Google Sued for Running Ads for “Fraudulent Mobile Subscription Services”–Goddard v. Google

By Eric Goldman Goddard v. Google, Inc., Case No. 108CV111658 (Cal. Super. Ct. complaint dated April 30, 2008). Google’s notice of removal to federal court C08 02738 (N.D. Cal. removal notice dated May 30, 2008). [warning: 1.5MB file. Google’s notice…

Search Engine Advertiser Litigation Updates

By Eric Goldman Recently, there were intermediate rulings in two long-standing cases by search engine advertisers against search engines. CLRB Hanson Industries, LLC v. Google Inc., 2008 WL 2079200 (N.D. Cal. May 14, 2008) This lawsuit involves the Google AdWords…

April 2008 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Anti-Gaming * Even though Ticketmaster won its lawsuit, Minnesota overreacted to the Hannah Montana ticket crush by banning software to circumvent an online ticket allocation process. See Sec. 609.806. Check out the hyperbole in this press release!…

Online Advertising Conference Recap

By Eric Goldman Last Friday, the High Tech Law Institute and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology co-sponsored the Law & Business of Online Advertising conference. We had first-rate panelists and an enthusiastic audience of over 100 attendees. Rebecca…

March 2008 Quick Links, Part II

By Eric Goldman Copyright * A lot of action on whether “making available” a file in a P2P share directory is copyright infringement, including Elektra v. Barker and London-Sire v. Doe. Patry summarizes the action. * Ticketmaster L.L.C. v. RMG…

March 2008 Quick Links, Part I

By Eric Goldman It’s a sign of my busy March/April that I am just now posting these… Reputation/47 USC 230 * I have a lot to say about the JuicyCampus story (AP, MSNBC, Chronicle of Higher Education). Unfortunately, I ran…

eBay Denied 230 Defense for Its Marketing Representations–Mazur v. eBay

By Eric Goldman Mazur v. eBay Inc., 2008 WL 618988 (N.D. Cal. March 4, 2008) I declared Monday “47 USC 230 Day” here at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog, but with this new case, I’m declaring it 47 USC…

The Law & Business of Online Advertising Conference Announcement

By Eric Goldman I’m pleased to announce that the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara Law School has teamed up with the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology to organize a one-day symposium on the Law and Business of…

Utah Quietly Killing the Trademark Protection Act [UPDATED]

By Eric Goldman [See update below] We’re coming up on the one year anniversary of the Utah Trademark Protection Act, Utah’s effort to kill/tax keyword advertising. It looks like the law may not survive until its first birthday, as the…

Feb. 2008 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Advertising * BusinessWeek: Monetizing social networking sites isn’t as easy as everyone had hoped, clickthrough rates are through the floor (0.04%!), and ad proliferation on the sites is driving users away. * Wilbur, Kenneth C. and Zhu,…