Did Monster Energy Make A ‘Dope’ Contract With DJ Z-Trip? Nope (Forbes Cross-Post)
What is the legal meaning of the word “Dope”? Monster Energy argued that the word “Dope!” granted it permission to publish copyrighted material. The court says nope. Monster Energy put together a promotional YouTube video that used a remix (the…
Fake LinkedIn Profile May Cause Trademark Infringement – Avepoint v. Axceler
Avepoint, Inc. v. Power Tools, Inc. d/b/a Axceler, 7:13CV00035 (W.D. Va. Nov. 7, 2013) Avepoint and Axceler are competitors providing “infrastructure management and governance software platforms for Microsoft Sharepoint products and technologies.” Avepoint alleged that Axceler denigrated Avepoint online. Specifically,…
AFP v. Morel – Lawsuit Over Haiti Photos Taken From Twitter/Twitpic Goes to Trial
We’ve previously covered AFP v. Morel, the case where photographer Daniel Morel is suing AFP, Getty and downstream licenses for allegedly infringing on his copyrighted material. In a nutshell, he took some iconic photos following the Haiti earthquake. AFP sourced…
Lawsuit Over Google Hangouts Gutted–Be In v. Google
Be In v. Google, 12-cv-03373-LHK (N.D. Cal. Oct. 9, 2013) Be In developed “CamUP,” described as a “social entertainment consumption platform that allows a group of friends to simultaneously watch, listen, chat and collaborate around shared videos, music, and other…
Section 230 Protects Another Newspaper From Liability For User Comments–Hupp v. Freedom Communications
Hupp v. Freedom Communications, Inc., 2013 WL 5947033 (Cal. App. Ct. Nov. 7, 2013) This is a minor case involving a pro se plaintiff and a straightforward application of the law, so normally I wouldn’t blog it. However, over the…
How California’s New ‘Do-Not-Track’ Law Will Hurt Consumers (Forbes Cross-Post)
California enacted a new law (AB 370) requiring many websites to disclose more information about how they track users. Websites that collect personal information about their users must disclose (1) how they respond to a web browser’s “do not track”…
Wiretap Claims Against Gmail Scanning Survive Motion to Dismiss — In re: Google Inc. Gmail Litigation
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re: Google Inc. Gmail Litigation, 13-MD-02430-LHK (N.D. Cal. Sept. 26, 2013) This is a consolidated multi-district lawsuit challenging Google’s practice of scanning emails for the purpose of delivering advertising. In a harshly toned order, Judge…
Spam Arrest’s Sender Agreement Fails Because Email Marketer’s Employees Lacked Authority–Spam Arrest v. Replacements (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Spam Arrest LLC v Replacements Ltd., 2013 WL 4675919 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 29, 2013) People hate receiving spam, but most people stopped obsessing about spam a decade ago or more. In the interim, anti-spam filters have improved…
Facebook Sponsored Stories Settlement Approved – Fraley v. Facebook
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Fraley v. Facebook, Inc., C 11-1726 RS (N.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2013) (Digital Media Law Project’s page for the case) (Access a copy of the amended settlement agreement here: [pdf].) Judge Seeborg initially rejected the proposed…
Email Exchange Creates Binding Settlement Agreement Per UETA–Forcelli v. Gelco
[Post by John Ottaviani] Forcelli v. Gelco Corp., 2013 NY Slip Op 05437 (N.Y. App. Div. July 24, 2013) E-Sign and UETA cases have been few and far between to date. Perhaps it is because the laws still are relatively…