Utah May Repeal Its Spyware Control Act–SB 26
By Eric Goldman It’s that time of year again. The Utah legislature is back in session and cooking up new schemes to regulate the Internet. So far I only see one Internet-specific bill in queue, SB 26. Surprisingly, it does…
Keyword Ad and Product Shots Case Survives Motion to Dismiss–FragranceNet v. FragranceX
By Eric Goldman FragranceNet.com, Inc. v. FragranceX.com, Inc., 2010 WL 174159 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 14, 2010) I previously blogged about this case in 2007. That ruling was one of several in New York that, following the Rescuecom v. Google district court…
Top Cyberlaw Developments of 2009 (Eric’s List)
By Eric Goldman Guest blogger John Ottaviani recently dropped by to offer his perspectives on 2009’s top Cyberlaw developments. While I like his list a lot, I independently developed my own top 10 list that has a different emphasis. You…
Pharma Company Avoids Injunction By Dropping Competitive Keyword Ads–King v. ZymoGenetics
By Eric Goldman King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., v ZymoGenetics, Inc., 2009 WL 4931238 (E.D. Tenn. Dec. 10, 2009). Seattle Trademark Lawyer has some background. This case involves the cutthroat (sorry) world of blood clotting drugs. King Pharmaceuticals sells bovine (cow) thrombin,…
November-December 2009 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman Trademarks/Domain Names * Yahoo and Mary Kay settled Mary Kay’s trademark lawsuit over Yahoo’s email shortcuts. * uBID Inc. v. The GoDaddy Group Inc., No. 09-cv-2123 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 5, 2009). uBid’s anti-domain name parking lawsuit failed…
Top Cyberlaw Developments of 2009
By John E. Ottaviani (Thanks to Eric for letting me post this list here!) [Eric’s note: some of you may recall John, a regular blog guest contributor from 2005-07. It’s great to have another contribution from him.] Eric will post…
Another Cautionary Tale of Joint Website Ownership–TEG v. Phelps [UPDATED]
By Eric Goldman Third Education Group, Inc. v. Phelps, 675 F. Supp. 2d 916 (E.D. Wis. Nov. 25, 2009). Motion to amend denied January 19, 2010. [UPDATE: In the initial version of this post, Richard Phelps’ story was part of…
Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss on Genericness Grounds–FragranceNet v. Les Parfums
By Eric Goldman FragranceNet.com, Inc. v. Les Parfums, Inc., 2009 WL 4609268 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 8, 2009) In 2007, FragranceNet suffered a stinging loss when it sued a competitor, FragranceX.com, for buying its trademarks as advertising keywords. Interpreting the 1-800 Contacts…
Competitive Keyword Advertiser Wins at Trial–Fair Isaac v. Experian
By Eric Goldman Fair Isaac Corp. v. Experian Information Solutions Inc., 2009 WL 4263699 (D. Minn. Nov. 25, 2009) This is an interesting and complicated lawsuit that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. Fair Isaac produces the ubiquitous “FICO” credit…
Case Western “Signifiers in Cyberspace” Conference Recap
By Eric Goldman In mid-November, I attended a conference at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio entitled “Signifiers in Cyberspace: Domain Names & Online Trademarks.” My notes: David Fewer spoke about Canada’s WHOIS policy. The old…