Google, Click to Call, and Prank Calls
By Eric Goldman Google has [re]launched [see below] a crazy feature called “Click to Call” in Google Maps that allows users to initiate a telephone call from their search results. When you search on a business in Google Maps, the…
Rescuecom v. Google Appellee’s Brief
By Eric Goldman Rescuecom v. Google, 06-4881-CV (2nd Circuit appellee brief filed February 12, 2007) Google filed its brief in the Rescuecom v. Google appeal to the Second Circuit. Admittedly, my view may be biased, but I thought this was…
Google Loses Belgium Copyright Case–Google v. Copiepresse
By Eric Goldman Google v. Copiepresse, No. 06/10.928/C (Tribunal de premiere instance de Bruxelles) (decision in French) (English translation) Google has lost (again) the Copiepresse copyright case in Belgium over Google News. In September 2006, the court initially ruled against…
City Law Requiring Taxi Co to Refer Competitors Isn’t TM Infringement–MCQ’s v. Philadelphia Parking
By Eric Goldman MCQ’s Enterprises, Inc. v. Philadelphia Parking Authority, No. 07-0067 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2007) As part of making the cab system more consumer-friendly, Philadelphia created a “coordinated dispatch system” for taxicabs. Each taxicab would install GPS. Then,…
January 2007 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman * Marketers (including Microsoft) are paying authors to write Wikipedia entries. Surprised?! * Also on the topic of Wikipedia and marketers, Wikipedia has tagged all of their pages NOFOLLOW so that there’s no way a marketer or…
Google Goes After Stoller
By Eric Goldman Google v. Central Mfg Inc., No. 07CV 385 (N.D. Ill. complaint filed Jan. 19, 2007) Leo Stoller is a notorious figure in the trademark community, especially among the hundreds (thousands?) of trademark owners he’s targeted with demands…
Rescuecom v. Google Appellant Brief
By Eric Goldman Rescuecom v. Google, 06-4881-CV (2nd Circuit appellant brief filed January 12, 2007) You may recall Rescuecom v. Google, which held that Google was not making a trademark use in commerce by selling trademarked keywords. This ruling resulted…
Haifa University Search Engine Conference Recap
Haifa Conference Recap On December 21, Haifa University Faculty of Law conducted an interesting cross-disciplinary and international inquiry into the law of search engines, with a whirlwind tour of about two dozen 10-minute presentations over a long 11 hour day….
December 2006 Quick Links
By Eric Goldman * JP Enterprises, Inc. v. HDVE, LLC, 1:06-cv-01046-REB-PAC (D. Colo.). In June 2006, JP Enterprises sued Yahoo for selling its trademarks for keyword-triggered ads. In December, JP Enterprises and Yahoo stipulated a dismissal of the case against…
Competitive Keyword Purchase Doesn’t Contribute to Actual Dilution–Nautilus v. Icon
By Eric Goldman Nautilus Group, Inc. v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc., 2006 WL 3761367 (W.D. Wa. Dec. 21, 2006) In a long-running dispute, BowFlex sued competitor CrossBow for trademark dilution. CrossBow moved for summary judgment, claiming (among other things)…