LinkedIn Enjoined From Blocking Scraper–hiQ v. LinkedIn
hiQ Labs has scraped LinkedIn public profiles for several years. hiQ offers two products, entirely predicated on LinkedIn-scraped data: (1) a prediction to employers which employees were mostly likely to be recruited away, and (2) a summary of employee skills….
Trademark Injunction Issued Against Print-on-Demand Website–Harley Davidson v. SunFrog
The print-on-demand business is a legally risky one. As I recently blogged, in June a court ruled that Zazzle did not qualify for the DMCA 512 safe harbor. This ruling is even more troubling. Are the days of print-on-demand services…
Section 230 Helps VRBO Defeat Claim Over Fraudulent Listing–Hiam v. Homeaway
[It’s impossible to blog on Section 230 rulings right now without acknowledging that Section 230 is facing its most serious threat to date. I doubt the bills would change the result in this ruling, but the bills would so radically…
Courts Keep Shredding Online Contract Formation Processes–McGhee v. NAB; Applebaum v. Lyft
A couple more online contract formation cases to enliven your Saturday: McGhee v. NAB This case involves mobile credit card processing services. The plaintiffs are merchants who think they were overcharged for card readers. The vendor invoked the arbitration clause…
1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 2 (Privacy, Security)
Privacy * Vigil v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 2017 WL 398404 (SDNY Jan. 30, 2017): The plaintiffs allege that they agreed to the MyPlayer terms and conditions, that NBA 2K15 scanned their faces to create personalized basketball avatars, and that…
Facebook Persistent Tracking Lawsuit Crashes Again
This is a lawsuit based on Facebook’s tracking of users while they are logged out. The code for a “like” button implemented by third parties apparently causes the browser of a consumer visiting the third party page to send a…
Another Collision of Housing Regulations and Online Innovation–SF Housing Rights Committee v. HomeAway
This is another lawsuit over short-term housing rentals in San Francisco. You’ve been watching the litigation over the San Francisco regulation (Section 41A.5(g)) requiring “hosts” (short-term landlords) to register with the city, limiting the number of days that a unit…
DMCA Safe Harbor Doesn’t Protect Zazzle’s Printing of Physical Items–Greg Young Publishing v. Zazzle
The court summarizes the key facts: “GYPI alleges that Zazzle has publicly displayed 41 paintings by Westmoreland or Erickson on its website, and that Zazzle has created consumer products bearing these images.” GYPI lacked standing to enforce the Westmoreland paintings,…
Amazon Doesn’t “Sell” Its Marketplace Goods–Milo & Gabby v. Amazon
Milo & Gabby is a small family business that designs and sells “animal-shaped” pillowcases. It discovered that knockoffs were listed for sale on Amazon’s website. The products were actually offered for sale by third party sellers, and all but one…
1-800 Contacts Charges Higher Prices Than Its Online Competitors, But They Are OK With That–FTC v. 1-800 Contacts
As you recall, the FTC has taken the position that 1-800 Contacts’ agreement with competitors, via settlement agreements, not to bid on each other trademarks as keywords violates antitrust laws. Prior blog posts: * FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts For Restricting…