Imagine a dentist telling her patients that they can’t write online reviews about her. Or a hotel deducting money from a newly married couple’s security deposit if any member of the wedding party blasts the hotel on Yelp. These types…
I have repeatedly observed that trademark owners routinely lose their lawsuits against advertisers who buy their trademarks as advertising keywords. (This is in addition to the futility of bringing trademark lawsuits against search engines, which almost no one does any…
This is another NLRB Facebook firing case. The employer is a bar and restaurant whose employees were chatting on Facebook about owing amounts in taxes allegedly as a result of paperwork mishaps on the employer’s part. LaFrance, a former employee…
The litigants discussed working together to launch a new product in the marketplace. As seems to be inevitable in situations like this, the parties’ relationship fell out. Trying to salvage something from the situation, Turner alleged the parties had formed…
The “Google” trademark regularly ranks as one of the most valuable trademarks in the world. In 2011, Forbes estimated the trademark’s value at $44B, and a more recent estimate placed the value at $113B. Almost certainly, the “Google” trademark is…
This case involves a LiveJournal blog called “Oh No They Didn’t!” (ONTD) that republishes reader submissions about celebrity gossip. There are nine moderators of the blog, including one–Brian Delzer–who became a LiveJournal employee. Unsurprisingly given the blog’s subject, readers submitted…
Doe sued Internet Brands, Inc., the owner of Model Mayhem, alleging that two unrelated individuals drugged and assaulted her (and recorded her for a pornographic video). It’s unclear precisely how the assailants used Model Mayhem, but the court merely says…
Victor worked at Sunbelt as a sales rep but left to join a competitor. His former employer is suing him for trade secret misappropriation. Victor asserted privacy-based counterclaims. Sunbelt assigned him an iPhone and an iPad. He created an Apple…
By Tyler Ochoa As reported in various news outlets (including MSN and New York magazine), Urban Outfitters generated a storm of controversy on Twitter a few days ago, when it was discovered that it was offering for sale a “vintage”…
[Eric’s introduction: this guest blog post comes from Ed Cavazos of Bracewell & Giuliani in Austin, Texas, who I’ve known for 20 years. Ed was part of the first wave of lawyers and scholars focusing on Internet law, and he…