NJ Supreme Court Blesses Lawyers’ Competitive Keyword Ads (With a Baffling Caveat)
We are at the terminal stage of a 250-year old democracy, so what’s on the priority list for regulators of lawyers? In New Jersey, it’s competitive keyword advertising by lawyers. Seriously? When I wrote on this topic in 2016, I…
Because the SAD Scheme Disregards Due Process, Errors Inevitably Ensue–Modlily v. Funlingo
This started out like every other SAD Scheme case. The plaintiff, a fast-fashion vendor operating under the brand Modlily, filed a complaint under seal against 20 defendants, got an ex parte TRO and asset freeze, and rolled to an unopposed…
Amazon Merchant Takedown Notice Attack Spills Over to Court–GM Photo v. Focus Camera
[Note: lawsuits over takedown notice attacks occur occasionally. I’m blogging this case as an exemplar, not because it’s unique.] This case involves two Amazon marketplace merchants, GM Photo (operating as Digital Village) and Focus Camera. At issue are “high-end Sigma…
Rounding Up Some Recent Copyright Decisions
A few recent copyright cases worthy of blog coverage, but not worthy of a standalone post. Omnia Studios Ltd. v. JD E-Commerce America Ltd., 2025 WL 961473 (W.D.N.Y. March 31, 2025) This case involves the service Joybuy, which listed items…
SAD Scheme-Style Case Falls Apart When the Defendant Appears in Court—King Spider v. Pandabuy
The parties’ names make this case sound more like a Hollywood blockbuster movie than a SAD Scheme-like case. This suit isn’t a classic SAD Scheme case because the plaintiffs went after the marketplace, not the merchants. This case involves the…
2024 Internet Law Year-in-Review
My ranking of the top 10 Internet Law developments of 2024. 10) X/Twitter Embraces Partisan Bias. For years, MAGA has claimed that Internet company employees are liberals and therefore surely moderate content to favor their preferred team (the Democrats) and…
Amazon Must Defend “Yelp Law” Claim–Ramos v. Amazon
I support statutes that restrict businesses from contractually “gagging” their customers’ reviews. This pernicious business practice emerged around 15 years ago. Eventually, both state legislatures and Congress banned the practice. The flagship law in this area is the Consumer Review…
Judge Rejects SAD Scheme Joinder–Toyota v. Schedule A Defendants
Toyota brought a SAD Scheme case against 103 defendants before Judge Daniel in the Northern District of Illinois. (Seriously, Toyota? Using abusive IP enforcement tactics? Do better). As I recently mentioned, Judge Daniel is calling out overreaching joinder allegations in…
Ninth Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword Ads–Lerner & Rowe v. Brown Engstrand
This is a major ruling validating the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising, which occurs when an advertiser purchases and displays ads triggered in response to third-party trademarks. Recently, the “Second Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword…
Second Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword Advertising–1-800 Contacts v. Warby Parker
Fifteen years ago, courts generally avoided categorical pronouncements about the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising. That produced a string of waffly or irresolute rulings, such as the appellate rulings in Rescuecom v. Google (2d Circuit) and Rosetta Stone v. Google…