I’m pleased to introduce Ethan Ackerman as a guest blogger. Ethan Ackerman is an attorney in Washington DC and previously has been a legislative and technology counsel in the US Senate. He wrote portions of the CAN-SPAM Act and was…
At Search Engine Strategies, we discussed the problem of aggregators and spammers taking blog content and using it to build aggregation pages (with AdSense links, naturally) that compete with the source blog for traffic. In some cases, these aggregation pages…
You may recall Steinbuch v. Cutler, where a Washington staffer blogged about her modestly-scandalous sexual experiences with a Senator’s counsel. For the voyeurs, I’ve uploaded Cutler’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed last month. The principal grounds for dismissal include…
Lamparello v. Falwell, No. 04-2011 (4th Cir. Aug. 24, 2005). Following on the Ninth Circuit Bosley opinion from earlier this year, gripe sites won another important victory yesterday in the Fourth Circuit. This ruling is significant not only because it…
BNA reports (BNA subscription required) that the anti-adware law passed by the Alaska legislature back in May was sent to the governor August 19. The article intimates that the hold-up was due to some behind-the-scenes lobbying by Google, Yahoo and…
Jackson v. Gary Barbera Enterprises, Inc. (E.D. Pa. complaint filed Aug. 2005). A car dealer in Philadelphia runs an advertisement for Dodge Magnums. Included is a picture of the popular rapper 50 Cent and the phrase “Just Like 50 Says.”…
I’m a little surprised this article hasn’t generated more discussion. Last week, the Washington Post ran an article about Best Buy’s efforts to segment and target its customer base. They have developed a set of consumer profiles that they describe…
Fenn v. Redmond Venture, Inc., 2004 UT App 355 (Utah Ct. App. Oct. 15, 2004). I was digging through my stack and stumbled across this case from last year. It seems apropos to a running theme on this blog about…
Wired runs a story about the connection between organized crime and IP infringement. The story questions how much these connections are real vs. industry hype/scare tactics to make the case for stronger enforcement tools. The article notes that a few…
Patricia Santangelo, a single mom of five kids from Wappingers Falls, NY, is fighting the RIAA over a file-sharing lawsuit. She rejected a $7,500 settlement offer and has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. Her defense appears to be…