Jan. 2008 Quick Links (Non-IP Edition)

By Eric Goldman 47 USC 230 * Doe v. SexSearch, the case absolving a website for age verification of its users, has been appealed. * The Supreme Court denied cert in Parker v. Google. See 2008 WL 114262. * NYT…

December 2007 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Marketing * I’ve blogged about Various, which operates AdultFriendFinder.com, before. They made the news recently in two ways. First, they sold to Penthouse for half-a-billion dollars. Second, they settled with the FTC for “pelting” users with unwanted…

Tiffany v. eBay Post-Trial Briefs

By Eric Goldman [UPDATE: If you’re looking for discussion of the July 2008 District Court ruling, go here.] Fred was kind enough to post the post-trial briefs filed by Tiffany and eBay in the lawsuit over eBay’s contributory liability for…

Avvo Wins Big in Ratings Lawsuit–Browne v. Avvo

By Eric Goldman Browne v. Avvo, C07-0920RSL (W.D. Wash. motion to dismiss granted Dec. 18, 2007) The lawsuit against Avvo for lawyer ratings has been dismissed without leave to amend. This is a big win for Avvo. The ruling turns…

Co-Blogger Identity Isn’t Disclosed via 512(h), but Takedown Letters Are Copyrightable

By Eric Goldman In re Subpoena Issued Pursuant to The Digital Millennium Copyright Action To: 43SB.Com, LLC, 2007 WL 4335441 (D. Id. Dec. 7, 2007) We have long known that the DMCA expedited subpoena procedures for identifying copyright infringers (17…

Roommates.com Updates

By Eric Goldman Howard Bashman provides some useful updates on the Roommates.com case. First, the Ninth Circuit has rejected the amicus brief filed by Amazon.com and numerous other Internet companies because, according to Bashman, the amicus brief would have created…

Oct.-Nov. 2007 Quick Links, Part 1

By Eric Goldman I was so jammed at the beginning of November that I didn’t have time to post my quick links from October. Never fear; that omission is being corrected with a double shot of quick links covering October…

Copyright Owner Enjoined from Sending DMCA Takedown Notices–Biosafe-One v. Hawks

By Eric Goldman Biosafe-One, Inc. v. Hawks, 2007 WL 4212411 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2007) This case involves competitors in the septic system cleaning products business (a topic of apparent personal interest to William Patry). Defendant acted as the plaintiff’s mortgage…

eBay Sued for Failing to Take Down Listings–Hansson v. Brower

By Eric Goldman Hansson Inc. v. Brower, 4:07-cv-05898-CW (N.D. Cal. complaint filed Nov. 21, 2007) In my Cyberspace Law course, I teach students that they should not just consider the liability of the person who committed the allegedly tortious behavior,…

Perfect 10 v. Amazon Opinion Amendment–Ninth Circuit Does 180 on Fair Use Burden for Preliminary Injunction

By Eric Goldman In the Perfect 10 v. Amazon case, the Ninth Circuit has reversed itself on who has the burden of establishing fair use in the context of a preliminary injunction motion. See the revised opinion. In the original…