April-May 2011 Quick Links, Part 2 (Copyright Edition)
By Eric Goldman * COICA is dead, but S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, has arisen from its ashes. Criticisms from technologists and the EFF. * The Department of Homeland Security’s domain name seizures are probably the single worst US…
April-May 2011 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks and Advertising Edition)
By Eric Goldman Trademark * Facebook has quite an active trademark docket. – Facebook, Inc. v. Teachbook.com, LLC, 2011 WL 1672464 (N.D.Cal. May 3, 2011). Facebookâs trademark suit against Teachbook was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Facebook promptly refiled…
Review Website Should Get 47 USC 230 Dismissal But Judge Keeps Case Open in “Abundance of Caution”–Frontier Van Lines v. MoverReviews.com
By Eric Goldman Frontier Van Line Moving & Storage, Inc. v. Valley Solutions, Inc., 2011 WL 2110825 (W.D. Pa. May 24, 2011) MoverReviews.com is a review website for moving companies. Frontier Van Lines alleges that a MoverReviews user, Schmidt, made…
Dentist Pays Sizable Penalty for Not Knowing 47 USC 230–Wong v. Jing
By Eric Goldman Wong v. Jing, 1-08-CV-12997I (Cal. Superior Ct. May 13, 2011). Wendy Davis’ story on this ruling, plus coverage in DrBicuspid.com. At DoctoredReviews.com, we discussed that doctors upset with patients’ reviews can always bring a lawsuit. However, as…
Court Allows Fair Credit Reporting Act Claims Against Spokeo to Move Forward — Robins v. Spokeo
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Robins v. Spokeo, No. CV10 05306 ODW (AGRx) (C.D. Cal.; May 11, 2011) I previously blogged about Spokeo, which is being sued for disseminating reports which allegedly contain inaccurate information about plaintiff….
Another Ruling that the Americans with Disabilities Act Doesn’t Apply to Websites–Ouellette v. Viacom
By Eric Goldman Ouellette v. Viacom: The magistrate report: 2011 WL 1882780 (D. Mont. March 31, 2011). The judge’s approval of the magistrate’s report: 2011 WL 1883190 (D. Mont. May 17, 2011). The original complaint (he filed an amended complaint…
47 USC 230 and Message Board Cases
By Eric Goldman [I’ve been sitting on this blog post since March, so this post is slightly out of date. For example, I believe the recent Kruska ruling would be a new addition to the list. Putting aside any recent…
Videos from the 47 USC 230 Conference Now Online
By Eric Goldman Without any pretense of modesty, I think we have put on a number of first-rate High Tech Law Institute events over the years. However, unquestionably, the post-event buzz from our recent conference on 47 USC 230 has…
Blogger Gets 47 USC 230 Dismissal for Third Party Comment–Kruska v. Perverted Justice
By Eric Goldman Kruska v. Perverted Justice Foundation Inc., 2011 WL 1260224 (D. Ariz. April 5, 2011) This is my third time blogging this case. The latest ruling involves a blog, run by Brocious, for people fighting pedophiles. Someone (presumably…
Bulk Emailers (Mostly) Lose Three 47 USC 230(c)(2) Rulings–Holomaxx v. Microsoft/Yahoo & Smith v. TRUSTe
By Eric Goldman I’ve been so behind that it’s taken me until now to blog these cases from last month. All three opinions involve the same basic fact pattern: a bulk emailer gets blocked by an email service provider (relying…