“Revisiting Search Engine Bias” Article Now Online
By Eric Goldman In 2006, I published an article entitled Search Engine Bias and the Demise of Search Engine Utopianism in the Yale Journal of Law & Technology. The paper was based on my presentation at a December 2005 conference…
Buying Personal Names for Keyword Ads Isn’t a Publicity Rights Violation–Habush v. Cannon
By Eric Goldman Habush v. Cannon, 09-CV-18149 (Wis. Cir. Ct. June 8, 2011). The June 2010 denial of the motion to dismiss. A good overview article from when the complaint was filed. Introduction A Wisconsin court has said that a…
April-May 2011 Quick Links, Part 3
By Eric Goldman Search Engines * Google is working on a deal with the DOJ over illegal pharmaceutical ads and has set aside $500M for fines. Some background on the problem. Google isn’t the only search engine with problematic pharmaceutical…
Keyword Advertising and Domain Name Law Slides
By Eric Goldman Today, I spoke to an audience of Chinese IP judges about keyword advertising and domain names in the United States. I put together some slides and written materials. These materials aren’t especially profound, especially for regular readers,…
Quityerbitchin: Relative Search Results Placement Doesn’t Support Trademark Injunction–Bitchen Kitchen v. Bitchin’ Kitchen
By Eric Goldman Martha Elizabeth, Inc. v. Scripps Networks Interactive, LLC, 2011 WL 1750711 (W.D. Mich. May 9, 2011) It seems inconceivable to me that people would litigate over the term “Bitchin” almost 30 years after the Valley Girl song…
March 2011 Quick Links, Part 3
By Eric Goldman Search Engines * Lots of Google antitrust activity: – Apparently, an EU antitrust investigation IS something that Microsoft would wish on its worst enemy. – Every legal regulator in the world is considering antitrust investigations into Google,…
Trademark Owner Gets Injunction Against Keyword Ad Campaign That Generated No Sales for the Advertiser
By Eric Goldman InternetShopsInc.com v. Six C Consulting, Inc., 2011 WL 1113445 (N.D. Ga. March 24, 2011) [I know the headline sounds like an April Fools joke, but no April Fools here…although, as I will show, this case definitely involved…
Groupon Hit With Two Lanham Act Lawsuits, and One Takes Google Along for the Ride
By Eric Goldman Groupion, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., 3:11-cv-00870-EMC (N.D. Cal. complaint filed Feb. 24, 2011) San Francisco Comprehensive Tours, LLC v. Groupon, Inc., CV-1300 (N.D. Cal. complaint filed March 17, 2011) __________ A company doesn’t reach a purported $6B…
Another Advertiser Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Google–Woods v. Google
By Eric Goldman Woods v. Google Inc., 5:11-cv-01263-HRL (N.D. Cal. complaint filed March 15, 2011) Since Google settled its click fraud lawsuits in 2006 and the CLRB Hanson case in 2009, it’s been a little quiet on the advertiser-vs.-Google class…
Google Not Liable for Suggested Vanity Searches–Stayart v. Google
By Eric Goldman Stayart v. Google, Inc., 2011 WL 855316 (E.D. Wis. March 8, 2011) Beverly Stayart (a/k/a Bev Stayart) has graced these pages so many times, I feel a little silly recapping her story yet again. The short story…