Advertiser Not Liable for Spam–Hypertouch v. Kennedy-Western University
By Eric Goldman Hypertouch, Inc. v. Kennedy-Western University, No. 3:04-cv-05203-SI (N.D. Cal. Mar. 8, 2006) This is another in a series of CAN-SPAM lawsuits filed by Hypertouch, which apparently has entered the CAN-SPAM plaintiff business. I blogged on one of…
WSJ Debate on Advertiser Liability for Adware
By Eric Goldman Today, the Wall Street Journal published an email debate between me and Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology about advertiser responsibility for adware. Regular blog readers know that this has been a hot button…
Database Publisher Gets 230 Defense–Prickett v. infoUSA
By Eric Goldman Prickett v. infoUSA, Inc., 2006 WL 887431 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 30, 2006) infoUSA publishes a variety of factual databases, including a directory of businesses. Among other data collection techniques, infoUSA permits anyone to submit directory listings through…
Yahoo Loses 230 Defense for its Dating Site–Anthony v. Yahoo
By Eric Goldman Anthony v. Yahoo! Inc., 2006 WL 708572 (N.D. Cal. March 17, 2006) Anthony subscribed to Yahoo’s dating subscription services. He claims that Yahoo creates false personal profiles and retains expired profiles to make the subscription service look…
NY Enforcement Actions for Reselling Emails in Breach of Privacy Policy
By Eric Goldman Gratis Internet runs several websites that promise free stuff (like free iPods) in exchange for consumers signing up for subscription trials. The trials are initially free but then convert to paid subscriptions. The idea is that many…
CDT Report on Adware Advertising
By Eric Goldman The Center for Democracy and Technology has released “Following the Money: How Advertising Dollars Encourage Nuisance and Harmful Adware and What Can be Done to Reverse the Trend.” The report details the complex web of relationships between…
NCSoft Sued in South Korea for ID Theft
By Eric Goldman NCSoft has been sued in South Korea for allowing users to improperly register Lineage/Lineage 2 accounts in other people’s official Korean ID number (I’m inferring this is similar to a social security number). More than 3,500 people…
Barrett on Internet Trademark Use
By Eric Goldman Margreth Barrett, a law professor at UC Hastings, has published Internet Trademark Suits and the Demise of “Trademark Use,” 39 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 371 (2006). The article makes a persuasive argument that the trademark use doctrine…
More on Perfect 10 v. Google
By John Ottaviani Eric will undoubtedly have more to say, but here are my immediate thoughts on this case. Leave it to the porn industry to make copyright law on the Internet. Perfect 10 alleges that Google (and, in a…
Perfect 10 Wins Injunction Against Google
By Eric Goldman Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc., CV 04-9484 AMH (C.D. Cal. Feb. 17, 2006) A major new ruling in the running battle over search engines and copyrights–this time concluding that Google’s creation and display of thumbnail images may…