Domain Name Registrar Isn’t Liable for Counterfeit Goods–InvenTel v. GoDaddy
InvenTel makes security cams for cars. It is trying to crack down on Chinese counterfeiters. It brought a prior lawsuit against a wide range of defendants, including GoDaddy. InvenTel voluntarily dismissed GoDaddy from that suit. It brought a second round…
1H 2019 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright & More)
Copyright * Long v. Dorset, 2019 WL 861424 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 22, 2019). Dorset allegedly locked Long out of his Facebook page. Access was restored in 5 business days. The court says that’s expeditious enough for DMCA notice-and-takedown purposes: Plaintiff’s…
Q2 2018 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks and Other IP)
Trademark * Carter v. Oath Holdings, 17-cv-07086-BLF (N.D. Cal. June 21, 2018) Courts have held that an online provider does not “use” a mark under the meaning of the Lanham Act when its search engine returns a search result based…
Conference on IP Enforcement at Trade Shows, UNLV, October 4, 2018 (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Marketa Trimble The practice of IP law fascinates IP law enthusiasts, and it can be stimulating for others as well. The practice has even been considered exciting enough for IP lawyers to be portrayed in a sophisticated beer…
2H 2017 & Q1 2018 Quick Links, Part 2: Innovation and Confidentiality
Innovation * NY Times: Russia Wants Innovation, but It’s Arresting Its Innovators * Contigiani et al, Trade Secrets and Innovation: Evidence from the ‘Inevitable Disclosure’ Doctrine. The abstract: Does heightened employer-friendly trade secrecy protection help or hinder innovation? By examining…
A Patent For Geotagging IP Packets Raises Important Internet Law Questions (Guest Blog Post)
by guest blogger Marketa Trimble On September 12, 2017, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent on a technology that could significantly affect the functioning of the internet and the course of internet-related law and policy, and achieve an…
1H 2017 Quick Links, Part 4 (Copyright, Patent, More)
Copyright * Design Basics, LLC v. Lexington Homes, Inc., 858 F.3d 1093 (7th Cir. 2017). Three noteworthy passages from this case: – “the existence of the plaintiff’s copyrighted materials on the Internet, even on a public and “user‐friendly” site, cannot…
Amazon Doesn’t “Sell” Its Marketplace Goods–Milo & Gabby v. Amazon
Milo & Gabby is a small family business that designs and sells “animal-shaped” pillowcases. It discovered that knockoffs were listed for sale on Amazon’s website. The products were actually offered for sale by third party sellers, and all but one…
eBay Isn’t Liable for Patent-Infringing Marketplace Sales–Blazer v. eBay
Blazer owns patent 8,375,624 for “Carpenter Bee Traps.” He filed NOCIs with eBay alleging the sale of infringing items on eBay. The court says “eBay has a policy to quickly remove listings when a [patent] NOCI provides a court order,…
2H 2016 Quick Links, Part 5 (Patents, Other IP, Employment, CFAA)
Patents * Tim Holbrook on how slow FDA procedures contribute to de facto monopolies for off-patent drugs/devices * Washington Post: Patent lawsuits swell and watchdog says the government is to blame * Washington Post: Patent office workers bilked the government…