Sixth Lawsuit Filed Over Google AdWords, Plus an Assault on Google’s Organic Search Results–Ascentive v. Google
By Eric Goldman Ascentive, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2:09-cv-02871-JS (E.D. Pa. complaint filed June 25, 2009) Guess who got sued again? Google now has 6 pending lawsuits challenging its AdWords service. The previous five are: * Rescuecom v. Google *…
Anti-Spyware Company Protected by 47 USC 230(c)(2)–Zango v. Kaspersky
By Eric Goldman Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., 2009 WL 1796746 (9th Cir. June 25, 2009) The case involves Kaspersky, an anti-spyware software vendor, and Zango, the former purveyor of adware (I say “former” because Zango shut down a…
47 USC 230 and Consumer Protection Talk Notes
By Eric Goldman Last week I made a very short presentation on 47 USC 230 and consumer protection at the ABA Antitrust Section’s Consumer Protection Conference. (I was scheduled for 6 minutes, but I think I took about 8). My…
Ninth Circuit Helpfully Amends Barnes v. Yahoo Opinion
By Eric Goldman Barnes v. Yahoo, Inc., 05-36189 (9th Cir. Amended Opinion June 22, 2009) The Ninth Circuit has issued an amended opinion in last month’s Barnes v. Yahoo opinion. The amended opinion makes two changes to the initial opinion,…
47 USC 230 Can Support 12b6 Motion to Dismiss-Gibson v. Craigslist
By Eric Goldman Gibson v. Craigslist, 2009 WL 1704355 (SDNY June 15, 2009). The CMLP page. The Justia page. In my lengthy deconstruction of the Barnes v. Yahoo case, I criticized the Ninth Circuit for concluding that 47 USC 230…
Google Sued Again for Trademark Infringement–Soaring Helmet v. Leatherup.com
By Eric Goldman Soaring Helmet Corp. v. Bill Me Inc., 2:2009cv00789 (W.D. Wash. complaint filed June 9, 2009). The Justia page. It’s clearly open season on trademark infringement lawsuits against Google. The latest is a lawsuit by Soaring Helmet, manufacturers…
May 2009 Quick Links Part 2
By Eric Goldman Blogs and Boards * WSJ: Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued * j2 Global Communications v. Zilker Ventures, CV 08-07470 SJO (AJWx) (C.D. Cal. April 22, 2009). A consumer review website can putatively qualify…
May 2009 Quick Links Part 1
By Eric Goldman Just a reminder that I’m posting some quick links exclusively to my Twitter account. Trademarks * Texas International Property Associates v. Hoerbiger Holding AG, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40409 (N.D. Tex. May 12, 2009). Domainer loses ACPA…
Doe v. MySpace–Same Case Name, Different Plaintiff, Same Result
By Eric Goldman Doe IX v. MySpace, Inc., 2009 WL 1457170 (E.D. Tex. May 22, 2009). The Justia page. This is yet another lawsuit involving an underage sexual assault where MySpace mediated some communications between abuser and victim. The flagship…
Contributory Cybersquatting and the Impending Demise of Domain Name Proxy Services?–Solid Host v. NameCheap
By Eric Goldman Solid Host, NL v. NameCheap, Inc., 2:08-cv-05414-MMM-E (C.D. Cal. May 19, 2009) Facts This case involves an alleged domain name theft. Solid Host is a web host and initial owner of the domain name solidhost.com, which it…