July-August 2010 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman Content Regulation * Wolk v. Olson (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2010). Defamation claim against “Overlawyered” blog dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. The court treats the blog as equivalent to a mass-media publication. * Kelledy v. Cockerham,…
Texas AG Investigating Google Search, and I Have Questions. The Biggest: Are You Kidding Me???
By Eric Goldman Late on Friday afternoon before a three-day holiday weekend, Search Engine Land breaks the news that Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general, is investigating Google’s search practices. Due to this timing, the news reports have been chaotic…
P2P Gambling Site is Illegal Bookmaker–Betcha v. Washington
By Eric Goldman Internet Community & Entertainment Corp. v. Washington State Gambling Commission, 82845-8 (Wash. Sup. Ct. Sept. 2, 2010) Betcha is one of those too-clever-by-half dot com ideas that practically beg VCs to roll the dice. Rather than allow…
Griping Patient Goes Too Far Posting Fake Content in Doctor’s Name–Eppley v. Iacovelli
By Eric Goldman Dr. Barry Eppley v. Lucille Iacovelli, 2010 WL 3282574 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 17, 2010). The CMLP entry. The Internet is filled with commentary about this long-running saga if you want more information. Dr. Eppley is a plastic…
Broadcaster Gets 230 Defense for Readers’ Website Comments–Miles v. Raycom
By Eric Goldman Miles v. Raycom Media, Inc., 2010 WL 3419438 (S.D. Miss. Aug. 26, 2010). WLOX is a TV broadcaster in coastal Mississippi (although with those call letters, I expected it would be located in Brooklyn). Toni Miles, a…
Ghostwritten Attorney Newsletter is an “Ad” for TCPA Junk Fax Law Purposes–Holtzman v. Turza
By Eric Goldman Holtzman v. Turza, 08 C 2014 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 3, 2010) This case is a unremarkable straight-down-the-middle analysis of when editorial content becomes a regulated ad, which in turn makes it a remarkable case. Most editorial-content-as-ad cases…
Google Avoids Liability for Failed Google Search Appliance Installation–Market America v. Google
By Eric Goldman Market America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 2010 WL 3156044 (D. Del. Aug. 9, 2010) This lawsuit comes from an unhappy Google Search Appliance (GSA) customer, Market America, who (like many unhappy systems purchasers) claims that Google and…
Selling Replacement Supplies Could Constitute Contributory Trademark Infringement–Georgia Pacific v. Von Drehle (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Mark Bartholomew [Eric’s introduction: Mark is a law professor at the University of Buffalo. He has written several articles on secondary copyright and trademark infringement. See his SSRN page. We were swapping emails about this ruling, and…
47 USC 230 Preempts Sponsorship/Endorsement Liability–Black v. Google
By Eric Goldman Black v. Google, Inc., 2010 WL 3222147 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2010). The complaint. The Blacks run a roofing company. They claim someone posted an anonymous defamatory comment on an unspecified Google website, and this “comment misrepresents…
The Problems With Google House Ads
By Eric Goldman [Note: This blog post has taken me 7 months to write, so I’m glad to be sharing it finally. I am cross-posting it to Search Engine Land.] Introduction Many publishers run “house ads” to self-promote their own…