Jan.-Feb. 2011 Quick Links, Part 3 (Trademarks, Domain Names and Trade Secrets Edition)
By Eric Goldman Trademarks and Domain Names * From my perspective, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) domain name seizures are one of the US government’s top 5 all-time worst assaults on the Internet’s integrity. DHS’s ICE division is grabbing…
eBay’s Venue Selection Clause Upheld in Missouri–Earll v. eBay
By Eric Goldman Earll v. eBay, 2011 WL 497781 (W.D. Mo. Jan. 4, 2011). The initial complaint. Earll, who is deaf, sued eBay for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the CA state law analogue. Her complaint…
Class Action Brought by “Lonely and Vulnerable” Men Against Online Cupid Site Moves Forward — Badella v. Deniro Mktg.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments by Eric] Badella v. Deniro Marketing LLC, 10-03908 CRB (N.D. Cal.; Jan 24, 2011) This is a good one. A group of plaintiffs brought a putative class action against an online dating website…
CA Appeals Court: Claims Under State Spam Statute Not Preempted by CAN-SPAM – Hypertouch v. Valueclick
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with some comments from Eric] Hypertouch, Inc. v. Valueclick, Inc., et al., B218603 (Cal. Ct. App.; Jan. 18, 2011) A California appeals court weighed in on a long-running debate: whether CAN-SPAM preempts California’s spam statute. This…
Lawyer-Spam Plaintiff Loses in the Sixth Circuit Over Allegedly Misleading DISH Network Emails — Ferron v. Echostar
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ferron v. Echostar Satellite LLC, 09-4407 (6th Cir.; Dec. 28, 2010) Ferron brought claims against Dish Network and its retail and marketing partners alleging that he had been deceived by the terms of email offers sent…
Nov.-Dec. 2010 Quick Links, Part 5
By Eric Goldman Taxes * Amazon.com, LLC v New York State Dept. of Taxation & Fin., 2010 NY Slip Op 07823 (N.Y. App. Div. Nov. 4, 2010). A NY appellate court rejected Overstock’s/Amazon’s facial challenges to “affiliates tax” but revived…
Nov.-Dec. 2010 Quick Links, Part 4
By Eric Goldman Blogs and Boards * Reuters on the wild-and-wooly world of investor message boards. * KingCast.net v. Friends of Kelly Ayotte, 2010 WL 4683829 (D.N.H. Nov. 2, 2010). Blogger’s unsuccessful lawsuit to gain mandatory access to a candidate’s…
Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Proposal of Class Notice via Twitter, SMS, and Email — Jermyn v. Best Buy
[Post by Venkat] Jermyn v. Best Buy, No. 08-Cv-00214-CM-DCF (S.D.N.Y.; Dec. 06, 2010) Plaintiffs brought a class action against Best Buy alleging that Best Buy failed to honor its price-match guarantee. The court certified the class with respect to New…
Amazon Isn’t Liable for Rogue Affiliate’s Keyword Ad Buys–Sellify v. Amazon
By Eric Goldman Sellify Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2010 WL 4455830 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 4, 2010). The initial complaint. Christopher Maki runs Sellify, which in turn runs a website/eBay store called OneQuality.com. An Amazon affiliate, “Cutting Edge Designs,” purchased the keywords…
October 2010 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Copyright * Greg Sandoval discusses copyright trolls with Cindy Cohn. You may recall I had an “interview” with Cindy as a guest lecture in my Internet Law course. And a belated congratulations to Cindy for her recognition…