FTC Explains Why It Thinks 1-800 Contacts’ Keyword Ad Settlements Were Anti-Competitive–FTC v. 1-800 Contacts
As you may recall, the FTC is pursuing 1-800 Contacts for antitrust violations based on 1-800 Contacts having sued and then settled with competitors who bought keyword ads on 1-800 Contacts’ trademarks. Recently, the FTC filed its “Complaint Counsel’s Corrected…
Plaintiff Can’t Erase Court Order From the Internet–Nelson v. Social Security Commissioner
The Commissioner of Social Security ruled that Nelson’s disability ended in 2010 and terminated benefits. In 2014, Nelson filed a federal lawsuit contesting that determination. In 2014, the judge ruled in her favor. In 2016, Nelson went back to court….
The “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017” Bill Would Be Bad News for Section 230
As expected, last week Rep. Ann Wagner introduced the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017” bill, H.R. 1865. This is a renamed version of the draft bill, the “No Immunity for Sex Traffickers Online…
Texas Supreme Court Is Skeptical About Wikipedia as a Dictionary–D Magazine v. Rosenthal
This is an interesting opinion from the Texas Supreme Court on citing Wikipedia as a dictionary. The underlying case involves an article in D Magazine titled “The Park Cities Welfare Queen.” The article purports to show that the plaintiff, Rosenthal,…
Court Strikes Probation Condition Against Using a Device Containing Encryption–In re Mike H.
Mike, a minor, pled guilty to committing sodomy on a minor against his girlfriend. The crime had no relationship to the Internet, although Mike and his girlfriend had texted each other and Mike admitted to masturbating to online pornography once…
Can Blogging Violate the Fair Housing Act?–Revock v. Cowpet Bay West Condo Ass’n
[Note: as I declared almost a decade ago, I don’t do April Fool’s jokes.] This case is a collision between dogs as emotional support animals and a “no dogs” condominium association rule. The civil rights implications of a “no pets”…
A Complaint’s Silence About Section 230 Helps It Survive Judgment on the Pleadings–Moretti v. Hertz
This is a class action lawsuit against car rental companies for an alleged “currency exchange rate scam.” Allegedly, the rental car companies quote foreign rentals in dollars but then actually charge customers in the local currency at an inflated exchange…
Trademark Lawsuit Claiming Organic Search Results Create Initial Interest Confusion Falls Apart–Larsen v. Larson
Disclosure note: I provided an expert report in this now-dismissed case, so you might consider my comments to be advocacy. I’ll explain my expert role in a bit. The Court Opinion Susan Larsen practices business law in the Denver, Colorado…
Does “Raiders Fancast” Infringe the “Fancaster” Trademark?
I don’t normally blog demand letters, but this particular matter would benefit from additional visibility. Over 5 years ago, I blogged a lawsuit involving the Fancaster trademark, which I characterized as “the saddest trademark case of 2011.” Among other rulings,…
Your Periodic Reminder That Initial Interest Confusion Lawsuits Are Stupid–Epic v. YourCareUniverse
The plaintiff has a registered trademark for “CARE EVERYWHERE” for B2B healthcare software. The defendant, YourCareUniverse, also makes healthcare software. It extended its brand to include “YOURCAREEVERYWHERE” and launched a public-facing patient healthcare portal under the extended brand. The plaintiff…