CaféPress Denied 230 Motion to Dismiss–Curran v. Amazon
By Eric Goldman Curran v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2008 WL 472433 (S.D. W.Va. Feb. 19, 2008) Erik Curran was a National Guard soldier who served in “a combat zone.” For reasons unclear from this opinion, he was photographed by an unspecified…
Yale Reputation Economies Symposium Recap
By Eric Goldman Reputation is a hot topic in Cyberlaw circles, so the Yale ISP conference on Reputation Economies in Cyberspace came at a propitious time. Some of my meta-observations from the talks. 1) We lack a uniformly accepted definition…
The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet: Ackerman’s Review of Daniel Solove’s Newest Book on Privacy and the Internet
My slightly incented [FN1] take on Dan Solove’s most recent book: The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet. by Ethan Ackerman Unfortunately, I have to advise against beginning to read this book late on a Friday…
Search Redirection Tool Could Be Trespass to Chattels–Burgess v. EForce
By Eric Goldman Burgess v. EForce Media, Inc., 2007 WL 3355369 (W.D.N.C. Nov. 9, 2007) Every now and then a consumer goes on a me-vs.-the-world bender and decides to unilaterally save society by suing everyone in sight. Burgess’ anger over…
Blogger Wins Lawsuit Over Gripe Post–BidZirk v. Smith
By Eric Goldman BidZirk, LLC v. Smith, 2007 WL 3119445 (D.S.C. Oct. 22, 2007) I have previously blogged about BidZirk v. Smith, a flagship example of how a pernicious and misguided plaintiff with a thin skin can ruin a blogger’s…
Interesting Contract Interpretations in Eighth Circuit Fantasy Baseball Case–CBC v. MLB
By Eric Goldman CBC Distribution and Marketing, Inc., v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., No. 06-3357/3358 (8th Cir. Oct. 16, 2007) You’ve already heard about this case, which held that MLB’s right of publicity claim against a fantasy baseball…
September 2007 Quick Links Part I
By Eric Goldman Marketing * From the NYT: There are 200+ auto repair shops in the “Iron Triangle” area in New York, and apparently they compete fiercely with each other, shouting out price quotes as cars needing repairs drive by….
The 4th Amendment in your inbox
By Ethan Ackerman While the 4th Amendment gets litigated more often than, say, the 10th Amendment, it is still rare when a court finds federal law unconstitutional for inadequately protecting a 4th Amendment interest in email’s privacy. Earlier this week,…
AutoAdmit Fiasco Turns Into a Lawsuit–Doe v. Ciolli
By Eric Goldman Doe v. Ciolli, 307CV00909 CFD (D. Conn. complaint filed June 11, 2007) AutoAdmit is a message board for law students and related groupies. It’s a relatively untamed corner of cyberspace. The site owners have espoused a relatively…
Steinbuch v. Culter Update: Cox Out, Cutler Bankrupt
By Eric Goldman Two updates in the always-interesting Steinbuch v. Cutler case. 1) Steinbuch v. Cutler, No. 05-970 (D.D.C. May 16, 2007). Ana Marie Cox, the Wonkette blogger–who was brought into the suit merely for linking to the allegedly tortious…