Teeth Whitening System Brings “Sue the World” Lawsuit Against Ad Agency, Competitor and Search Engines–Dazzlesmile v. Azoogle
By Eric Goldman Dazzlesmile, LLC v. Epic Advertising, Inc., 2:09-cv-01043-PMW (D. Utah complaint filed Nov. 23, 2009) Dazzlesmile sells a teeth whitening system. Presumably these systems generate fat profits, because Dazzlesmile has brought an expensive “sue-the-world” lawsuit against its ad…
Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss–Morningware v. Hearthware
By Eric Goldman Morningware, Inc. v. Hearthware Home Products, Inc., 2009 WL 3878251 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 16, 2009) I keep getting calls from reporters operating under the misimpression that trademark owner-vs.-search engine keyword advertising lawsuits are more common than trademark…
A Look at Twitter’s Updated Privacy Policy (November 19, 2009)
[Post by Venkat] As noted on Twitter’s blog, Twitter refreshed its privacy policy yesterday. Given that virtually everything Twitter does is placed under the microscope, I’m sure the policy will be pored over in detail. (Here’s a link to the…
Google AdWords Litigation Keeps Rolling In–Parts Geek v. US Auto Parts
By Eric Goldman Parts Geek LLC v. US Auto Parts Network Inc.,3:2009cv05578 (D.N.J. complaint filed Nov. 2, 2009) [warning: 3MB PDF]. The Justia page. In my world, we have an honor code among geeks–thou shalt not harm other geeks. As…
Google AdWords Litigation Updates–Google Adds One Lawsuit and Ends Another
By Eric Goldman It’s been a little quiet on the Google AdWords trademark litigation front in the past couple of months, so it’s timely to check in on the situation. Jurin v. Google, Inc., 2:09-at-01695 (E.D. Cal. complaint filed Oct….
Domain Names as Property Subject to Creditor Claims–Bosh v. Zavala
[Post by Venkat] Most people take it for granted that domain names are property. As such, there shouldn’t be much dispute that domain names are subject to the claims of judgment creditors. But I’ve seen enough resistance to this position…
Q3 2009 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Trademark * Venkat: Twitter makes the dictionary. * Federal Circuit says Hotels.com is generic. * Steve Madden sues eBay for trademark infringement. Marty’s coverage. Justia page. I found the fifth cause of action, “trademark delusion,” a surprisingly…
Google Confirms That Keyword Metatags Don’t Matter
By Eric Goldman Few Internet technologies have horked cyberlaw as much as keyword metatags. Back in the 1990s, some search engines indexed keyword metatags, which encouraged some websites to stuff their keyword metatags as a way of gaming the rankings….
Making Sense of the $32M Contributory Trademark Infringement Judgment Against a Web Host–Louis Vuitton v. Akanoc
By Eric Goldman Louis Vuitton Malletier SA v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., 5:07-CV-03952 (N.D. Cal. jury verdict returned Aug. 28, 2009). My blog post of the December 2008 ruling on summary judgment motions in the case. Last month, a jury returned…
Ninth Circuit Groaner About Metatags–Art Attacks v. MGA
By Eric Goldman Art Attacks Ink LLC v. MGA Entertainment, Inc., CV-04-01035-RMB (9th Cir. Sept. 16, 2009) What is it about metatags that cause legal folks to believe they have magical search powers? It’s a meme that the legal community…