Sale of “Damn You Auto Correct!” Website Leads to Fights Over Its Google Analytics Numbers — Studio 159 v. PopHang, LLC, et al.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments by Eric] Studio 159 v. PopHang, LLC & NextPoint, Inc., 2012 WL 6675790 (C.D. Cal.; Dec. 21, 2012) (Copy of Purchase and Sale Agreement) Studio 159 sold to PopHang and Nextpoint (Break Media) 22…
Facebook Doesn’t Violate Antitrust Law When It Controls Its Users’ Experience–Sambreel v. Facebook (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Sambreel Holdings LLC v. Facebook, Inc., 2012 WL 5995240 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 29, 2012) As successful Internet companies evolve from shoestring start-ups into marketplace incumbents, inevitably their reward will include antitrust challenges to their conduct. The flagship example…
Yet Another Ruling That Competitive Keyword Ad Lawsuits Are Stupid–Louisiana Pacific v. James Hardie (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Louisiana Pacific Corp. v. James Hardie Building Products, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162980 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 14, 2012). The initial complaint. The amended complaint filed after this ruling. It’s been surreal watching plaintiff-side trademark lawyers lament…
Lawsuit Over “Google Tags” Dismissed–Frezza v. Google
By Eric Goldman Frezza v. Google, 2012 WL 5877587 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 20, 2012) In Feb. 2010, Google introduced Google Tags, an advertising option in Google Places. Google Tags is now dead, but Google’s still dealing with the aftermath. To…
Court: Customer Consents to Receive Texts by Providing Phone Number to Pharmacy – Pinkard v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Pinkard v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 12-cv-02902 (N.D. Ala. Nov. 9, 2012) Text messaging lawsuits are out of control.* That said, a district judge granted a motion to dismiss brought by Wal-Mart in a text spam case…
Another Google AdWords Advertiser Defeats Trademark Infringement Lawsuit–CollegeSource v. AcademyOne (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman CollegeSource, Inc. v. AcademyOne, Inc., 2012 WL 5269213 (E.D. Pa. October 25, 2012) Over the last dozen years, there have been countless trademark lawsuits over competitive keyword advertising (i.e., when a company buys its competitor’s trademark to display…
Confirmatory Opt-out Text Message Not Actionable Under the TCPA — Ryabyshchuck v. Citibank
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Ryabyshchuck v. Citibank, 11-CV-1236 – IEG (WVG) (S.D. Ca. Oct. 30, 2012) Ryabyshchuck filled out an online credit card application. A pop-up message displayed when he entered his information alerted him to the fact that by…
Ninth Circuit Says Yellow Pages are Entitled to Full First Amendment Protection–Dex v. Seattle
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Dex Media West v. Seattle, Nos. 11-35399 & 35787 (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2012) [pdf] The City of Seattle thought that Yellow Pages were not particularly useful and created unnecessary waste, so…
Q3 2012 Quick Links, Part 3 (Advertising, Privacy, Consumer Protection)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Advertising * Marketing Land: Google Results Position: How Much is First Place Really Worth? * Tom O’Toole recaps the ubiquity of text messaging marketing by NHL teams…and their need to clean up their privacy…
9th Circuit Zings Best Buy Over Robocalls – Chesbro v. Best Buy
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with a comment from Eric] Chesbro v. Best Buy Stores, L.P., No. 11-35784 (9th Cir. Oct. 17, 2012) [pdf] The Ninth Circuit has issued a few consumer-favorable rulings in the unsolicited text and phone call realm….