Another Lawsuit Over Google AdWords–Stratton Faxon v. Google
By Eric Goldman Stratton Faxon v. Google, Inc. (New Haven Superior Ct. complaint filed May 27, 2009) Today’s lawsuit combines two trends: Trend #1: Lawyers-as-plaintiffs suing Google for their own account. I don’t have a complete inventory of these lawsuits,…
Contributory Cybersquatting and the Impending Demise of Domain Name Proxy Services?–Solid Host v. NameCheap
By Eric Goldman Solid Host, NL v. NameCheap, Inc., 2:08-cv-05414-MMM-E (C.D. Cal. May 19, 2009) Facts This case involves an alleged domain name theft. Solid Host is a web host and initial owner of the domain name solidhost.com, which it…
Barnes Also Seeks Rehearing in Barnes v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Cecilia Barnes has also filed a brief requesting a rehearing in Barnes v. Yahoo. The brief says it’s seeking rehearing on a single issue, although it doesn’t actually summarize that issue in a single sentence. However, the…
Speth on Barnes v. Yahoo and 230 as an Affirmative Defense
By Eric Goldman I’ve already blogged a couple times on the Ninth Circuit’s Barnes v. Yahoo ruling (commentary post; post on rehearing request). In response, I got an email from Maria Crimi Speth of Jaburg & Wilk in Phoenix, AZ….
Yahoo and Amici Seek Rehearing in Barnes v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Last week I ruminated at length (3,200 words!) about the Ninth Circuit’s Barnes v. Yahoo opinion. As you may recall, I thought the court’s actual holding–230 preempted a negligence claim but did not preempt a promissory estoppel…
EFF’s Guide to Griping, Plus Some Recommendations of My Own
By Eric Goldman The EFF has posted “Avoiding Gripes About Your Gripe (or Parody) Site,” which includes 6 prophylactic recommendations to prospective gripers: 1) Be noncommercial — no ads, no links to commercial sites, no affiliate links, no Café Press…
Expansive Preemption of State Anti-Spam Laws Is Curtailed
Courts are splitting over the scope of CAN-SPAM preemption, with even judges in the same federal division disagreeing. By Ethan Ackerman It is a truth universally recognized that a legal blogger whose legal positions cause them to eat crow or…
Takedown Notice Sent to Parent Doesn’t Affect Subsidiary’s 512(c) Defense–Perfect 10 v. Amazon
By Eric Goldman Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2009 WL 1334364 (C.D. Cal. May 12, 2009) This long-running case is working its way through the district court after the Ninth Circuit’s 2007 remand. See my previous blog posts about…
Google Liberalizes US Trademark Policy: “What, Me Worry?” Part 2
By Eric Goldman In my Deregulating Relevancy article from a few years ago, I explained how trademark law was having pernicious consequences for online conversations. Among other unwanted effects, trademark law hinders online discussions about trademarks even when both conversationalists…
Firepond “Copycat” Lawsuit Filed Against Google–John Beck Amazing Profits v. Google
By Eric Goldman John Beck Amazing Profits, LLC v. Google Inc. 2:2009cv00151 (E.D. Tex. complaint filed May 14, 2009). The Justia page. Earlier this week, a group of lawyers filed a class action lawsuit against Google and its distribution partners…