Google Book Search Settlement Comments (A Little Late)
By Eric Goldman The Google Book Search settlement sparked plenty of discussion, but the coverage was suppressed by the high entry barriers to commenting–specifically, 300 pages of dense slow-reading legalese in the settlement agreement. Some of you may be faster…
Lori Drew Guilty of 3 Misdemeanor Violations of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act
By Eric Goldman According to news reports (WSJ Law Blog, LA Times, AP), the jury has declared Lori Drew guilty of “three misdemeanor counts of accessing a computer without authorization.” I would like to parse the actual jury verdict form…
Search Engines Aren’t Liable for Gambling Ads Per 230–Cisneros v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Cisneros v. Yahoo, CGC-04-433518 (Cal. Superior Ct. “Tentative Trial Decision” Nov. 6, 2008) I am frequently asked if 47 USC 230 protects websites for claims based on the ads they run. My answer is emphatically “yes” unless…
Blockshopper Request to Dismiss Jones Day Lawsuit Denied
By Eric Goldman Jones Day v. Blockshopper LLC, 08CV4572 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 13, 2008). The CMLP page. 2008 has been a banner year for ridiculous trademark claims, so picking the most ridiculous is a little tricky…but this lawsuit easily makes…
October 2008 Quick Links, Part 3
By Eric Goldman Pornography * Can you believe this? A 15 year old girl took nude photos of herself using her cellphone and sent the photos to her peers. She is now being prosecuted on child pornography charges. The girl’s…
October 2008 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Spam * Kramer v. Perez. An Iowa court awards $236M in damages in a spam case. Venkat’s comments. * After the government lost its jury trial against Impulse Media, the court denied Impulse Media attorneys fees. Contracts…
Yellow Pages Publisher Hit with $1.5M Fraud Judgment for Publishing False Ad–Knepper v. Brown
By Eric Goldman Knepper v. Brown, CC 9903-02495 (Or. Sup. Ct. Oct. 9, 2008) A woman got a botched liposuction job (which plaintiff’s expert described as an “uncorrectable disaster”) from Dr. Brown, a dermatologist. She sued the dermatologist and Dex,…
October 2008 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright Edition)
By Eric Goldman * Happy (?) 10th birthday, DMCA. The EFF birthday cards (1, 2). * Speaking of the DMCA, Sen. McCain got a first-hand experience with it when his lawyer complained to YouTube that YouTube was taking down campaign…
Lambotte’s Click Fraud Lawsuit Against IAC Survives Motion to Dismiss
By Eric Goldman Lambotte v. IAC/InterActiveCorp, 2008 WL 4829882 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 4, 2008). Initial blog post on the filing of the first complaint. Lambotte filed this putative class action lawsuit against IAC in May based on alleged click fraud….
Rip-off Report Wins Dismissal–GW Equity v. Xcentric
By Eric Goldman I’m thinking about renaming this blog the “Rip-off Report Blog.” After all, I blog about them frequently, and there seems to be a never-ending supply of new legal developments. Plus, I know readers are interested in them…