July 2007 Quick Links, Part I
By Eric Goldman Search Engines * According to this study, up to 40% of search queries are “re-finding queries” (i.e., the searcher is trying to re-find previously viewed information). The implication: “Because people repeat queries so frequently, search engines should…
June 2007 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Email * Spam cases are coming at a regular clip, and it’s tricky divining the latest state of the law. Two recent cases that caught my attention: – US v. Impulse Media Group, 2007 WL 1725560 (W.D….
May 2007 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Spam * MySpace Inc. v. The Globe.com Inc., No. CV 06-3391 RGK (C.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2007). This case has some personal interest because theglobe.com was one of my flagship clients before I left the law firm…
UCC 2B/UCITA Resurrected–ALI’s Principles of the Law of Software Contracts
By Eric Goldman Let me start with two relatively uncontroversial propositions: 1) UCC Article 2, drafted principally in the 1950s, was designed to govern the sale of tangible items, not software 2) Accordingly, Article 2 fits awkwardly when applied to…
Facebook’s Lawsuit Against Competitive Email Harvesting Continues–Facebook v. ConnectU
By Eric Goldman Facebook, Inc. v. ConnectU LLC, 2007 WL 1514783 (N.D. Cal. May 21, 2007) A universal truth of the digital era: a website displaying user email addresses will be targeted by email harvesters sweeping up those email addresses…
Utah’s “Don’t Email the Kids” Registry a “Financial Failure”
By Eric Goldman A couple of years ago, Utah and Michigan adopted laws creating “don’t email the kids” registries (called the “Child Protection Registry”–see Utah’s and Michigan’s). These laws allow parents to register email addresses held by kids and requires…
Best and Worst Internet Statutes
By Eric Goldman At InformIT, I published an article ranking the best and worst Internet laws. The abstract: “Over the past dozen years, the lure of regulating the Internet has proven irresistible to legislators. In the spirit of good fun,…
March 2007 Quick Links Part 2
By Eric Goldman Yesterday I posted the Google edition of my list of interesting items from March. Today I post the remainder of items that caught my eye last month. Trademarks/Brands * Bosley Medical Institute v. Kremer, 2007 WL 935708…
Oracle v. SAP Lawsuit Comments
By Eric Goldman Oracle Corporation v. SAP AG, 3:07-cv-01658-EMC (N.D. Cal. complaint filed March 22, 2007) I realize I’m a couple weeks late to this story, but it’s too important/interesting a case not to address. TomorrowNow (TN) is a company…
The End is Near – Bertelsmann Settles EMI Claims Over Napster
By John Ottaviani Various sources are reporting that EMI has agreed to settle its copyright infringement lawsuit against Bertelsmann AG related to Bertelsmann’s investment in Napster. The settlement removes the last large record label with claims against Bertelsmann in the…