Teeth Whitening System Brings “Sue the World” Lawsuit Against Ad Agency, Competitor and Search Engines–Dazzlesmile v. Azoogle
By Eric Goldman Dazzlesmile, LLC v. Epic Advertising, Inc., 2:09-cv-01043-PMW (D. Utah complaint filed Nov. 23, 2009) Dazzlesmile sells a teeth whitening system. Presumably these systems generate fat profits, because Dazzlesmile has brought an expensive “sue-the-world” lawsuit against its ad…
Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss–Morningware v. Hearthware
By Eric Goldman Morningware, Inc. v. Hearthware Home Products, Inc., 2009 WL 3878251 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 16, 2009) I keep getting calls from reporters operating under the misimpression that trademark owner-vs.-search engine keyword advertising lawsuits are more common than trademark…
Citysearch Click Fraud Class Certified–Menagerie v. Citysearch
By Eric Goldman Menagerie Productions v. Citysearch, 2009 WL 3770668 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 9, 2009) While we don’t hear much about click fraud litigation any more, there are still some click fraud lawsuits percolating through the courts, including this one…
Craigslist Isn’t Liable for Erotic Services Ads–Dart v. Craigslist
By Eric Goldman Dart v. Craigslist, Inc., 09 C 1385 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 20, 2009) Yesterday, Judge John F. Grady of the Northern District of Illinois federal court dismissed Cook County Sheriff Dart’s lawsuit against Craigslist for user-posted advertisements in…
Q3 2009 Quick Links, Part 3
By Eric Goldman Copyright * AP v. All Headline News settles. My initial blog post. The settlement order. * The Turnitin case has settled. My blog post on the district court ruling. * Corbis Corp. v. Starr, No. 3:07CV3741 (N.D….
Q3 2009 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Trademark * Venkat: Twitter makes the dictionary. * Federal Circuit says Hotels.com is generic. * Steve Madden sues eBay for trademark infringement. Marty’s coverage. Justia page. I found the fifth cause of action, “trademark delusion,” a surprisingly…
A Fuller Explanation of Why the FTC Endorsement/Testimonial Guidelines Violate 47 USC 230
By Eric Goldman Last week’s release of the FTC’s new Endorsement and Testimonial Guidelines has generated a significant amount of angst online. The resulting commentary has been strongly and almost uniformly negative. Frankly, none of the sources I read have…
Do the FTC’s New Endorsement/Testimonial Rules Violate 47 USC 230?
By Eric Goldman In reading the FTC’s new rules on endorsements and testimonials in advertisements, I was struck by the FTC’s expansive vision of advertiser liability for third party-caused violations. In particular, the FTC apparently has made the same analytical…
Yahoo Subpoenas Expedia in American Airlines Lawsuit
By Eric Goldman Yahoo and American Airlines are still tussling over Yahoo’s sale of American Airlines’ trademarks as keyword triggers (see background at 1, 2, 3). According to Yahoo, American Airlines is arguing that online travel agencies such as Expedia…
Why More Wikipedia Editing Restrictions Are Inevitable, and Some Comments on Flagged Revisions for Living People’s Biographies
By Eric Goldman I have posted my latest article, “Wikipedia’s Labor Squeeze and its Consequences,” to SSRN. The article will be published in the Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law in the relatively near future. The article is still…