Gosbee v. Martinson–Trial Court Motion to Dismiss Reversed on Appeal
Gosbee v. Martinson, 2005 ND APP 10 (N.D. Ct. App. July 6, 2005). This is the latest ruling in a RICO action based on the “Spy Wiper” software program. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants hijacked his computer to create…
Study on User Consent and Spyware
Stopping Spyware at the Gate: A User Study of Privacy, Notice and Spyware by Nathaniel Good et al. I’ve already lauded this study after I heard Deirdre Mulligan present the findings at the Boalt Spyware conference in April. If we…
Symantec Sues Hotbar for Declaratory Judgment That Symantec’s Classifications/Descriptions Do Not Create Liability
Symantec Corp. v. Hotbar.com, Inc., Case No. C05-02309 (N.D. Cal. complaint filed June 7, 2005). This complaint was filed 3 weeks ago, but I was only able to get a copy of the complaint today. Even then, I have not…
Important 2d Circuit Adware Case–1-800 Contacts v. WhenU
1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. WhenU.com, Inc., Docket Nos. 04-0026-cv and 04-0446-cv (2d Cir. June 27, 2005). Overshadowed by yesterday’s Grokster mania, the Second Circuit finally issued an important ruling about WhenU’s liability for trademark infringement. The court found that WhenU…
AP Story on Defining Spyware/Adware
As a follow-up to yesterday’s story on advertiser liability for adware, today the AP runs a story about the definitional ambiguities of the words “spyware” and “adware,” and the problems those ambiguities create. I think this quote sums it up…
AP Story on Advertiser Responsibility for Adware
Michael Gormley of the Associated Press has finally released his story on advertiser responsibility for adware (I interviewed with him almost a month ago). The article does a good job recapping the issues. I have a lot more to say…
FTC Goes After Another Bogus Anti-Spyware Remover
FTC v. Trustsoft, No. H05-1905 (S.D. Tex. complaint filed May 31, 2005; Stipulated Preliminary Injunction Order granted June 14, 2005). The FTC has busted another vendor of anti-spyware software for making false claims about its products–specifically, that the “SpyKiller” software…
Interview at Spyware Informer
Alex Morganis at Spyware Informer interviewed me about adware/spyware issues. Read the interview here. This ended up being a great way for me to articulate some of my latest thoughts. I hope you find the interview interesting, and I welcome…
Some People Like “Spyware”?
I’m catching up on back reading, and I came across this December 2004 Wired News article by Michelle Delio called “Spyware on My Machine? So What?” [see update below about questions about the article] Anti-spyware advocates are wedded to the…
Alaska’s Anti-Adware Law
Alaska’s legislature has passed SB 140 (to be codified at Sec. 45.45.792, 45.45.794 and 45.45.798), which is awaiting the governor’s signature. This statute contains some anti-Internet porn provisions (probably unconstitutional under the First Amendment and Dormant Commerce Clause), but I’m…