern District of Texas dismissed the complaint because LinkedIn isn’t a state actor. The court gave Perez the opportunity to refile in the Northern District of California, which…
Section 230 Applies to Articles by Huffington Post Contributors–Page v. Oath
The plaintiff is Dr. Carter Page, who gained notoriety from his alleged role in Trump’s interactions with Russia, including multiple references in the Steele dossier. In 2017, he sued Oath (as owner of Yahoo and Huffington Post) for defamation over…
Section 230 Protects App Store from Liability for Apps With Loot Boxes–Coffee v. Google
Many video games have loot boxes, where players can exchange valuable consideration (like in-game currency purchased for cash) for a chance to win something really valuable to gameplay. Because loot boxes may involve chance, consideration, and prizes, loot boxes may…