Microsoft Will Be an Adware Vendor
By Eric Goldman Microsoft is considering migrating some of its software titles to an ad-supported model instead of a consumer licensing fee model. This isn’t exactly a new idea–this development has been anticipated for at least a decade. However, if…
Reality TV Show Contracts
By Eric Goldman I’ve blogged about the Apprentice TV show before. See, e.g., this post about product placement on the Apprentice. At ContractsProf blog, where I’m doing some occasional blogging, I critique the Apprentice’s participant contract clause imposing a $5M…
Sony, DRM and Trespass to Chattels
By Eric Goldman A minor storm is brewing over Sony’s installation of DRM software on users’ computers when they play Sony’s CDs. Sony’s software is installed as a “rootkit,” a difficult-to-remove installation, and it supports Sony’s DRM, which really irritates…
Can Kids Bind Parents to EULAs?
By Eric Goldman Abramson v. America Online, 2005 US Dist. LEXIS 10095 (N.D. Tex. May 25, 2005). One of the great unresolved issues in Cyberlaw: if a kid downloads P2P file sharing software, are the parents responsible? This issue is…
Barnes on Adware Contracts
By Eric Goldman Wayne Barnes, a law professor at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, has posted “Rethinking Spyware: Questioning the Propriety of Contractual Consent to Online Surveillance” to SSRN. The first 50 pages largely recap the technology and the…
Peering Agreement Dispute Between Level 3 and Cogent
By Eric Goldman Peering agreements rarely get much attention, even though they are the Internet’s infrastructure. Through peering agreements, Internet access providers (IAPs) agree to exchange packets directly with another IAP. These exchanges are usually for no money with the…
Specht v. Netscape–What Happened After the 2nd Circuit Remand?
By Eric Goldman (with help from Matt Goeden) The Specht v. Netscape 2nd Circuit opinion is a modern classic. The case articulates a clean (and, in my opinion, sensible) rule about online contract formation. I think it’s a great teaching…
Blizzard and Arizona Cartridge
By Mark McKenna There are several thoughtful posts on other blogs criticizing 8th and 9th Circuits’ recent decisions in Davidson & Associates (d/b/a Blizzard) v. Jung and Arizona Cartridge Remanufacturers Ass’n Inc. v. Lexmark International respectively. See here and here…
Downloading Software onto Home Computer May Be Trespass to Chattels–Sotelo v. DirectRevenue
Sotelo v. DirectRevenue LLC, No. 05 C 2562 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 29, 2005). It was pretty obvious when the complaint was filed in March that this lawsuit warranted careful scrutiny. This initial ruling reinforces that point. This ruling is interesting…
Illinois Court Enforces Dell’s Website Terms and Conditions of Sale
By John Ottaviani Dell Computers has contributed to the growing body of cases finding that “browse-wrap” contracts (terms and conditions posted on a website that do not necessarily require one to click on an “I agree” or “I accept” button)…