My RapLeaf Profile is Amusingly Mistaken. This is What the Fuss is All About?
By Eric Goldman The latest in the Wall Street Journal’s “scare journalism” series of privacy articles is a hatchet job on RapLeaf. I don’t know much about RapLeaf, but at conferences, privacy advocates frequently invoke RapLeaf as an omnipotent, omniscient…
Class Action for Misleading Pop-up Ads Against McAfee Survives Motion to Dismiss — Ferrington v. McAfee
[Post by Venkat] Ferrington v. McAfee, Case No. 10-cv-01455-LHK (N.D. Cal. Oct. 5, 2010) There have been a few rulings involving class actions from customers alleging that an online merchant partnered with a third party who improperly piggybacked on to…
Inflatable Giant Gorilla Attacks Google (for Copyright Infringement)–Scherba v. Google
By Eric Goldman Scherba Industries v. Google, Inc., 1:10-cv-02288 (N.D. Ohio complaint filed Oct. 7, 2010). Scherba makes giant inflatable gorillas. See an example. A little improbably, it has a copyright registration for a 3D sculptural work called “Gorilla Inflatable”–the…
September 2010 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP Edition)
By Eric Goldman Copyright * US v. ASCAP (2d Cir. Sept. 28, 2010): “the Internet Companies offer their customers the ability to download musical works over the Internet. It is undisputed that these downloads create copies of the musical works,…
Yelp Wins 47 USC 230 Dismissal of Dentist’s Lawsuit–Reit v. Yelp
By Eric Goldman Reit v. Yelp!, Inc., 2010 WL 3490167 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Dr. Glenn Reit is a Manhattan dentist. His Yelp page and website. As of May 2009, the Yelp page had 11 reviews: 10 favorable…
Google Gets Good Results in Three AdWords Trademark Cases (Jurin, Flowbee, Dazzlesmile)
By Eric Goldman Jurin v. Google, 2010 WL 3521955 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2010) Jurin is one of the multitudinous trademark owners objecting to Google’s AdWords program. Echoing a prior ruling, the court has rejected Jurin’s claims for false designation…
Online Ticket Resellers Get Significant 47 USC 230 Win–Milgram v. Orbitz
By Eric Goldman Milgram v. Orbitz Worldwide, LLC, ESX-C-142-09 (N.J. Super. Ct. Aug. 26, 2010) Introduction It’s been a relatively quiet year for 47 USC 230, in a good way. We’ve had a few minor aberrational rulings (Subway v. Quiznos,…
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman Content Regulation * Wolk v. Olson (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2010). Defamation claim against “Overlawyered” blog dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. The court treats the blog as equivalent to a mass-media publication. * Kelledy v. Cockerham,…
Griping Patient Goes Too Far Posting Fake Content in Doctor’s Name–Eppley v. Iacovelli
By Eric Goldman Dr. Barry Eppley v. Lucille Iacovelli, 2010 WL 3282574 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 17, 2010). The CMLP entry. The Internet is filled with commentary about this long-running saga if you want more information. Dr. Eppley is a plastic…
Ghostwritten Attorney Newsletter is an “Ad” for TCPA Junk Fax Law Purposes–Holtzman v. Turza
By Eric Goldman Holtzman v. Turza, 08 C 2014 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 3, 2010) This case is a unremarkable straight-down-the-middle analysis of when editorial content becomes a regulated ad, which in turn makes it a remarkable case. Most editorial-content-as-ad cases…