Roommates.com Loses Summary Judgment on Remand, and Then Partially Settles
By Eric Goldman Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommate.com, LLC, CV 03-9386 PA (RZx) (C.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2008). Nov. 19 stipulation. The Ninth Circuit en banc ruling in the Roommates.com remains one of the most noteworthy…
Search Engines Aren’t Liable for Gambling Ads Per 230–Cisneros v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Cisneros v. Yahoo, CGC-04-433518 (Cal. Superior Ct. “Tentative Trial Decision” Nov. 6, 2008) I am frequently asked if 47 USC 230 protects websites for claims based on the ads they run. My answer is emphatically “yes” unless…
Yellow Pages Publisher Hit with $1.5M Fraud Judgment for Publishing False Ad–Knepper v. Brown
By Eric Goldman Knepper v. Brown, CC 9903-02495 (Or. Sup. Ct. Oct. 9, 2008) A woman got a botched liposuction job (which plaintiff’s expert described as an “uncorrectable disaster”) from Dr. Brown, a dermatologist. She sued the dermatologist and Dex,…
October 2008 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright Edition)
By Eric Goldman * Happy (?) 10th birthday, DMCA. The EFF birthday cards (1, 2). * Speaking of the DMCA, Sen. McCain got a first-hand experience with it when his lawyer complained to YouTube that YouTube was taking down campaign…
Rip-off Report Wins Dismissal–GW Equity v. Xcentric
By Eric Goldman I’m thinking about renaming this blog the “Rip-off Report Blog.” After all, I blog about them frequently, and there seems to be a never-ending supply of new legal developments. Plus, I know readers are interested in them…
Rip-off Report Back in Court
By Eric Goldman It’s been a few months since I’ve blogged on new Rip-off Report litigation. For many companies, a blog hiatus might signal good news, but in Rip-off Report’s situation, it merely reflects that I’ve been falling behind in…
SEC’s Proposed Guidance on Hyperlinking Contravenes 47 USC 230
By Eric Goldman In August, I blogged about the SEC’s most recent guidance regarding companies’ liability for linking to third party content. Today, I submitted comments to the SEC pointing out that their general position regarding linking contravenes 47 USC…
Search Engine “Cache” Function Covered by Implied License–Parker v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Parker v. Yahoo, Inc., 2008 WL 4410095 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 25, 2008). Gordon Roy Parker is a serial pro se Internet law plaintiff and putative owner of copyrights in seemingly misogynistic works such as “Outfoxing the Foxes”…
September 2008 Quick Links, Part 3
By Eric Goldman eBay * Universal Grading Service v. eBay, Inc. More fallout from the National Numismatic v. eBay case–another lawsuit alleging antitrust and defamation because eBay designated some coin rating services as preferred and impliedly devalued others. * Windsor…
September 2008 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Copyrights * In the Harry Potter fair use case, the court declared that the Lexicon encyclopedia isn’t fair use. * The judge declared a mistrial in the Jammie Thomas case. * Designer Skin v. S&L Vitamins has…