Another Politician Unconstitutionally Censored Constituents on Twitter–Campbell v. Reisch
This case involves yet another politician, Missouri Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch (who formerly tweeted @CheriMO44 but the account is currently gone), who blocked constituents on Twitter. I previously blogged this case in February, when the court rejected Rep. Reisch’s motion…
Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Print-on-Demand Vendor–Atari v. Sunfrog
Atari sued a print-on-demand outfit, Sunfrog, for user-uploaded designs that are allegedly infringing. In addition to copyright and trademark claims, Atari asserted an unfair competition claim. Sunfrog defended that claim on Section 230 grounds. The court says no. At this…
Domain Name Registrar Isn’t Liable for Counterfeit Goods–InvenTel v. GoDaddy
InvenTel makes security cams for cars. It is trying to crack down on Chinese counterfeiters. It brought a prior lawsuit against a wide range of defendants, including GoDaddy. InvenTel voluntarily dismissed GoDaddy from that suit. It brought a second round…
Comments on Rep. Gosar’s “Stop the Censorship Act,” Another “Conservative” Attack on Section 230
At this point, many “conservatives” favor government regulation of the editorial practices of Internet companies. As a result, proposals coming from DC “conservatives” that reference “censorship” in their titles almost certainly are designed to embrace, not prevent, censorship. For example,…
New Jersey Attorney Ethics Opinion Blesses Competitive Keyword Advertising (…or Does It?)
In 2016, the Texas Bar issued an opinion decisively blessing competitive keyword advertising by lawyers. (Note: I define competitive keyword advertising as buying a rival’s name/brand as the trigger for ads without displaying the name/brand in the ad copy). At…
Another Competitive Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Fails–Dr. Greenberg v. Perfect Body Image
Dr. Stephen Greenberg is a plastic surgeon on Long Island. Perfect Body Image provides “non-surgical and non-invasive aesthetic services, including, among other things, laser treatments.” Perfect Body doesn’t have any doctors on staff. In addition to Stephen, at least two…
Copyright Protection for Banana Costumes Is, Uh, Bananas–Silvertop v. Kangaroo
The Third Circuit has held that a banana costume qualified for copyright protection (the blog reference to the district court opinion). The plaintiff’s design is on the left. The defendants’ designs are in the middle and on the right. The…
Claim Over Takedown Notice Triggers Anti-SLAPP Law & a Fee Shift–Complex v. X17 [EDITED TO CORRECT A MAJOR ERROR]
*** CRITICAL UPDATE*** Ugh, I’m embarrassed to admit that I made a serious error in reading the opinion. I cannot edit the post to correct the error. The mistake infects the entire post and the main point. I’m leaving up…
Some Much-Needed Pushback on the Anti-Section 230 Craziness (Linkwrap)
The criticisms of Section 230 are a sign we’re living in Crazytown. The lies and misdirection about Section 230–coming both from cranks/trolls as well as our government leaders (please, no jokes about how those are the same thing)–are out of…
Correcting the Record on Section 230’s Legislative History (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Jeff Kosseff, author of The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet [Eric’s introduction: yesterday, I blogged the Second Circuit’s decision in Force v. Facebook. In dissent, Judge Katzmann wrote a lengthy examination of Section 230’s legislative history….