Ad Network Avoids Contributory Copyright Infringement for Serving Ads to a Rogue Website–Elsevier v. Chitika
By Eric Goldman with comments from Venkat Elsevier, Ltd. v. Chitika, Inc., 2011 WL 6008975 (D. Mass. Dec. 2, 2011). Chitika’s brief supporting its motion for judgment on the pleadings. Elsevier’s opposition. Chitika’s proposed reply brief. As Venkat recently indicated,…
Facebook’s Trademark Enforcement Effort Against “Faceporn” Hits Jurisdictional Snag — Facebook v. Pedersen
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Facebook, Inc. v. Pedersen, et al., 10-cv-04673 (N.D. Cal.; Nov. 29, 2011) Facebook sued Pedersen and Retro Invent, who are based in Norway and run the “Faceporn” site. “Faceporn” is a website which features pornographic content…
The Cookie Crumbles for Amazon Privacy Plaintiffs – Del Vecchio v. Amazon
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Del Vecchio v. Amazon, C11-366-RSL (W.D. Wash.; Dec. 1, 2011) Plaintiffs sued Amazon, alleging that Amazon’s use of “flash” cookies and certain browser “tokens” was misleading. In a putative class action, Del Vecchio asserted claims against…
Spiritual Group’s Attempt to Unmask Online Critics Goes South–Art of Living Foundation v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Art of Living Foundation v. Does, 10-cv-05022-LHK (N.D. Ca.; Nov. 9, 2011) Art of Living Foundation is an organization based in India that is dedicated to teaching the spiritual lessons of “His Holiness Ravi Shankar.” Defendants…
Medical Justice Capitulates by “Retiring” Its Anti-Patient Review Contracts
By Eric Goldman It’s been a rough week for Medical Justice, the company that tries to help doctors suppress patient reviews. First, the Center for Democracy and Technology filed an FTC complaint alleging three main points: (1) Medical Justice deceives…
Fraud Allegations Don’t Trump 47 USC 230–Hopkins v. Doe
By Eric Goldman Hopkins v. Doe #1, 2011 WL 5921446 (N.D. Ga. Nov. 28, 2011). The initial complaint. Hopkins’ lawsuit-related website. This lawsuit relates to allegedly defamatory statements that Does made about Hopkins on Topix. As a pro se, Hopkins…
Pennsylvania Court Orders Personal Injury Plaintiff to Turn Over Facebook Password to Defendant — Largent v. Reed
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Largent v. Reed, 2009-1823 (Pa. Ct. of Common Pleas; Nov. 8, 2011) Keith and Jessica Largent were involved in an accident in 2007. They sued Jessica Rosko and Sagrario Pena alleging negligence and loss of consortium….
Facebook Settles With the FTC — In re Facebook, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] In re Facebook, Inc. (Nov. 29, 2011) (Settlement & Proposed Consent Decree [pdf]) (Mark Zuckerberg’s blog post) The FTC announced its long-rumored settlement with Facebook. The key terms: • Facebook is barred…
Court OKs Private Seizure of Domain Names Which Allegedly Sold Counterfeit Goods–Chanel, Inc. v. Does
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Chanel, Inc. v. Does, et al., 11-cv-01508-KJD-PAL (D. Nev.) (Sept. 26, 2011 Order) (Oct. 11, 2011 Order) (Nov. 14, 2011 Order) Luxury brand Chanel has engaged in a fierce campaign against counterfeit websites in federal court…
Dangerous Copyright Office Proposal to Undercut the DMCA Online Safe Harbors
By Eric Goldman In light of SOPA and its capacity to destroy the current online safe harbor scheme, it seems almost quaint to keep worrying about 17 USC 512. However, unless SOPA/PROTECT-IP passes, 512 remains an essential part of the…