Lori Drew Conviction Reflections, Part 2 of 3: Who is Bound by Clickthrough Agreements?

By Eric Goldman [Note: this is Part 2 of a special 3-part series on the Lori Drew conviction. Part 1 discussed why MySpace, the putative victim of Lori Drew’s crime, might end up regretting the conviction. Part 3 will discuss…

Lori Drew Conviction Reflections, Part 1 of 3: Why MySpace Might Regret the Conviction

By Eric Goldman [As I’ve mentioned before, I think Lori Drew’s conviction is a tragic denouement to an already tragic situation. After thinking more about the conviction, I initially planned to blog some brief additional commentary to my initial post….

November 2008 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Trademark * NYT: “A handful of new Web sites with names like Typo Bay and Typo Buddy are out to help shoppers save money by searching eBay for misspelled brand names.” In 2005, I blogged that typographical…

Roommates.com Loses Summary Judgment on Remand, and Then Partially Settles

By Eric Goldman Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommate.com, LLC, CV 03-9386 PA (RZx) (C.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2008). Nov. 19 stipulation. The Ninth Circuit en banc ruling in the Roommates.com remains one of the most noteworthy…

Search Engines Aren’t Liable for Gambling Ads Per 230–Cisneros v. Yahoo

By Eric Goldman Cisneros v. Yahoo, CGC-04-433518 (Cal. Superior Ct. “Tentative Trial Decision” Nov. 6, 2008) I am frequently asked if 47 USC 230 protects websites for claims based on the ads they run. My answer is emphatically “yes” unless…

Yellow Pages Publisher Hit with $1.5M Fraud Judgment for Publishing False Ad–Knepper v. Brown

By Eric Goldman Knepper v. Brown, CC 9903-02495 (Or. Sup. Ct. Oct. 9, 2008) A woman got a botched liposuction job (which plaintiff’s expert described as an “uncorrectable disaster”) from Dr. Brown, a dermatologist. She sued the dermatologist and Dex,…

October 2008 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright Edition)

By Eric Goldman * Happy (?) 10th birthday, DMCA. The EFF birthday cards (1, 2). * Speaking of the DMCA, Sen. McCain got a first-hand experience with it when his lawyer complained to YouTube that YouTube was taking down campaign…

Rip-off Report Wins Dismissal–GW Equity v. Xcentric

By Eric Goldman I’m thinking about renaming this blog the “Rip-off Report Blog.” After all, I blog about them frequently, and there seems to be a never-ending supply of new legal developments. Plus, I know readers are interested in them…

Rip-off Report Back in Court

By Eric Goldman It’s been a few months since I’ve blogged on new Rip-off Report litigation. For many companies, a blog hiatus might signal good news, but in Rip-off Report’s situation, it merely reflects that I’ve been falling behind in…

SEC’s Proposed Guidance on Hyperlinking Contravenes 47 USC 230

By Eric Goldman In August, I blogged about the SEC’s most recent guidance regarding companies’ liability for linking to third party content. Today, I submitted comments to the SEC pointing out that their general position regarding linking contravenes 47 USC…

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