Happy (?) Anniversary, Grokster v. MGM
By Eric Goldman Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of the Grokster Supreme Court ruling. This opinion was one of the most hotly anticipated Supreme Court opinions relating to copyrights (and perhaps any subject matter) of the last decade or…
Google Child Porn Lawsuit Withdrawn–Toback v. Google
By Eric Goldman Sensing that his 15 minutes of fame was up, Jeffrey Toback has withdrawn his lawsuit against Google regarding Google’s alleged facilitation of child pornography. This withdrawal is hardly surprising given the lawsuit’s complete lack of merit. Nevertheless,…
MySpace.com Sued for $30 Million
By John E. Ottaviani (Eric Goldman is relocating his family to California this week and next, and will be able to post only occasionally. In his absence, John Ottaviani will continue to guest blog from time to time.) It was…
Online Message Board Protected by 47 USC 230–DiMeo v. Max
By Eric Goldman DiMeo v. Max, No. 06-1544 (E.D. Pa. May 26, 2006) In my world, it’s not a party until someone spills something. But in Anthony DiMeo’s world, it appears that it’s not a party until someone brings a…
Teenager Busted for Creating Fake “News” Story
By Eric Goldman It seems like every day there are new stories about teenagers doing stupid things online, but this story still struck me as interesting and unusual. The incident involves a website, Cheezus.com, that asks the user to submit…
Google Sued for Child Porn–Toback v. Google
By Eric Goldman Toback v. Google, Inc., No. 06-007246 (NY Sup. Ct. complaint filed May 4, 2006) Yet another legislator has seized the public microphone to grandstand about Internet threats. This time the lucky legislator is Jeffrey Toback, a member…
Parental Liability for Kids’ Copyright Infringement
By Eric Goldman Somehow I missed this excellent memo by EFF on parental liability for kids’ infringement, particularly in the context of RIAA music file-sharing lawsuits. The memo discusses the boundaries of parents’ liability for contributory and vicarious infringement. The…
Advertiser Not Liable for Spam–Hypertouch v. Kennedy-Western University
By Eric Goldman Hypertouch, Inc. v. Kennedy-Western University, No. 3:04-cv-05203-SI (N.D. Cal. Mar. 8, 2006) This is another in a series of CAN-SPAM lawsuits filed by Hypertouch, which apparently has entered the CAN-SPAM plaintiff business. I blogged on one of…
WSJ Debate on Advertiser Liability for Adware
By Eric Goldman Today, the Wall Street Journal published an email debate between me and Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology about advertiser responsibility for adware. Regular blog readers know that this has been a hot button…
Database Publisher Gets 230 Defense–Prickett v. infoUSA
By Eric Goldman Prickett v. infoUSA, Inc., 2006 WL 887431 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 30, 2006) infoUSA publishes a variety of factual databases, including a directory of businesses. Among other data collection techniques, infoUSA permits anyone to submit directory listings through…