Keyword Ad and Product Shots Case Survives Motion to Dismiss–FragranceNet v. FragranceX
By Eric Goldman FragranceNet.com, Inc. v. FragranceX.com, Inc., 2010 WL 174159 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 14, 2010) I previously blogged about this case in 2007. That ruling was one of several in New York that, following the Rescuecom v. Google district court…
File Names Can Help Predict File Content in Child Porn Prosecution–US v. Beatty
By Eric Goldman United States v. Beatty, 2009 WL 5220643 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 31, 2009) This is a child porn prosecution. Using Phex P2P software, an undercover investigator accessed the Gnutella network and conducted searches using search terms known to…
“Law & Wikis” Panel at AALS Law & Computers Section Annual Meeting
By Eric Goldman This post recaps the 2010 AALS Law & Computers Section Annual Meeting on the theme of “Law & Wikis.” The program consisted of four papers submitted in response to a Call for Papers from Spring 2009. See…
Top Cyberlaw Developments of 2009 (Eric’s List)
By Eric Goldman Guest blogger John Ottaviani recently dropped by to offer his perspectives on 2009’s top Cyberlaw developments. While I like his list a lot, I independently developed my own top 10 list that has a different emphasis. You…
47 USC 230 Year-in-Review for 2009
By Eric Goldman I will do a more comprehensive year in review for Cyberlaw generally, but I thought it would be fun to take a close look at how 47 USC 230 fared in 2009. This is the first full…
Terminated eBay Vendor Gets Day in Court Against eBay–Crawford v. Consumer Depot
By Eric Goldman Crawford v. Consumer Depot, Inc., 05-3242 (Tenn. County Ct. Dec. 9, 2009) Essex and Consumer Depot are competitors in the eBay consignment business. According to the court, prior to 2005 Essex used to allow its employees to…
512(f) Claim Dismissed on Jurisdictional Grounds–Project DoD v. Federici
By Eric Goldman Project DOD, Inc. v. Federici, 2009 WL 4910320 (D. Me. Dec. 13, 2009) 17 USC 512(f) creates a cause of action for sending bogus copyright takedown notices. In a regulatory environment where service providers have itchy trigger…
Torrent Sites Induce Infringement and Lose DMCA Safe Harbor–Columbia v. Fung
By Eric Goldman Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., v. Fung, 2:06-cv-05578-SVW-JC (C.D. Cal. Dec. 21, 2009) In a potentially significant ruling that got a little lost in the Christmas rush, a federal district court ruled on summary judgment that the “torrent…
Consumer Review Website Wins 230 Dismissal in Fourth Circuit–Nemet Chevrolet v. ConsumerAffairs.com
By Eric Goldman Nemet Chevrolet Ltd. v. ConsumerAffairs.com, Inc., 2009 WL 5126224 (4th Cir. Dec. 29, 2009) Introduction Citing 47 USC 230, today the Fourth Circuit upheld a 12(b)(6) dismissal of defamation and related claims against a consumer review website….
Pharma Company Avoids Injunction By Dropping Competitive Keyword Ads–King v. ZymoGenetics
By Eric Goldman King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., v ZymoGenetics, Inc., 2009 WL 4931238 (E.D. Tenn. Dec. 10, 2009). Seattle Trademark Lawyer has some background. This case involves the cutthroat (sorry) world of blood clotting drugs. King Pharmaceuticals sells bovine (cow) thrombin,…