Barnes v. Yahoo Survives Dismissal Motion on Remand
By Eric Goldman Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., 2009 WL 4823840 (D. Or. Dec. 11, 2009) You recall Barnes v. Yahoo, the case where Yahoo promised to promptly take down a fake profile created by a third party but didn’t do…
When the Supreme Court gets in your inbox
The Supreme Court agrees to review one of the very few Circuit Court opinions finding 4th Amendment protection for in-box content. Should netizens tremble or rejoice? By Ethan Ackerman The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by a…
Online Commenter Did Not Waive Right to Anonymity by Agreeing to News Website’s Privacy Policy — Sedersten v. Taylor
[Post by Venkat] Sedersten v. Taylor, 2009 U.S. Dist LEXIS 114525 (Case No. 09-3031-CV-S-GAF) (W.D. Mo. Dec. 9. 2009). A Missouri district judge rejected a plaintiff’s attempt to unmask an online commenter based in part on the argument that language…
Another Cautionary Tale of Joint Website Ownership–TEG v. Phelps [UPDATED]
By Eric Goldman Third Education Group, Inc. v. Phelps, 675 F. Supp. 2d 916 (E.D. Wis. Nov. 25, 2009). Motion to amend denied January 19, 2010. [UPDATE: In the initial version of this post, Richard Phelps’ story was part of…
Court Rejects Computer Fraud & Abuse Act Claim Based on Unsolicited Text Messages–Czech v. Wall Street on Demand
[Post by Venkat] Czech v. Wall Street on Demand, Inc., No. 09-180 (DWF/RLE) (Dec. 8, 2009). A Minnesota district judge rejected claims brought under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act based on the receipt of unsolicited text messages. There’s not…
Denver University “Cyber Civil Rights” Symposium Recap
By Eric Goldman The week before Thanksgiving, I attended an unusual symposium sponsored by the University of Denver Law Review entitled “Cyber Civil Rights: New Challenges for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in our Networked Age.” The symposium covered standard…
Is the Florida Bar Taking Facebook Friendship Too Seriously?
[Post by Venkat] The Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee issued an (advisory) opinion [link] which included the following question and answer: [May] a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as “friends” on a social networking site,…
Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss on Genericness Grounds–FragranceNet v. Les Parfums
By Eric Goldman FragranceNet.com, Inc. v. Les Parfums, Inc., 2009 WL 4609268 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 8, 2009) In 2007, FragranceNet suffered a stinging loss when it sued a competitor, FragranceX.com, for buying its trademarks as advertising keywords. Interpreting the 1-800 Contacts…
Record Label Sues Google and Microsoft for Linking to Infringing Music–Blues Destiny v. Google
By Eric Goldman Blues Destiny Records LLC v. Google, Inc., 3:09-cv-00538-WS-EMT (N.D. Fla. complaint filed Dec. 7, 2009) [warning: 1.5MB PDF] Blues Destiny Records, a small Blues music label, doesn’t like RapidShare, a website that allows users to publish files,…
Ninth Circuit Rebuffs Another CAN-SPAM Plaintiff — Asis Internet Services v. Azoogle.com, Inc.
[Post by Venkat] The Ninth Circuit recently rejected [pdf] two appeals brought by CAN-SPAM plaintiff Asis Internet Services. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Azoogle and awarded costs. See Eric’s earlier blog post on that ruling. Asis…