Company Not Responsible for Harassive Comments by Coworker on Personal Facebook Page — Amira Jabbar v. Travel Services
[Post by Venkat] Amira Jabbar v. Travel Services (D.P.R.; Sept. 10, 2010) (Order on reconsideration) Plaintiff brought a hostile work environment claim against her employer. Plaintiff alleged, among other things, that the employer failed to properly investigate derogatory comments made…
Yelp Wins 47 USC 230 Dismissal of Dentist’s Lawsuit–Reit v. Yelp
By Eric Goldman Reit v. Yelp!, Inc., 2010 WL 3490167 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Dr. Glenn Reit is a Manhattan dentist. His Yelp page and website. As of May 2009, the Yelp page had 11 reviews: 10 favorable…
Google Gets Good Results in Three AdWords Trademark Cases (Jurin, Flowbee, Dazzlesmile)
By Eric Goldman Jurin v. Google, 2010 WL 3521955 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2010) Jurin is one of the multitudinous trademark owners objecting to Google’s AdWords program. Echoing a prior ruling, the court has rejected Jurin’s claims for false designation…
Veteran Spam Plaintiff Abandons Spam Lawsuit — Asis Internet v. Subscriberbase
[Post by Venkat] Asis Internet Servs. v. Subscriberbase, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93518 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2010). Asis is a veteran spam plaintiff, whose lawsuits have generated a fair amount of blog fodder. (See, for example, posts here, here,…
Google Settles Buzz User Privacy Litigation
[Post by Venkat] In re Google Buzz User Privacy Litigation, Case No. 5:10-CV-00672-JW (N.D. Cal.) (Sept. 03, 2010). Google recently settled the lawsuits relating to its privacy practices for Buzz. (h/t Wendy Davis) The terms of the settlement, which are…
Portalization of Google, Redux
By Eric Goldman A small point excerpted from my forthcoming essay on search engine bias, but one worth sharing. Google maintains a page entitled “Our Philosophy: Ten Things We Know to Be True.” On June 3, 2004 (per archive.org), the…
Online Ticket Resellers Get Significant 47 USC 230 Win–Milgram v. Orbitz
By Eric Goldman Milgram v. Orbitz Worldwide, LLC, ESX-C-142-09 (N.J. Super. Ct. Aug. 26, 2010) Introduction It’s been a relatively quiet year for 47 USC 230, in a good way. We’ve had a few minor aberrational rulings (Subway v. Quiznos,…
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman IP * As expected, Rosetta Stone appealed its trademark loss against Google. My previous blog post. * Reality Blurred successfully counternoticed to overcome CBS’s DMCA takedown notice for the Survivor contract/rule book. * Doctor’s Associates, Inc. v….
July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman Content Regulation * Wolk v. Olson (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2010). Defamation claim against “Overlawyered” blog dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. The court treats the blog as equivalent to a mass-media publication. * Kelledy v. Cockerham,…
Texas AG Investigating Google Search, and I Have Questions. The Biggest: Are You Kidding Me???
By Eric Goldman Late on Friday afternoon before a three-day holiday weekend, Search Engine Land breaks the news that Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general, is investigating Google’s search practices. Due to this timing, the news reports have been chaotic…