Anti-Scraping Lawsuit Largely Gutted–Cvent v. Eventbrite
By Eric Goldman Cvent, Inc. v. Eventbrite, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96354 (E.D. Va. Sept. 14, 2010). Given the amount of scraping taking place every day all over the web, scraping lawsuits are surprisingly infrequent. In this ruling, a…
Yelp Wins 47 USC 230 Dismissal of Dentist’s Lawsuit–Reit v. Yelp
By Eric Goldman Reit v. Yelp!, Inc., 2010 WL 3490167 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Dr. Glenn Reit is a Manhattan dentist. His Yelp page and website. As of May 2009, the Yelp page had 11 reviews: 10 favorable…
Google Gets Good Results in Three AdWords Trademark Cases (Jurin, Flowbee, Dazzlesmile)
By Eric Goldman Jurin v. Google, 2010 WL 3521955 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2010) Jurin is one of the multitudinous trademark owners objecting to Google’s AdWords program. Echoing a prior ruling, the court has rejected Jurin’s claims for false designation…
Portalization of Google, Redux
By Eric Goldman A small point excerpted from my forthcoming essay on search engine bias, but one worth sharing. Google maintains a page entitled “Our Philosophy: Ten Things We Know to Be True.” On June 3, 2004 (per archive.org), the…
Online Ticket Resellers Get Significant 47 USC 230 Win–Milgram v. Orbitz
By Eric Goldman Milgram v. Orbitz Worldwide, LLC, ESX-C-142-09 (N.J. Super. Ct. Aug. 26, 2010) Introduction It’s been a relatively quiet year for 47 USC 230, in a good way. We’ve had a few minor aberrational rulings (Subway v. Quiznos,…
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman IP * As expected, Rosetta Stone appealed its trademark loss against Google. My previous blog post. * Reality Blurred successfully counternoticed to overcome CBS’s DMCA takedown notice for the Survivor contract/rule book. * Doctor’s Associates, Inc. v….
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman Content Regulation * Wolk v. Olson (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2010). Defamation claim against “Overlawyered” blog dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. The court treats the blog as equivalent to a mass-media publication. * Kelledy v. Cockerham,…
Texas AG Investigating Google Search, and I Have Questions. The Biggest: Are You Kidding Me???
By Eric Goldman Late on Friday afternoon before a three-day holiday weekend, Search Engine Land breaks the news that Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general, is investigating Google’s search practices. Due to this timing, the news reports have been chaotic…
P2P Gambling Site is Illegal Bookmaker–Betcha v. Washington
By Eric Goldman Internet Community & Entertainment Corp. v. Washington State Gambling Commission, 82845-8 (Wash. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Betcha is one of those too-clever-by-half dot com ideas that practically beg VCs to roll the dice. Rather than allow…
Griping Patient Goes Too Far Posting Fake Content in Doctor’s Name–Eppley v. Iacovelli
By Eric Goldman Dr. Barry Eppley v. Lucille Iacovelli, 2010 WL 3282574 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 17, 2010). The CMLP entry. The Internet is filled with commentary about this long-running saga if you want more information. Dr. Eppley is a plastic…