University Rejection of Students’ Marijuana-Themed T-Shirt Violates First Amendment–Gerlich v. Leath

Iowa State (ISU) officially recognizes a student chapter for NORML, a marijuana advocacy group. All ISU student groups can use ISU trademarks on merchandise if they comply with the “Guidelines…

Amazon Defeats Lawsuit Over Its Keyword Ad Purchases–Lasoff v. Amazon

…Court Dumps Crappy Trademark & Keyword Ad Case–ONEPul v. BagSpot * AdWords Buys Using Geographic Terms Support Personal Jurisdiction–Rilley v. MoneyMutual * FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts For Restricting Competitive Keyword…

Top 10 Internet Law Developments of 2016

…question. * Anarchy Rules Online Contract Formation Law. I will metaphorically shank anyone who uses the term “browsewrap” non-sarcastically in my presence. * FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts Over Competitive Restrictions…

Freelance Blogger Denied Unemployment Insurance–In re Mitchell

This case involves author Greg Mitchell. The Nation retained Mitchell as a freelance blogger in 2010. He was expected to blog on a daily/near-daily basis in exchange for $46,800/year paid…

2H 2016 Quick Links, Part 3 (Trademarks and Domain Names)

…keyword advertising is a prisoner’s dilemma. The article’s suggestion to negotiate a cease-fire with competitors is a high-risk strategy. See FTC v. 1-800 Contacts. * Cedar Valley Exteriors, Inc. v….

More Evidence Why Keyword Advertising Litigation Is Waning

…* Court Dumps Crappy Trademark & Keyword Ad Case–ONEPul v. BagSpot * AdWords Buys Using Geographic Terms Support Personal Jurisdiction–Rilley v. MoneyMutual * FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts For Restricting Competitive…

Court Dumps Crappy Trademark & Keyword Ad Case–ONEPul v. BagSpot

…Posts on Competitive Keyword Advertising * AdWords Buys Using Geographic Terms Support Personal Jurisdiction–Rilley v. MoneyMutual * FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts For Restricting Competitive Keyword Advertising * Competitive Keyword Advertising…

Why I’ve Paused My Blogging at Forbes

…able to do more deep-dive 3k+ word posts (such as this post on the FTC’s suit against 1-800 Contacts) that seemed overwhelming to contemplate while I was actively maintaining my…

FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts For Restricting Competitive Keyword Advertising

…from bidding on “1-800 Contacts” or variants; and 1-800 Contacts reciprocally agreed not to bid on the competitors’ trademarks. 13 agreements also required the competitors to put “1-800 Contacts” on…

Message Board Operator May Be Liable For Moderator’s Content–Enigma v. Bleeping

It’s been a brutal year for Section 230 jurisprudence, and the hits keep coming. In today’s case, the parties ran into a judge who seemed unshakably determined–for reasons I can’t…

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