Competitive Keyword Advertising Doesn’t Show Bad Intent–ONEpul v. BagSpot
This case involves dispensers of plastic bags for picking up dogshit. The plaintiff has a registered trademark in the brand “ONEpul.” The defendant describes its bags as “one-pull” (and yet, the term “descriptive fair use” doesn’t appear in the opinion…
Wisconsin Appeals Court Blows Open Big Holes in Section 230–Daniel v. Armslist
Congress eviscerated Section 230 via the Worst of Both World FOSTA, but defendants have been doing well with Section 230 defenses over the past year-plus. Then, last week, a Wisconsin appeals court issued a published opinion that massively screws up…
Google Successfully Amends Adwords Contract to Add Arbitration–AdTrader v. Google
Some advertisers sued Google over promised refunds for alleged click fraud. Google’s 2013 Adwords contract said: Google may add to, delete from or modify these Terms at any time without liability. The modified Terms will be posted at www.google.com/ads/terms. Customer…
More Aftermath from the ‘Worst of Both Worlds FOSTA’
In my prior post on the Worst of Both Worlds FOSTA, I enumerated three problematic developments that occurred before the bill was signed: * the federal government shut down Backpage without relying on FOSTA’s new provisions. * two different civil…
Conference on IP Enforcement at Trade Shows, UNLV, October 4, 2018 (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Marketa Trimble The practice of IP law fascinates IP law enthusiasts, and it can be stimulating for others as well. The practice has even been considered exciting enough for IP lawyers to be portrayed in a sophisticated beer…
2H 2017 & Q1 2018 Quick Links, Part 6: Privacy and More
Privacy * A string of great articles from Kash Hill: – Roomba’s Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder – The House That Spied on Me – Facebook Figured Out My Family Secrets, And It Won’t Tell…
Google Can Reject Ads Promoting Honey That Claims to Cure Cancer–Abid v. Google
Plaintiff Abid claims he has developed “a systems biology empirical approach based on prophetic medicine.” He created a website, Mighty Honey, that provides information about “prophetic medicine”/”Arabic herbal medicine” which appears to be supplement-infused honey (the screenshot to the right…
Airbnb Defeats Race Discrimination Claims–Harrington v. Airbnb
This is a class action lawsuit against Airbnb over racial discrimination. The lead plaintiff has never been an Airbnb member but requested to join if Airbnb ceased “implementation of its policies that discriminate against African-Americans and that allow hosts to…
2H 2017 & Q1 2018 Quick Links, Part 5: Marketing, Advertising, Retailing
Marketing/Advertising * Washington Post: See the cool kids lined up outside that new restaurant? This app pays them to stand there. * AdWeek: Burger King Dug Up a Bunch of Tweets From People Complaining About Wendy’s and Turned Them Into…
VRBO’s Anti-Fraud Guarantee Doesn’t Support Claim Over Fraudulent Listing–Hiam v. HomeAway
A vacationer found a listing of interest on VRBO (owned by HomeAway). After back-and-forth negotiations with the lister, he sent $46k for a week’s rental. The property proved to be fictional, so the vacationer got fleeced. VRBO investigated and, oddly,…