Before Graduated Response, There Was BSA’s “Define the Line” Program. What Happened to It? (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Sruli Yellin [Eric’s introduction: with the imminent launch of the six strikes/graduated response program from the deceptively named Center for Copyright Information, I thought it might be worthwhile revisiting a prior effort by rightsowners to coopt Internet…
Telephone Consumer Protection Act Case Update – February 2013 Edition
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Birchmeier v. Econ. Strategy Group, 12 C 4069 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 28, 2012): This was a putative class action filed against Economic Strategy Group and Caribbean Cruise Line. Plaintiff alleges that defendants made calls to their…
With Its Australian Court Victory, Google Moves Closer to Legitimizing Keyword Advertising Globally (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Google’s ($GOOG) keyword advertising program, AdWords, has been subject to constant legal challenges for the past decade. After an initial period of legal uncertainty, AdWords’ legal fortunes recently have brightened in the United States and Europe. Earlier this…
Facebook Posts and Twitter Invites Don’t Violate Non-Solicitation Clause — Pre-Paid Legal v. Cahill
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with a comment from Eric] Pre-Paid Legal Services v. Cahill, Civ-12-346-JHP (E.D. Ok. Jan. 22, 2013) Cahill was an associate of Pre-Paid Legal Services, described by the court as a multi-level marketing company. Cahill joined and…
Another Google AdWords Advertiser Avoids Trademark Liability–Whipple v. Brigman
By Eric Goldman Whipple v. Brigman, 2013 WL 566817 (W.D. N.C. Feb. 13, 2013) I’ve repeatedly said that trademark lawsuits over Google AdWords advertising rarely make financial sense. This case would clearly support that proposition, except both parties proceeded pro…
“Heisman Pose” Photographer Sues for Copyright Infringement – Masck v. Sports Illustrated, et al.
By Jake McGowan [writings][LinkedIn] Masck v. Sports Illustrated, et al., 2:13-cv-10226-GAD-DRG (E.D. Mich. complaint filed Jan. 18, 2013) On his journey to winning the Heisman Trophy for the 1991 season, University of Michigan’s Desmond Howard returned a punt 93 yards…
Revisiting the Ninth Circuit’s 1979 AMF v. Sleekcraft Case Post-Remand (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Sruli Yellin [Eric’s note: like many IP professors, I’ve taught the 1979 9th Circuit ruling in AMF v. Sleekcraft for years. It’s the flagship Ninth Circuit opinion on the likelihood of consumer confusion factors, and it’s one…
Israeli Court Says Full-Text RSS Feeds Create an Implied Copyright License (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Jonathan J. Klinger Aggregation of content through RSS feeds has been a big issue every since websites began to use RSS to distribute their content. See, e.g., Prof. Goldman’s discussion of the issue in 2005. Still, we…
Facebook Entry and Blog Post May Support Retaliation Claim – Stewart v. CUS Nashville
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Stewart v. CUS Nashville (Coyote Ugly), 3:11-cv-0342 (M.D. Tenn. Feb. 6, 2013) This is a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit brought against Coyote Ugly. Among other things, plaintiffs argued that defendants engaged in an illegal tip-pooling…
Territorial Implications of Antigua’s Internet-Based IP Sanctions Against the US (Guest Blog Post)
By Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble At the end of January 2013, the WTO authorized Antigua to suspend its intellectual property obligations toward the United States in retaliation for the United States’ breach of WTO rules. There are at least three…