July 2007 Quick Links, Part I
By Eric Goldman Search Engines * According to this study, up to 40% of search queries are “re-finding queries” (i.e., the searcher is trying to re-find previously viewed information). The implication: “Because people repeat queries so frequently, search engines should…
Third Circuit Bounces Lawsuit Over Google Groups–Parker v. Google
By Eric Goldman Parker v. Google, Inc., No. 06-3074 (3d Cir. July 10, 2007) Parker v. Google was one of the troika of district court opinions involving Google and copyright from Q1 2006 (along with the Perfect 10 and Field…
Credit Card Providers Aren’t Liable for Third Party Infringement–Perfect 10 v. Visa
By Eric Goldman Perfect 10, Inc. v. Visa International Service Association, No. 05-15170 (9th Cir. July 3, 2007) The Ninth Circuit has completed a hat trick of appeals involving Perfect 10’s litigation frenzy over online infringement of Perfect 10’s copyrighted…
Google Subpoenaed for Keyword Purchase Data–Rhino Sports v. Sport Court
By Eric Goldman Rhino Sports, Inc. v. Sport Court, 02-1815 PHX-JAT and 06-0366 PHX-JAT (N.D. Cal. subpoena duces tecum issued June 14, 2007) We’re all aware that Google has plenty of good personal information that can be discoverable. But until…
June 2007 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Email * Spam cases are coming at a regular clip, and it’s tricky divining the latest state of the law. Two recent cases that caught my attention: – US v. Impulse Media Group, 2007 WL 1725560 (W.D….
American Blinds Sanctioned
By Eric Goldman Google Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc., 2007 WL 1848665 (N.D. Cal. June 27, 2007) The Google v. American Blinds trial is scheduled to start November 9, 2007. Last week, Google won a discovery dispute…
Another Court in 2d Cir. Says Buying Keyword Ads Isn’t TM Use in Commerce–FragranceNet.com v. FragranceX.com
By Eric Goldman FragranceNet.com, Inc. v. FragranceX.com, Inc., 2007 WL 1821153 (E.D.N.Y. June 12, 2007) This case shows the deepening split between the Second Circuit and other circuits on keyword triggering as TM use in commerce. This is now the…
Commercial Referential Trademark Uses (Rescuecom v. Google Amicus Brief Outtakes)
By Eric Goldman Earlier this year, I drafted the following as a proposed contribution to the law professors’ amicus brief in Rescuecom v. Google. We ultimately decided to go in a different direction, but I’m posting the outtakes here for…
Google Sued in Domainer Lawsuit–Vulcan Golf v. Google
By Eric Goldman Vulcan Golf, LLC v. Google, Inc., No. 07CV3371 (N.D. Ill. complaint filed June 15, 2007) [WARNING! the complaint is a 4.3MB PDF] Domainer litigation is heating up, and this lawsuit may be the most ambitious anti-domainer lawsuit…
New Cyberlaw Fad–Real Estate Developers v. Griping Homebuyers
By Eric Goldman We appear to be seeing a mini-trend of homebuilders suing griping homebuyers. Overlawyered’s Walter Olson succinctly aggregated some cases, including: * RSA Enterprises v. Bad Business Bureau and Google, a lawsuit doomed to failure (at least in…