Doctor Loses Defamation Case Over Online Remarks–McKee v. Laurion
By Eric Goldman McKee v. Laurion, A11-1154 (Minn. Jan. 30, 2013) Dr. McKee treated Kenneth Laurion. Unhappy with those interactions, Kenneth’s son Dennis critiqued Dr. McKee on various doctor review websites. Dr. McKee sued Dennis for defamation (and related claims)…
Google and Yahoo Defeat Trademark Lawsuit Over Keyword Ads–Clara Ison v. Google
By Eric Goldman Clara Ison v. Google, 1-10-CV-163032 (Cal. Superior Ct. January 22, 2013), The fourth amended complaint. The case docket. I try to track every trademark lawsuit regarding Google AdWords. Thus, I am embarrassed to admit that I just…
17 USC 512(f) Is Dead–Lenz v. Universal Music
By Eric Goldman Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 2013 WL 271673 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 24, 2013). This is the long-running case involving a YouTube video of a baby dancing to a Prince song. Universal Music overzealously took the video down…
Are Google Search Results Good Proxies for Secondary Meaning in Trademark Law?
By Eric Goldman I want to call your attention to “The Google Shortcut to Trademark Law” by Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, a post-doc at Yale ISP. You might not be familiar with Lisa’s work because to date she’s mostly focused on…
Why You Should Consider Teaching Advertising Law (Including Comments from Felix Wu of Cardozo)
By Eric Goldman This semester I’m teaching Advertising & Marketing Law again. My syllabus. I’ve written before about the course and my casebook reader with Rebecca Tushnet. In this post, I’d like to recap some remarks I made in a…
My Talk to High Schoolers About Accountability for Online Content
By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, I spoke at Los Altos High School as part of their “History Week” (check out that speaker roster!). The topic title is “Internet and Social Media Usage Rights,” which I turned into a talk…
47 USC 230 Protects Online White Pages for Publishing Incorrect Phone Number–Nasser v. WhitePages
By Eric Goldman Nasser v. WhitePages, Inc., 2012 WL 6858438 (W.D. Va. magistrate report and recommendations December 20, 2012). The judge approved the magistrate report on January 14, 2013. [Note: Venkat represented WhitePages, but he had no role in preparing…
Some Concerns About Facebook’s “Graph Search”
Facebook’s Graph Search announcement has produced reactions ranging from rapturous enthusiasm to apathy. In this post, I’ll explore a few reasons why I’m concerned about Graph Search. It’s Not Search. The name “Graph Search” is horrendous. Most people have never…
“Social Media and Trademarks” Presentation at AALS
By Eric Goldman Earlier this month, I spoke at the AALS IP Section meeting in New Orleans on the topic of “trademarks and social media.” My slides. Though I’ve written in this area (see, e.g., my Online Word of Mouth…
Top Ten Internet Law Developments of 2012 (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman I’m pleased to share my list of top 10 developments of 2012: #10: The Push Towards Anti-Class Action Arbitration Clauses. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion that businesses may be able to adopt mandatory…