Google Site-Specific Search-Within-Search Tool–Why is Everyone So Worked Up About This?
By Eric Goldman On Monday, Bob Tedeschi at the NYT published an article entitled “A New Tool From Google Alarms Sites” about Google’s recently launched site-specific search-within-search box. When I first saw the feature, I really didn’t think about it…
Griper Selling Anti-Walmart Items Through CafePress Doesn’t Infringe or Dilute–Smith v. Wal-Mart
By Eric Goldman Smith v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2008 WL 760196 (N.D. Ga. March 20, 2008) Charles Smith doesn’t like Walmart. Like many gripers, he has taken his cause to the web. Among other things, he set up two CafePress…
Clickthrough Agreement Binding Against Minors–A.V. v. iParadigms
By Eric Goldman A.V. v. iParadigms, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19715 (E.D. Va., March 11, 2008), I previously blogged that the judge was going to dismiss this case. The judge finally issued an opinion explaining his reasoning, and it’s quite…
Adwords Ad Creates Initial Interest Confusion–Storus v. Aroa
By Eric Goldman Storus Corp. v. Aroa Marketing Inc., 2008 WL 449835 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 15, 2008). (Sorry for my delay blogging this one). A federal district court has held that displaying a competitor’s trademark in Adwords ad copy constitutes…
Craigslist Gets Seventh Circuit 230 Win in Fair Housing Act Case–Chicago Lawyers’ Committee v. Craigslist
By Eric Goldman Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law v. Craigslist, Inc., 2008 WL 681168 (7th Cir. March 14, 2008) Yesterday, I declared this week “47 USC 230 Week” at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog. The Seventh…
eBay Denied 230 Defense for Its Marketing Representations–Mazur v. eBay
By Eric Goldman Mazur v. eBay Inc., 2008 WL 618988 (N.D. Cal. March 4, 2008) I declared Monday “47 USC 230 Day” here at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog, but with this new case, I’m declaring it 47 USC…
The Law & Business of Online Advertising Conference Announcement
By Eric Goldman I’m pleased to announce that the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara Law School has teamed up with the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology to organize a one-day symposium on the Law and Business of…
Iowa Offers Tax Breaks to “Web Search Portal Businesses”
By Eric Goldman Iowa, showing its technological savvy, has passed a law providing some tax abatements for “web search portal businesses” that invest $200M in the state in 6 years. See HF 2233, enacted Feb. 28, 2008. Most industry participants…
47 USC 230 Day at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog
By Eric Goldman Today is 47 USC 230 Day at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog as we catch up on a hat trick of recent 47 USC 230 opinions. 1) Gregerson v. Vilana Financial, Inc., 2008 WL 451060 (D….
Utah Amends Trademark Protection Act (But Only After Some Drama)
By Eric Goldman One of the arguments in favor of federalism is that it enables states to act as “laboratories of experimentation,” a phrase attributed to Louis Brandeis. The idea is that if enough states try different things legislatively, then…