MySpace Quietly Won Goofy 230 Ruling in September–Riggs v. MySpace

By Eric Goldman Riggs v. MySpace, Inc., 2:09-cv-03073-GHK-CT (C.D. Cal. Sept. 17, 2009) This case has received some modest attention throughout its history (including a quick mention here when the court upheld MySpace’s user agreement), but the district court’s dismissal…

Web Host Can Terminate Customer for Abusive Call to Customer Support–Mehmet v. Add2Net

By Eric Goldman [This is a relatively minor pro se case, which is why I’ve let it sit this long, but it has a couple of interesting facets that make the case worth blogging even at this late date.] Mehmet…

Teeth Whitening System Brings “Sue the World” Lawsuit Against Ad Agency, Competitor and Search Engines–Dazzlesmile v. Azoogle

By Eric Goldman Dazzlesmile, LLC v. Epic Advertising, Inc., 2:09-cv-01043-PMW (D. Utah complaint filed Nov. 23, 2009) Dazzlesmile sells a teeth whitening system. Presumably these systems generate fat profits, because Dazzlesmile has brought an expensive “sue-the-world” lawsuit against its ad…

Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss–Morningware v. Hearthware

By Eric Goldman Morningware, Inc. v. Hearthware Home Products, Inc., 2009 WL 3878251 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 16, 2009) I keep getting calls from reporters operating under the misimpression that trademark owner-vs.-search engine keyword advertising lawsuits are more common than trademark…

Citysearch Click Fraud Class Certified–Menagerie v. Citysearch

By Eric Goldman Menagerie Productions v. Citysearch, 2009 WL 3770668 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 9, 2009) While we don’t hear much about click fraud litigation any more, there are still some click fraud lawsuits percolating through the courts, including this one…

AALS Law & Computers Meeting in New Orleans

By Eric Goldman I’m pleased to announce the AALS Section on Law and Computers program at the AALS annual meeting in New Orleans on Saturday, January 9, 2010. This program was developed in response to the Call for Papers we…

A New Way to Bypass 47 USC 230? Default Injunctions and FRCP 65

By Eric Goldman I recently got the following email from David Gingras, the relatively new General Counsel of the Ripoff Report (reposted with his permission): ________ “As you know, Ripoff Report has defended, and won, a lot of CDA cases…

Google AdWords Litigation Keeps Rolling In–Parts Geek v. US Auto Parts

By Eric Goldman Parts Geek LLC v. US Auto Parts Network Inc.,3:2009cv05578 (D.N.J. complaint filed Nov. 2, 2009) [warning: 3MB PDF]. The Justia page. In my world, we have an honor code among geeks–thou shalt not harm other geeks. As…

Law Professor Sues Over ‘Above the Law’ Blog Posts–Jones v. Minkin

By Eric Goldman Jones v. Minkin, 1:09-cv-23256-MGC (S.D. Fla. complaint filed Oct. 27, 2009). The Above the Law blog post on the lawsuit with links to the posts in question. Given its history of provocative and occasionally aggressive blog posts,…

October 2009 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Just a reminder that I am posting most of these types of links exclusively to my Twitter feed. * Tricome v. eBay, Inc., 2009 WL 3365873 (E.D.Pa. Oct 19, 2009). Court upholds eBay user agreement’s venue selection…