Search Engine Legal Developments to Watch in 2010
By Eric Goldman I recently spoke on a panel about search engines and the law at SMX West. I previewed four major trends in search engine law to watch in 2010: 1) Competition issues. Antitrust/competition law has become a big…
Another Bad Ruling in Louis Vuitton v. Akanoc
By Eric Goldman Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A. v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., 5:07-cv-03952-JW (N.D. Cal. March 19, 2010) I have not seen a definitive statement of facts in this case, so synthesizing various cryptic statements by the court, here’s my understanding…
Stratton Faxon v. Google Dismissed
By Eric Goldman Stratton Faxon v. Google, Inc., NNH-CV-09-5031219S (Conn. Superior Ct. dismissed March 8, 2010) Stratton Faxon v. Google was always an oddball case in the constellation of trademark owner challenges to Google AdWords. First, the plaintiff–a law firm…
Rescuecom Abandons Its Litigation Against Google
By Eric Goldman Today, Rescuecom issued a press release declaring victory in its litigation against Google. But it’s an odd definition of “victory” given that Rescuecom has apparently voluntarily abandoned its 6 year litigation effort without any new concessions from…
Google Dismisses Some Claims in Jurin v. Google and Gets Some Attorneys’ Fees
By Eric Goldman Jurin v. Google, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18208 (E.D. Cal. March 1, 2010) Jurin v. Google is one of the 10 outstanding trademark-based claims against Google’s AdWords programs–in this case, over advertiser purchases of Jurin’s trademark…
February 2010 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Copyright * Mavericks Recording Co. v. Harper (5th Cir. Feb. 25, 2010). 17 USC 402(d) precludes an innocent infringement defense in P2P downloading case when the record companies place proper copyright notices on their works. This is…
Ninth Circuit: Creditor Can Execute Against Domain Name Where Registry is Located — Office Depot v. Zuccarini
[Post by Venkat] The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling in Office Depot v. Zuccarini [Scribd link], agreeing that a creditor may levy against a domain name in the jurisdiction where the domain name registry is located. The decision…
Google AdWords Contract Upheld Again, Causing a Venue Transfer in Flowbee v. Google
By Eric Goldman Flowbee International, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 4:10-cv-00668-LB (S.D. Tex. Feb. 8, 2010). My post on Flowbee’s initial complaint. Google has successfully transferred Flowbee v. Google from Texas to California by invoking the venue selection clause in its…
January 2010 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Copyright * An English translation of Google’s December loss in France on a Google Book Search lawsuit. * Ed Felten reports on a survey of files available via BitTorrent. Acknowledging some methodological limits, he estimates ~99% were…
Terri Chen Replaces Rose Hagan as Google’s Chief Trademark Counsel
By Eric Goldman I previously mentioned that Rose Hagan, Google’s longtime chief trademark counsel, was retiring. (Her last day was Wednesday). Rose’s next ventures include art and jewelry. Terri Yun-Lin Chen, a current trademark counsel at Google, has taken over…