Second Circuit Tells Trademark Owners to Stop Suing Over Competitive Keyword Advertising–1-800 Contacts v. Warby Parker
Fifteen years ago, courts generally avoided categorical pronouncements about the legitimacy of competitive keyword advertising. That produced a string of waffly or irresolute rulings, such as the appellate rulings in Rescuecom v. Google (2d Circuit) and Rosetta Stone v. Google…
Court Enjoins California’s Anti-“Political Deepfakes” Law (AB 2839) Because It’s Unconstitutional Censorship–Kohls v. Bonta
In September, California enacted AB 2839. It seeks to remove certain types of politically themed “materially deceptive content” (including “deepfakes” 🙄) during the election season, except for some labeled parodies and satire. The law provides a private right of action…
Catching Up on Two Keyword Ad Cases
A couple of keyword ad cases from a couple of months ago. Alsa Refinish LLC v. Walmart Inc., 2024 WL 3914512 (C.D. Cal. July 31, 2024) The trademark owner Alsa sells chrome paint. Walmart doesn’t carry the trademark owners’ items….
eBay Isn’t Liable for Merchants’ Sales of Items That Violate Environmental Laws–US v. eBay
The EPA civilly sued eBay for third-party merchant listings of items that violate environmental laws. For example, the EPA identified over 300k aftermarket “defeat device” listings, 5k+ listings for products containing methylene chloride, and 23k listings for violative pesticides. eBay…
Pixel Case Against Google “Jumps the Shark”–Doe I v. Google (Catch Up Post)
It feels like we are getting a pixel ruling every day. I’ve ignored most of them. I’ve decided this one from 2 months ago is worth blogging, even at this date, given Judge Chhabria’s treatment of these claims. The court…
Consumers Who Don’t Read “Clickwraps” Are Still Bound By Them–Toth v. Everly Well
Raise your hand 🙋♂️ if this could describe you too: Joyce Toth clicked on a checkbox indicating that she read and accepted certain terms and conditions, which were contained in a linked “User Agreement.” Her representation was only half true….
Tattoo Artist Wins Copyright Claim, But Gets Zero Damages–Alexander v. Take Two
Prior blog post. Alexander inked 6 tattoos on wrestler Randy Orton. Videogames featured Orton and his tattoos, and Alexander sued for copyright infringement. A jury ruled for Alexander and awarded $3,750 in damages. The defendants sought to overturn the jury…
Angi Can’t Dismiss Lawsuit Over Failed Vendor Authentication–Everyspace v. Encor
Angi’s is the rebrand of the former Angie’s List. It matches contractors with homeowners. The plaintiff claims that the defendant company is engaging in a form of corporate identity theft, trading on its license number, and that Angi promoted the…
Five Decisions Illustrate How Section 230 Is Fading Fast
Section 230 cases are coming faster than I can blog them. This long blog post rounds up five defense losses, riddled with bad judicial errors. Given the tenor of these opinions, how are any plaintiffs NOT getting around Section 230…
Allegations of a Bribe-Driven Facebook-OnlyFans Conspiracy Unsurprisingly Fall Apart in Court–Dangaard v. Instagram
The plaintiffs’ allegations were sizzling. In my previous post, I summarized: This lawsuit involves troubling allegations that Facebook executives (allegedly, Nick Clegg, Nicola Mendelsohn, and Cristian Perrella) took bribes from OnlyFans-related entities to spike Facebook and Instagram posts that promoted…