Call for Papers: WIPIP, Santa Clara University, Feb. 7-8, 2014
By Eric Goldman The High Tech Law Institute invites you submit a paper proposal for the Eleventh Annual Works-in-Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium (WIPIP), to be held February 7-8, 2014, at Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California. The…
Craigslist Wins Routine But Troubling Online Trespass to Chattels Ruling in 3Taps Case (Catch-up Post)
By Eric Goldman Craigslist Inc. v. 3Taps Inc., 2013 WL 4447520 (N.D. Cal. August 16, 2013) I ran out of time to blog this ruling when it first came out, but it’s worth noting now. You may recall this dispute…
Is There Any Way to Cure An “Accidental” Download of Child Pornography?
Crabtree v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, No. 2011-CA-000452-MR (Ky. Ct. App. Aug. 17, 2012) By Eric Goldman [Introductory note: this post has been percolating for quite some time, in part because of its troubling implications. The only definitive lesson–never EVER download…
Spam Arrest’s Sender Agreement Fails Because Email Marketer’s Employees Lacked Authority–Spam Arrest v. Replacements (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Spam Arrest LLC v Replacements Ltd., 2013 WL 4675919 (W.D. Wash. Aug. 29, 2013) People hate receiving spam, but most people stopped obsessing about spam a decade ago or more. In the interim, anti-spam filters have improved…
Big Victory In Effort To Curb Libel Tourism–Trout Point Lodge v. Handshoe (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Trout Point Lodge, Ltd. v. Handshoe, 2013 WL 4766530 (5th Cir. Sept. 5, 2013) Compared to other countries, the United States has relatively narrow defamation laws. The First Amendment significantly restricts defamation claims, and legislatures have provided…
When Should Search Engines Ignore Court Orders To Remove Search Results? (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Companies and individuals are constantly seeking more effective ways to scrub unwanted online content. One common technique is to get a court declaration that content is unlawful and should be removed, and then send that ruling to…
Yelp Gets Another Anti-SLAPP Victory in Lawsuit Over Consumer Review—Bernath v. Tabitha J.
Bernath v. Tabitha J., 1305-06167 (Ore. Cir. Ct. Aug. 26, 2013) The plaintiff, who is also a lawyer (and surely you recall how I feel about lawyer-plaintiffs), has repeatedly written about this case online focusing on different facts, but I’m…
TripAdvisor’s “Dirtiest Hotels” List Isn’t Defamatory—Seaton v. TripAdvisor
Seaton v. TripAdvisor LLC, 2013 WL 4525870 (6th Cir. Aug. 28, 2013) TripAdvisor published a list of the “Dirtiest Hotels” based on users’ rankings, including some unflattering quotes from users’ reviews. One of the listed hotels sued TripAdvisor for defamation…
App Stores Aren’t Liable For Third Party Apps–Evans v. HP (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Evans v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2013 WL 4426359 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 15, 2013) Due to the growing importance of mobile devices, app stores are among the most powerful intermediaries in the Internet ecosystem. With great power comes great…
Blasting Your Landlord Online? Pick Your Words Wisely (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Bently Reserve L.P. v. Papaliolios, 2013 WL 3949029 (Cal. App. Ct. July 30, 2013) Few things in life are more irritating than a bad landlord. Typically tenants are trapped by their lease, so they are powerless to…