Click Fraud Talk at SMX West
By Eric Goldman At SMX West, I participated on a panel about recent search engine law developments with Clarke Walton, Sarah Bird and Jeffrey Rohrs as moderator. Jeff asked me to address click fraud developments, so here’s a recap of…
Third Circuit Says Google Isn’t State Actor–Jayne v. Google Founders
By Eric Goldman Jayne v. Google Internet Search Engine Founders, No. 07-4083 (3rd Cir. Feb. 7, 2008) You may recall Jayne v. Google Founders, one of several wacky pro se lawsuits filed against Google last summer. When I first saw…
Kentucky Court Votes Keyword Ads = TM Use in Commerce–TDI v. Golf Preservations
By Eric Goldman T.D.I. International, Inc. v. Golf Preservations, Inc., 2008 WL 294531 (E.D. Ky. Jan. 31, 2008) In a thinly reasoned opinion with meager facts, a Kentucky federal court meekly voted that keyword advertising is a trademark use in…
ABA IP Section Quietly Considering Anti-Consumer Proposals to Regulate Keyword Advertising
By Corynne McSherry and Eric Goldman [Eric’s note: this is a bit of an unusual post for this blog, as it is being simultaneously posted both here and on the EFF Deep Links site] The tussle over keyword advertising has…
1-800 Contacts Sues LensWorld for Keyword Advertising
By Eric Goldman 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. LensWorld.com, Inc., 2:08-cv-00015-SA (D. Utah complaint filed Jan. 8, 2008) My my, look who’s decided to go back into court! It’s none other than 1-800 Contacts, the online retailer with a lousy trademark…
December 2007 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Marketing * I’ve blogged about Various, which operates AdultFriendFinder.com, before. They made the news recently in two ways. First, they sold to Penthouse for half-a-billion dollars. Second, they settled with the FTC for “pelting” users with unwanted…
Keyword Advertising is TM Use in Commerce But Doesn’t Violate Injunction–Boston Duck Tours v. Super Duck Tours
By Eric Goldman Boston Duck Tours, LP v. Super Duck Tours, LLC, 2007 WL 4465464 (D. Mass. Dec. 5, 2007) In the latest advertiser-vs.-advertiser lawsuit over keyword advertising, a court from the First Circuit (in Massachusetts) deemed keyword advertising to…
Oct.-Nov. 2007 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman I was so jammed at the beginning of November that I didn’t have time to post my quick links from October. Never fear; that omission is being corrected with a double shot of quick links covering October…
Search Redirection Tool Could Be Trespass to Chattels–Burgess v. EForce
By Eric Goldman Burgess v. EForce Media, Inc., 2007 WL 3355369 (W.D.N.C. Nov. 9, 2007) Every now and then a consumer goes on a me-vs.-the-world bender and decides to unilaterally save society by suing everyone in sight. Burgess’ anger over…
Google and Yahoo Sued for Hosting Content That Allegedly Infringes Trademarks–(ISC)2 v. Degraphenreed
By Eric Goldman International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium v. Degraphenreed, 2:07 CV 1195 (S.D. Ohio complaint filed Nov. 16, 2007) International Information Systems Security Certifications Consortium (“ISC2”) offers a professional designation entitled “Certified Information Systems Security Professional,” or “CISSP”…