Eighth Circuit Embraces the Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine. What??? UGH. No. Why???–Select Comfort v. Baxter
The initial interest confusion doctrine has always been a misguided doctrine that is too easy for plaintiffs to weaponize. Fortunately, the doctrine has been dying for over a decade. Few opinions mention it nowadays, and even fewer cite it in…
The Ninth Circuit’s Confusing Ruling Over Snapchat’s Speed Filter–Lemmon v. Snap
This is a tricky opinion to decipher. This opinion might say that Section 230 categorically doesn’t apply if the plaintiff claims an Internet service is defectively designed. That reading would largely reject the important First Circuit Doe v. Backpage ruling…
Depiction of Michigan as Hands Doesn’t Preclude Similar Depictions–High Five v. MFB
High Five Threads sells t-shirts and tchotchkes. It claims copyright and trademark protection for a depiction of upper and lower Michigan as two hands (left-most image below). People routinely depict lower Michigan as a hand, and apparently others envision the…
Comments on the Oversight Board’s Decision Regarding Trump’s Facebook Account
Today, the Oversight Board issued its decision regarding Facebook’s decision to suspend Trump’s account for two posts Trump made during the January 6 insurrection. The decision covers a lot of ground (it’s nearly 12k words), and I’ll only cover part…
A Roundup of CCPA Court Decisions (I Only Know of 7)
This post recaps the court decisions analyzing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) so far. I only know of seven opinions as of May 1, 2021, a number that struck me as surprisingly small. (If you think I’m missing any,…
California Court Holds Amazon Strictly Liable for Marketplace Items Amazon Didn’t Fulfill–Loomis v. Amazon
This is another lawsuit over a fiery Chinese-manufactured hoverboard sold through Amazon’s marketplace. In Bolger v. Amazon from August 2020, a California appellate court held that Amazon was strictly liable for marketplace items it fulfilled, and Section 230 immunity didn’t…
Ninth Circuit Rejects Lawsuit Over Hijacked Facebook Account–Long v. Dorset
Long is a book author. He ran a Facebook business page to promote his work. An interloper, using the alias “Tammy Dorset,” gained administrator access to the Facebook page. Once in control of the page, Dorset allegedly posted items that…
Massachusetts Supreme Court Says Turo Doesn’t Qualify for Section 230…Sometimes…–Massport v. Turo
Turo facilitates peer-to-peer car rentals. It provided an option for users to pickup/dropoff at Logan Airport, but Turo took the position that it wasn’t a car rental service pursuant to the applicable regulations. The airport authority (Massport) sued Turo and…
Broadcaster Fails to Enjoin YouTube–Kifle v. YouTube
Kifle operates a broadcast channel called Mejera, which apparently caters to the Ethiopian community. He has a YouTube channel that simultaneously rebroadcasts the programs. The YouTube channel had 2,500 videos and 200k+ subscribers, but YouTube abruptly terminated it. It appears…
11th Circuit Says Grocery Store Website Isn’t Covered by the ADA–Gil v. Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie is a major grocery store chain in the South. Their website offers multiple functions, but does NOT take grocery orders online. The website features at issue in this case are the ability to refill prescriptions online and to link…