Now Available: the Published Version of My SAD Scheme Article
I’m pleased to share the final published version of my article, “A SAD Scheme of Abusive Intellectual Property Litigation.” The article explains how IP rightsowners are twisting the rule of law to obtain ex parte TROs that prompt online marketplaces…
Facebook Faces Contributory Trademark Liability for Marketplace Listings–Car-Freshner v. Meta
This case involves the hanging “car freshener” (which usually smells worse than any odors it tries to mask) in the shape of a tree. The rightsowner has trademark registrations for the tree-shaped outline: Armed with protectable rights in tree outlines,…
Apple’s App Store Can Reject Unwanted Apps–Coronavirus Reporter v. Apple
Apple rejected two of the plaintiffs’ apps, “Coronavirus Reporter” and “Bitcoin Lottery,” for its app store. Apple rejected the Coronavirus Reporter app because it wasn’t associated with a government entity or medical institution; and it rejected the Bitcoin Lottery app…
Copyright Lawsuits Over Product Shots Are Still Stupid–SMS v. Pharmaaid
SMS has copyright registrations in photos of its pump dispensers. It claims that a rival, Pharmaaid, is selling identical products and displays SMS’s photos in its Amazon store and on product packaging. Here’s SMS’s purported visual proof of Pharmaaid’s infringements:…
Does California’s Anti-Discrimination Law Ban Ad Targeting?–Liapes v. Facebook
This opinion indicates that Facebook–and by implication, every other ad network–could violate California’s Unruh Act (an anti-discrimination law) by targeting third-party ads based on age, gender, or other protected criteria. The court reaches this shocking conclusion by cutting several analytical…
VRBO Qualifies for Section 230–Wiener v. Miller
This lawsuit involves a tragic and deadly fire at a VRBO rental. The court dismisses VRBO from the resulting lawsuit on Section 230 and other grounds. That conclusion would have been unremarkable except that the Ninth Circuit held that VRBO…
In a SAD Scheme Case, Court Rejects Injunction Over “Emoji” Trademark
This is a SAD Scheme case from one of my least-favorite rightsowners, Emojico. (I wrote an expert declaration about them in 2021). Emojico has trademark registrations in the word “emoji” for a ridiculously broad range of product categories–from (I’m not…
SHOP SAFE Act Reintroduced, Because Some Congressmembers Really Want to Kill Online Marketplaces
Two years ago, I covered the introduction of the SHOP SAFE Act, which would create a new species of trademark liability for online marketplaces. My 5,000 word post deconstructed the bill in detail so check it out to see what…
More Chaos in the Law of Online Contract Formation
Another 3k+ word post about the jurisprudential chaos in online contract formation law. You’ll notice that this post gets increasingly surly as the cumulative effect of the judicial inanity weighed on me. Two top-line takeaways you might get from this…
Copyright Owner Can Proceed with Vicarious Infringement Claim Against eBay–Okolita v. eBay
Ellen Okolita developed bird costumes for children, took photos of her children wearing the costumes, and used the photos to sell about 8,000 costumes on Etsy (at her “Tree and Vine” store). Read a profile of her. (Sorry, I’m not…