By Eric Goldman Nexon America Inc. v. Kumar, 2012 WL 1116328 (C.D. Cal. April 3, 2012) It can be disconcerting when UGC websites turn into IP enforcement plaintiffs. Perhaps the biggest offender has been Craigslist, which has brought numerous ill-advised…
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Mendenhall v. Hanesbrands, 2012 WL 1230743 (M.D.N.C.; Apr. 12, 2012) This case has it all: Twitter, a pro football player, terrorism, Osama bin Laden and contract law geekiness! Background: Rashard Mendenhall plays…
By Eric Goldman Today, I gave a talk at Suffolk University’s event “Social Networking Sites: Law, Policy and Practical Strategies” on Social Media and Trademark Law. My talk notes: _____ 1. Overview A. Trademark doctrine is inherently elastic * Schizophrenia…
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tasini v. AOL, Inc., 11-CV-2472 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y.; Mar. 30, 2012) I thought the Huffington Post lawsuit brought by unpaid contributors would present some interesting discussion about the arcane laws governing unpaid internships, but that’s not the…
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Apple In-App Purchase Litigation, 5:11-CV-1758 (N.D. Cal.; Mar. 31, 2012) Facebook recently dealt with a class action over sponsored stories where minors asserted violations of their publicity rights. The court enforced the Facebook terms…
By Eric Goldman Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google, Inc.,, 2012 WL 1155143 (4th Cir. April 9, 2012). I’m listed in the caption as a limited intervenor in the efforts led by Paul Levy to crack open the redacted material from…
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Hoang v. Amazon.com, Inc. & IMDB.com, Inc., C11-1709MJP (W.D. Wash.; Mar. 30, 2012) Hoang sued IMDB, alleging that IMDB took information she provided when she paid for her subscription and used this information to derive her…
By Eric Goldman Chang v. Wozo LLC, 2012 WL 1067643 (D. Mass. March 28, 2012) This case is a cross between Swift v. Zynga and Goddard v. Google. Tatto runs a website, Wozo, that sells art posters. It created a…
By John Ottaviani Fteja v. Facebook, Inc., No. 11 Civ 918(RJH), 2012 WL 183896 (S.D.N.Y. Jan 24, 2012) Jerez v. JD Closeouts, LLC, No. CV-024727-11, 2012 WL 934390 (N.Y. Civ. Ct. March 20, 2012) For over a decade, I have…
By Eric Goldman Viacom International, Inc., v. YouTube, Inc., 10-3270-cv, 2012 WL 1130851 (2d Cir. April 5, 2012). The companion case is the Football Association Premier League Ltd. v. YouTube, 10-3342-cv Overview After five years in the courts, the Viacom…