Google and Keyword/Domain Name Convergence

Bob Tedeschi speculates about why Google became a registrar. He discusses a number of good reasons but missed perhaps the most obvious. To Google, there’s no difference between selling domain names and selling keywords: both are merely ways for companies…

Amicus Briefs in MGM v. Grokster

If you haven’t checked it out, 28 amici briefs have been filed so far in the MGM v. Grokster case, including three different briefs led by law professors. I find it particularly interesting that Sen. Leahy and Hatch submitted a…

Utah/Urquhart on an Anti-Spyware Crusade Again

Utah is reworking its anti-spyware bill. I need to see the legislation but this news report sounds ominous. It reminds me of the expert report from the LICRA v. Yahoo case, where the experts predicted that we would be bombarded…

Shopbots and Nash Equilibrium

Interesting News.com article by Paul Festa discussing a report by Prof. Michael Baye of Indiana University on why shopbots have not led to homogeneous prices by all retailers. The basic argument: retailer are constantly changing prices to avoid letting competitors…