Ochoa on the Duration of James Joyce’s Copyrights
By Tyler Ochoa [Eric’s note: my colleague Tyler Ochoa contributes to the blog from time to time. This time, he submits a modified version of a letter he sent to the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle, wherein he explains…
Resale of International Textbooks to US Students Not Protected by First Sale Doctrine–Pearson v. Liu
By Eric Goldman Pearson Education, Inc. v. Liu, 2009 WL 3064779 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2009) As a complement to Venkat’s excellent post on Vernor v. Autodesk from this morning, it turns out that we are celebrating First Sale Doctrine day…
Introducing Guest Blogger Venkat Balasubramani
By Eric Goldman It’s my pleasure to welcome Venkat Balasubramani as a guest blogger. I’m fortunate that I can make this introduction in writing and not orally because I still don’t know how to pronounce his last name. As my…
Do the FTC’s New Endorsement/Testimonial Rules Violate 47 USC 230?
By Eric Goldman In reading the FTC’s new rules on endorsements and testimonials in advertisements, I was struck by the FTC’s expansive vision of advertiser liability for third party-caused violations. In particular, the FTC apparently has made the same analytical…
Ripoff Report Rolls to Another Win–Intellect Art v. Milewski
By Eric Goldman Intellect Art Multimedia v. Milewski, 117024/08 (NY Sup. Ct. Sept. 15, 2009). For more background on the lawsuit, check out the companion blog. This case involves the “Swiss Finance Academy,” an expensive summer college program. A disgruntled…
Online Game Network Isn’t Company Town–Estavillo v. Sony
By Eric Goldman Estavillo v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, 2009 WL 3072887 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 22, 2009) Sony’s PS3 online network isn’t a company town or otherwise a state actor subject to First Amendment obligations. As a result, Judge Whyte…
1909 Copyright Act Conference Recap (five months late…)
By Eric Goldman [Note: I’m embarrassed to admit that it has taken me 5 months to write this recap. Normally at this late date I’d just give up, but for an event 100 years in the making, a 5 month…
Another Copyright Owner Doesn’t Like 512(c)…and Thinks an Anti-Copying Filter is Copyright Infringing–Scott v. Scribd
By Eric Goldman Scott v. Scribd, Inc., 4:09-cv-03039 (S.D. Tex. complaint filed Sept. 18, 2009) (linked to a copy of the complaint hosted on Scribd, of course!). If you’re interested, my page of Scribd uploads. I hadn’t planned to blog…
Person v. Google Appeal Rejected
By Eric Goldman Person v. Google, 2009 WL 3059092 (9th Cir. Sept. 24, 2009) In June 2007, I wrote: “Person is a lawyer and a former candidate for NY Attorney General. He sued Google for antitrust violations based on its…
Google Confirms That Keyword Metatags Don’t Matter
By Eric Goldman Few Internet technologies have horked cyberlaw as much as keyword metatags. Back in the 1990s, some search engines indexed keyword metatags, which encouraged some websites to stuff their keyword metatags as a way of gaming the rankings….