1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 5 (Advertising, Contracts)
Advertising * David A. Hyman et al, Going Native: Can Consumers Recognize Native Advertising? Does It Matter?, 19 Yale J.L. & Tech. 77 (2017): “We tested sixteen examples of native advertising. For fifteen of the sixteen examples, fewer than 50% of…
Vegetarian Ethiopian Cookbook Copyright Lawsuit Turns Sour–Schleifer v. Berns
Law professors love to riff on the copyrightability of cookbooks because it raises several subtle issues. Are recipes copyrightable? Normally not–at least, not the ingredient lists. Cf. the chicken sandwich case. Are compilations of recipes copyrightable? Sure, but compilation copyrights…
Announcing the 2017 Edition of ‘Internet Law: Cases & Materials’
I’m pleased to announce this year’s edition of my Internet Law casebook, Internet Law: Cases & Materials. It’s available for sale as a PDF at Gumroad for $8, as a Kindle book for $9.99, and in hard copy at CreateSpace…
Court Can’t Ban Resident From Discussing HOA Online–Fox v. Hamptons at MetroWest Condos
This is the third time this year I’m blogging about homeowners’ associations suppressing online speech (see my posts on the Revock and Milazzo cases). I’m pretty sure HOA online censorship is a growth industry (indeed, my CRFA primer calls out…
1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 4 (Copyright, Patent, More)
Copyright * Design Basics, LLC v. Lexington Homes, Inc., 858 F.3d 1093 (7th Cir. 2017). Three noteworthy passages from this case: – “the existence of the plaintiff’s copyrighted materials on the Internet, even on a public and “user‐friendly” site, cannot…
1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 3 (Google, Facebook, Uber, Airbnb)
Google * Bloomberg: Google Now Scrubbing Private Medical Records From Search Results * Search Engine Land: A deep look at Google’s biggest-ever search quality crisis * Search Engine Land: Google launches new effort to flag upsetting or offensive content in…
1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 2 (Privacy, Security)
Privacy * Vigil v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 2017 WL 398404 (SDNY Jan. 30, 2017): The plaintiffs allege that they agreed to the MyPlayer terms and conditions, that NBA 2K15 scanned their faces to create personalized basketball avatars, and that…
1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks, Keyword Ads)
Trademark * Viacom Int’l Inc v. IJR Capital Investments LLC, 2017 WL 107141 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 11, 2017): “Because “The Krusty Krab” is a recurring element of the “SpongeBob SquarePants” show, the court finds that the mark is eligible for…
When Do Review Websites Commit Extortion?–Icon Health v. ConsumerAffairs
Icon Health and Fitness manufactures exercise equipment, such as the well-known NordicTrack. ConsumerAffairs is a review website. Like many other review websites, its business model is predicated on payments from reviewed businesses. However, ConsumerAffairs’ specific practices raise some extra questions….
Yelp, Twitter and Facebook Aren’t State Actors–Quigley v. Yelp
This is a pro se lawsuit against Yelp, Twitter, Facebook and other major companies, so we know the plaintiff’s chances are nil. The plaintiff claims he was unconstitutionally banned by these services and sought a TRO against their bans. The…