Announcing the Second Edition of “Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases and Materials” by Tushnet & Goldman
Rebecca Tushnet and I are pleased to announce the release of Advertising & Marketing Law: Cases and Materials, second edition (2014). It’s available at Gumroad as a $11.50 DRM-free download (PDF version / epub mobile device version) and other outlets….
Fining Customers For Negative Online Reviews Isn’t New…Or Smart (Forbes Cross-Post)
Last week, we learned that a New York hotel, the Union Street Guest House, was fining guests $500 for posting negative online reviews. The story received considerable media attention because the restriction violates our social norms and is almost certainly…
‘Silk Road’ Ruling Will Hurt Online Commerce (Forbes Cross-Post)
You may have heard of Silk Road, an online marketplace that enabled hard-to-trace buying and selling of illegal goods. The court says it was “as if the purchases were occurring on eBay;” buyers and sellers could even leave feedback about…
Q2 2014 Quick Links, Part 3 (Privacy, Marketing, E-Commerce & More)
Privacy * Snapchat’s basic value proposition (“Disappearing digital photos”) has been deceptive from the beginning. The FTC busted them for it. (I saw James Grimmelmann added this to his Internet Law casebook. We’ve also added it to our Advertising Law…
23andMe’s Browsewrap Fails, But Its Post-Purchase Clickthrough Works Anyway–Tompkins v. 23andMe
You may recall 23andMe’s legal troubles last Fall, when the FDA launched a big smackdown over selling genetic tests. In the wake of the FDA takedown, the class action lawyers moved in for their cash grab. 23andMe defended with an…
Apple May Be Liable For Privacy Violations by Third Party Developed Apps
There are so many privacy lawsuits around the iOS ecosystem that it’s tough to keep track of them all. This particular (consolidated) lawsuit involves privacy claims against Apple and also against various apps, including Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Facebook,…
Privacy Claims Based on LinkedIn’s Security Promises Survive Motion to Dismiss
This is a lawsuit filed in the wake of a widely reported data breach at LinkedIn. Plaintiffs alleged benefit-of-the-bargain type claims against LinkedIn, saying LinkedIn failed to live up to its security practices. The first time around, the court rejected…
Keyword Advertising Doesn’t Create General Jurisdiction–Rocke v. Pebble Beach
I know, Internet jurisdiction cases are typically blah, but this was more interesting than most. Still, I’ll keep this post brief. The Rockes visited the well-known Pebble Beach Resorts in California. Mrs. Rocke suffered a slip-and-fall there but sued the…
Court Rules That Kids Can Be Bound By Facebook’s Member Agreement
The status of kids’ ability to form contracts via online terms of service was somewhat uncertain over the last several years, with a few Facebook-related rulings raising questions. A group of minor plaintiffs who opted out of the Fraley v. Facebook…
Ninth Circuit Rejects Plaintiffs’ Bad Misreadings of eBay’s User Agreement–Block v. eBay
Even after all of these years, I remain amazed by the bizarre contract misinterpretations that plaintiffs’ lawyers are capable of. Today’s case targeted the eBay user agreement, a document of special interest to me given my contributions to the agreement…