Reflections on the DOJ-Google Half-Billion Deal over Illegal Pharma Ads (July-August 2011 Quick Links, Part 2)
By Eric Goldman I haven’t previously written on the DOJ’s bust of Google over illegal pharmaceutical ads, partially because I couldn’t reconcile my views about this enforcement action. From my vantage point, this action equally fits into two dichotomous stories,…
Second Circuit Says No First Sale Doctrine for Works Manufactured Outside the U.S. — Wiley & Sons v. Kirtsaeng
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Kirtsaeng, 09-4896-cv (2nd Cir. Aug. 15, 2011) Wiley asserted copyright infringement claims against Kirtsaeng, who imported into the United States and sold “foreign editions” of Wiley textbooks. The books had legends…
Missouri Federal Court Says LegalZoom Could be Engaged in the Unauthorized Practice of Law — Janson v. LegalZoom
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Janson v. LegalZoom, Inc., 2:10-CV-04018-NKL (W.D. Mo. Aug. 2, 2011) Background: LegalZoom offers “blank legal forms that customers may download.” In addition, LegalZoom makes available an internet portal. Here’s how LegalZoom describes this aspect of its…
The 9th Circuit Tackles a Pair of Internet Jurisdiction Cases
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] I’m inclined to agree with Eric that internet personal jurisdiction cases are not the most exciting. The resolution of a question over whether personal jurisdiction is proper often has more to do with whether the court…
Zynga Wins Arbitration Ruling on “Special Offer” Class Claims Based on Concepcion — Swift v. Zynga
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Swift v. Zynga, 2011 WL 3419499 (N.D. Cal.; August 4, 2011) The US Supreme Court decided AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion earlier this year, and a question left open in that decision is…
“App Store” Isn’t Generic, But Apple Can’t Enforce Its Purported Trademark in the Term–Apple v. Amazon
By Eric Goldman Apple, Inc. v. Amazon.com Inc., 2011 WL 2638191 (N.D. Cal. July 6, 2011) Apple’s enforcement campaign over the term “App Store” is ridiculous. Apple is trying to prop up a farcically weak trademark claim–and to what end?…
June 2011 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Social Media * The Third Circuit issued its en banc rulings in Layshock v. Hermitage School District and J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District, both involving school discipline against kids who created fake MySpace profiles of school…
Site Moderators Weren’t Agents of the Site–Cornelius v. BodyBuilding.com
By Eric Goldman Cornelius v. BodyBuilding.com, LLC, 2011 WL 2160358 (D. Idaho June 1, 2011) This case involves a nutritional supplement called Syntrax, which is available for sale on an e-commerce site BodyBuilding.com. The site supports users comments and message…
Online Insurance Application Constitutes “Writing” for Purposes of Waiving Insurance Coverage for Medical Benefits–Barwick v. GEICO
By John Ottaviani Barwick v. Government Employee Insurance Co., Inc., 2011 Ark. 128 (March 31, 2011) [link] Although 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA), we have…
Ninth Circuit: FACTA Does not Cover Emailed Receipts — Simonoff v. Expedia
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Simonoff v. Expedia, No. 10-35595 (9th Cir.; May 24, 2011) FACTA is a statute which requires merchants to truncate the customer’s credit card information on receipts that are “electronically printed.” Plaintiffs have brought claims against online…