Suing Like It’s 2009: Parts.com Sues Google and Yahoo for Keyword Advertising

By Eric Goldman Parts.com v. Google, 3:13-cv-01074-JLS-WMC (S.D. Cal. complaint filed May 6, 2013); and Parts.com v. Yahoo, 3:13-cv-01078-AJB-JMA (S.D. Cal. complaint filed May 6, 2013) _____ In the immediate wake of the Second Circuit’s Rescuecom ruling in 2009, about…

Crazy SOPA-Like Attempt to Hold International Banks Liable for Pharmacy Spam Fails on Jurisdiction Grounds–Unspam v. Chernuk

[By Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric Goldman] Unspam Technologies, Inc. v. Chernuk, 2013 WL 1849080 (4th Cir. May 4, 2013) We’ve mentioned “Project Honeypot,” the efforts of a company (founded by Matthew Prince) to track down and prosecute spammers….

More Evidence That Congress Misaligned the DMCA Online Copyright Safe Harbors–UMG v. Grooveshark (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Escape Media Group, Inc., 2013 WL 1729431 (N.Y. App. Div. April 23, 2013) Grooveshark runs a user-generated content (UGC) website that allows users to upload sound recordings and other users to stream those…

Talk Slides on Section 230, Anti-SLAPP Laws and Housing Anti-Discrimination

By Eric Goldman On Friday I presented at the California State Bar’s Fifth Annual Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Symposium. My topic was to discuss how Roommates.com, Section 230 and anti-SLAPP laws restrict the ability of housing anti-discrimination to sue…

Viacom Loses Again–Viacom v. YouTube

By Eric Goldman Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube Inc., 2013 WL 1689071 (S.D.N.Y April 18, 2013) Persistence is a virtue, but stubbornness is a sin. I’m pretty sure Viacom has sinned a lot in its six years of litigation against…

Designing Optimal Immunities and Safe Harbors (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman [Note: this is one of those posts that languished in the queue for a few years. Depending on your response, I may decide to turn it into a lengthier academic paper. Please send me your thoughts!] You…

Another 512(f) Claim Fails–Tuteur v. Crosley-Corcoran

By Eric Goldman Tuteur v. Crosley-Corcoran, 2013 WL 1450930 (D. Mass. April 10, 2013). The complaint (page 5 shows the photo in question). We don’t see that many 17 USC 512(f) lawsuits over bogus copyright takedown noties, and we see…

Google Immunized for Its Search Results–Mmubango v. Google (Catch-up Post)

By Eric Goldman Mmubango v. Google, Inc., 2013 WL 664231 (E.D. Pa. February 22, 2013). The initial complaint. This is one of the many bogus pro se lawsuits over Google search results. Like the others, it goes nowhere (though the…

First Sale Doctrine Doesn’t Allow Resale of Digital Songs – Capitol Records v. ReDigi

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc., 2013 WL 1286134 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 30, 2013) [There has been a recent whirlwind of copyright activity in the courts. We will try to get caught up…

More Confirmation That Google Has Won the AdWords Trademark Battles Worldwide (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman I’ve repeatedly asserted that the trademark battles over keyword advertising are near the end.  As further evidence of that, recently Google ($GOOG) liberalized its international trademark policy for advertising via AdWords.   Previously, Google allowed trademark owners…