Ninth Circuit Helpfully Amends Barnes v. Yahoo Opinion
By Eric Goldman Barnes v. Yahoo, Inc., 05-36189 (9th Cir. Amended Opinion June 22, 2009) The Ninth Circuit has issued an amended opinion in last month’s Barnes v. Yahoo opinion. The amended opinion makes two changes to the initial opinion,…
47 USC 230 Can Support 12b6 Motion to Dismiss-Gibson v. Craigslist
By Eric Goldman Gibson v. Craigslist, 2009 WL 1704355 (SDNY June 15, 2009). The CMLP page. The Justia page. In my lengthy deconstruction of the Barnes v. Yahoo case, I criticized the Ninth Circuit for concluding that 47 USC 230…
Twitter, Email and Brand Engagement
By Eric Goldman Last week, in an interview with a reporter, I extolled the virtues of Twitter as a tool for brands to keep in touch with and engage their customers. The reporter responded by asking why brands would choose…
Google Sued Again for Trademark Infringement–Soaring Helmet v. Leatherup.com
By Eric Goldman Soaring Helmet Corp. v. Bill Me Inc., 2:2009cv00789 (W.D. Wash. complaint filed June 9, 2009). The Justia page. It’s clearly open season on trademark infringement lawsuits against Google. The latest is a lawsuit by Soaring Helmet, manufacturers…
Stop Saying “We Can Amend This Agreement Whenever We Want”!–Harris v. Blockbuster
By Eric Goldman Harris v. Blockbuster Inc., 2009 WL 1011732 (N.D. Tex. April 15, 2009). The Justia page. [I’ve been sitting on this case for a couple of months, but it’s such an important case that it still deserves a…
May 2009 Quick Links Part 2
By Eric Goldman Blogs and Boards * WSJ: Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued * j2 Global Communications v. Zilker Ventures, CV 08-07470 SJO (AJWx) (C.D. Cal. April 22, 2009). A consumer review website can putatively qualify…
May 2009 Quick Links Part 1
By Eric Goldman Just a reminder that I’m posting some quick links exclusively to my Twitter account. Trademarks * Texas International Property Associates v. Hoerbiger Holding AG, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40409 (N.D. Tex. May 12, 2009). Domainer loses ACPA…
An Insider’s Look at Utah’s Failed HB 450
By Eric Goldman Perry Clegg is a Utah IP attorney and the 2009 chair of the Utah State Bar’s Cyberlaw Section. A few months ago, he wrote an article entitled “Insight on Utah Senate’s Sedation of HB 450,” which provides…
Web Developer Didn’t “Convert” Website–Conwell v. Gray Loon
By Eric Goldman Conwell v. Gray Loon Outdoor Marketing Group, Inc., 82S04-0806-CV-00309 (Ind. Sup. Ct. May 19, 2009) This is a classic cautionary tale about interactions between a web developer/host and a customer. The customer retained the web developer to…
Doe v. MySpace–Same Case Name, Different Plaintiff, Same Result
By Eric Goldman Doe IX v. MySpace, Inc., 2009 WL 1457170 (E.D. Tex. May 22, 2009). The Justia page. This is yet another lawsuit involving an underage sexual assault where MySpace mediated some communications between abuser and victim. The flagship…