Trademark Extraterritoriality: Abitron v. Hetronic Doesn’t Go the Distance (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Bloggers Margaret Chon and Christine Haight Farley [Margaret Chon is a Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law, and Christine Haight Farley is a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law.] In one…
Armslist Defeats Lawsuits Over Illegal Gun Sales (Without Section 230’s Help)–Webber v. Armslist
Armslist publishes users’ classified ads for guns. Two estates sued Armslist for allegedly facilitating illegal gun sales that led to murders. My blog post on the district court rulings. Section 230’s availability in such situations is uncertain, but on appeal,…
Court Finally Rejects “Discrimination” Lawsuit Against YouTube–Divino v. Google
This long-running lawsuit started in 2019. When I first blogged this case in January 2021, I wrote: This lawsuit, like many others before it, claims that UGC services like YouTube commit illegal discrimination based on how they moderate content. Despite…
Reddit Defeats Lawsuit Over Removal of r/WallStreetBets Moderator’s Privileges–Rogozinski v. Reddit
Jaime Rogozinski, a/k/a “jartek,” created the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, which became notorious for (among other lowlights) its role as a venue for hyping meme stocks like Gamestop. Rogozinski sought a trademark registration for the term “WallStreetBets” and published a book with…
How Will the Digital Services Act (DSA) Affect the European Internet?
I expect the Digital Services Act (DSA) to be one of the most consequential regulations of the Internet. Yet, I have so far avoided blogging the DSA because it’s so overwhelming and complex. Its breathtaking/mind-numbing scope and detail reminds me…
Amazon Isn’t Liable for Selling Suicide “Kits”—McCarthy v. Amazon
This case involves the tragic suicide of two teenagers, both of whom died by consuming sodium nitrite they purchased from a third-party Amazon merchant (Loudwolf). Sodium nitrite has several socially beneficial commercial uses, including being used (in small quantities) as…
European IP Office Denies Trademark Registration for “I Love You” Emoji 🤟
The EU IPO denied a trademark registration for the following symbol in various real estate-related classes: The trademark examiner determined that the symbol means “I love you” in American Sign Language (ASL). The applicant argued that it was a different…
A Thumbs-Up Emoji Costs a Canadian Seller $82,000–South West Terminal v. Achter Land
[A special post for my Canadian friends as a belated celebration of Canada Day. 🍁] [DEC. 2024 UPDATE: see the appellate decision in this case.] This case involves a Canadian transaction for flax. The court summarizes: Mr. Mickleborough had a…
Why I Oppose the California Journalism Protection Act (the Short Version)
I recently wrote a lengthy blog post explaining the many problems with the California Journalism Protection Act (JCPA), AB 886. I submitted a letter of opposition to the Senate Judiciary Committee with just some quotable lowlights. My letter: __ CJPA…
Revisiting Bananas, Duct Tape, Walls, & Copyright–Morford v. Cattelan
Among all of the fruits, bananas play an especially important role in copyright jurisprudence. For example, we must resolve when duct-taping a banana to a wall infringes copyright. The short answer should be “never.” That’s not exactly the answer a…