Google Resists Subpoena for Keyword Ad Purchases–Connor Sport Court v. Google
By Eric Goldman Connor Sport Court International, Inc. v. Google Inc., CV-06-3066 PHX JAT // CV 07-80252 (N.D. Cal. motion to compel filed Oct. 31, 2007) This summer, I reported on trademark litigation between Connor Sport Court and Rhino Court….
Ripoff Report Gets Mixed 230 Ruling–Children of America v. Magedson
By Eric Goldman Children of America, Inc. v. Magedson, CV 2007-003720 (Arizona Superior Ct. Oct. 24, 2007) In a ruling reminiscent of Hy Cite v. badbusinessbureau, an Arizona trial court dismissed a plaintiff’s defamation claims against Ripoff Report based on…
Chandler on Regulating Search Engine Bias
By Eric Goldman I find the topic of search engine bias especially fascinating because it seems to bring out strong pro-regulatory sympathies in many people. Just about every academic (other than me) who has written on the topic has sought…
Roommates.com Motions over Batzel Briefing
By Eric Goldman Now that the Roommates.com case is pending en banc, let the games begin! The first round: the Fair Housing Councils want to submit a brief arguing why the Ninth Circuit Batzel precedent should be overturned in light…
Vendor of Illicit Phone Records Not Protected by 230–FTC v. Accusearch
By Eric Goldman Federal Trade Commission v. Accusearch, Inc., 06-CV-105-D (D. Wy. Sept. 28, 2007) Accusearch (a/k/a Abika) offers for sale records of telephone calls made by telephone subscribers. Abika doesn’t acquire the records itself directly from the phone companies;…
Blogger Wins Lawsuit Over Gripe Post–BidZirk v. Smith
By Eric Goldman BidZirk, LLC v. Smith, 2007 WL 3119445 (D.S.C. Oct. 22, 2007) I have previously blogged about BidZirk v. Smith, a flagship example of how a pernicious and misguided plaintiff with a thin skin can ruin a blogger’s…
Google’s Motion to Dismiss American Airlines’ Lawsuit Denied
By Eric Goldman American Airlines, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 4:07-cv-00487 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 24, 2007) In an uninsightful one-page order, the court has denied Google’s motion to dismiss American Airlines’ lawsuit over Google’s keyword advertising sales. Because the judge reveals…
Interesting Contract Interpretations in Eighth Circuit Fantasy Baseball Case–CBC v. MLB
By Eric Goldman CBC Distribution and Marketing, Inc., v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., No. 06-3357/3358 (8th Cir. Oct. 16, 2007) You’ve already heard about this case, which held that MLB’s right of publicity claim against a fantasy baseball…
Telephone Numbers as Identity Authenticators–Abrams v. Facebook
By Eric Goldman I think it’s interesting to read these two developments side-by-side: Development #1: Abrams v. Facebook, Inc., C07-05378 (N.D. Cal. complaint filed Oct. 22, 2007). A woman initiates a class action lawsuit against Facebook because Facebook’s users send…
Utah Trademark Protection Act Dying a Slow Death
By Eric Goldman As I reported before, the backroom negotiations over the Utah Trademark Protection Act have produced a compromise where Utah would still create a mark registry but there would no legal consequences to selling/purchasing a registered mark. Obviously,…