Site Moderators Weren’t Agents of the Site–Cornelius v. BodyBuilding.com
By Eric Goldman Cornelius v. BodyBuilding.com, LLC, 2011 WL 2160358 (D. Idaho June 1, 2011) This case involves a nutritional supplement called Syntrax, which is available for sale on an e-commerce site BodyBuilding.com. The site supports users comments and message…
April-May 2011 Quick Links, Part 3
By Eric Goldman Search Engines * Google is working on a deal with the DOJ over illegal pharmaceutical ads and has set aside $500M for fines. Some background on the problem. Google isn’t the only search engine with problematic pharmaceutical…
TheDirty Defeats Privacy Invasion Lawsuit–Dyer v. Dirty World
By Eric Goldman Dyer v. Dirty World LLC, 2011 WL 2173900 (D. Ariz. June 2, 2011). The summary judgment motion, Dyer’s opposition and thedirty’s reply. An ex-boyfriend submitted to thedirty.com 2 photos of Dyer in a bikini and a comment…
Ripoff Report Gets Another Big 47 USC 230 Win–Asia Economic Institute v. Xcentric
By Eric Goldman Asia Economic Institute v. Xcentric Ventures LLC, 2:10-cv-01360-SVW -PJW (C.D. Cal. May 4, 2011) The AEI Ruling Keeping alive its truly remarkable winning streak, Ripoff Report got yet another decisive 47 USC 230 victory. This challenge came…
Updates on DoctoredReviews.com and Medical Justice
By Eric Goldman You may recall our April launch of DoctoredReviews.com, a website explaining why Medical Justice’s form agreement, the “Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy,” was a bad deal for doctors, patients and review websites. See a list of the…
April-May 2011 Quick Links, Part 2 (Copyright Edition)
By Eric Goldman * COICA is dead, but S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, has arisen from its ashes. Criticisms from technologists and the EFF. * The Department of Homeland Security’s domain name seizures are probably the single worst US…
April-May 2011 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks and Advertising Edition)
By Eric Goldman Trademark * Facebook has quite an active trademark docket. – Facebook, Inc. v. Teachbook.com, LLC, 2011 WL 1672464 (N.D.Cal. May 3, 2011). Facebook’s trademark suit against Teachbook was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Facebook promptly refiled…
Review Website Should Get 47 USC 230 Dismissal But Judge Keeps Case Open in “Abundance of Caution”–Frontier Van Lines v. MoverReviews.com
By Eric Goldman Frontier Van Line Moving & Storage, Inc. v. Valley Solutions, Inc., 2011 WL 2110825 (W.D. Pa. May 24, 2011) MoverReviews.com is a review website for moving companies. Frontier Van Lines alleges that a MoverReviews user, Schmidt, made…
Cyberbullying and Restorative Justice [a Long-Delayed Post on DC v. RR]
By Eric Goldman [I’ve mentioned before that some posts get stuck in my blogging queue. This one got stuck for an incredible FOURTEEN months. Although its discussion about the specific case ruling is almost farcically untimely, I’ve decided that the…
Keyword Advertising and Domain Name Law Slides
By Eric Goldman Today, I spoke to an audience of Chinese IP judges about keyword advertising and domain names in the United States. I put together some slides and written materials. These materials aren’t especially profound, especially for regular readers,…