Google Gets Favorable ECJ Opinion, But Will It Prove to Be a Hollow Victory?
By Eric Goldman The European Court of Justice issued its long-anticipated decision in the three Google AdWords cases (C-236/08, C-237-08 and C-238/08) referred to it by the French Cour de Cassation. The ruling only answers the questions posed to it…
Search Engine Legal Developments to Watch in 2010
By Eric Goldman I recently spoke on a panel about search engines and the law at SMX West. I previewed four major trends in search engine law to watch in 2010: 1) Competition issues. Antitrust/competition law has become a big…
Stratton Faxon v. Google Dismissed
By Eric Goldman Stratton Faxon v. Google, Inc., NNH-CV-09-5031219S (Conn. Superior Ct. dismissed March 8, 2010) Stratton Faxon v. Google was always an oddball case in the constellation of trademark owner challenges to Google AdWords. First, the plaintiff–a law firm…
TradeComet v. Google Dismissed Based on Venue Selection Clause
By Eric Goldman TradeComet.com LLC v. Google, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20154 (SDNY March 5, 2010) The judge has (finally) dismissed TradeComet’s antitrust lawsuit against Google based on the venue selection clause in Google’s AdWords contract. The result isn’t…
Rescuecom Abandons Its Litigation Against Google
By Eric Goldman Today, Rescuecom issued a press release declaring victory in its litigation against Google. But it’s an odd definition of “victory” given that Rescuecom has apparently voluntarily abandoned its 6 year litigation effort without any new concessions from…
Google Dismisses Some Claims in Jurin v. Google and Gets Some Attorneys’ Fees
By Eric Goldman Jurin v. Google, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18208 (E.D. Cal. March 1, 2010) Jurin v. Google is one of the 10 outstanding trademark-based claims against Google’s AdWords programs–in this case, over advertiser purchases of Jurin’s trademark…
February 2010 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman Copyright * Mavericks Recording Co. v. Harper (5th Cir. Feb. 25, 2010). 17 USC 402(d) precludes an innocent infringement defense in P2P downloading case when the record companies place proper copyright notices on their works. This is…
Google AdWords Contract Upheld Again, Causing a Venue Transfer in Flowbee v. Google
By Eric Goldman Flowbee International, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 4:10-cv-00668-LB (S.D. Tex. Feb. 8, 2010). My post on Flowbee’s initial complaint. Google has successfully transferred Flowbee v. Google from Texas to California by invoking the venue selection clause in its…
Google Hit With Another Antitrust Lawsuit. Does It Have Microsoft Ties? Google v. myTriggers
By Eric Goldman Google, Inc v. myTriggers.com, Inc., 09 CV 14836 (Franklin County Ct. of Common Pleas, Ohio). Google filed its first amended complaint on January 20, 2010. myTriggers filed an answer with counterclaims on February 2, 2010. See both…
Ripoff Report Sues Blogger, Loses on Jurisdictional Grounds–Xcentric Ventures v. Bird
By Eric Goldman Xcentric Ventures, LLC v. Bird, 2010 WL 447759 (D. Ariz. Feb. 3, 2010). See the initial complaint. I usually find personal jurisdiction rulings mind-numbingly uninteresting, so I try my best to avoid them. However, some personal jurisdiction…