Congress Is Lovin’ the Internet…to Death?
By Eric Goldman Congress has an unresolved love-hate attitude towards the Internet. Through the 1990s, Congress frequently said that the Internet should be left alone from a regulatory standpoint. Indeed, in some cases, Congress affirmatively deregulated the Internet; 47 USC…
Barrett on Internet Trademark Use
By Eric Goldman Margreth Barrett, a law professor at UC Hastings, has published Internet Trademark Suits and the Demise of “Trademark Use,” 39 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 371 (2006). The article makes a persuasive argument that the trademark use doctrine…
More on Perfect 10 v. Google
By John Ottaviani Eric will undoubtedly have more to say, but here are my immediate thoughts on this case. Leave it to the porn industry to make copyright law on the Internet. Perfect 10 alleges that Google (and, in a…
Perfect 10 Wins Injunction Against Google
By Eric Goldman Perfect 10 v. Google, Inc., CV 04-9484 AMH (C.D. Cal. Feb. 17, 2006) A major new ruling in the running battle over search engines and copyrights–this time concluding that Google’s creation and display of thumbnail images may…
Congress, Search Engines and China
By Eric Goldman OPEN LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS CAUCUS Dear Caucus members, Like you, I do not like the fact that search engines are helping China effectuate its repressive policies. However, I am confused why…
DOJ Fishes for Search Records, and Google Fights Back–Gonzales v. Google
By Eric Goldman Gonzales v. Google, Inc., No. 5:06-mc-80006-JW (N.D. Cal. motion to compel filed Jan. 18, 2006) This event is a collateral consequence of Congress’ obsessive and relentless campaign against Internet pornography. In Summer 2004, the US Supreme Court…
My Google Search History
By Eric Goldman I use Google a lot. I’ve been using Google’s personalized search now for a couple months, and this gives me a handy (and slightly-embarrassing) record of just how often I search Google. I think my December chart…
Google Sued for Trademark Infringement Based on Third Level Subdomain–Jews for Jesus v. Google
By Eric Goldman Jews for Jesus v. Google, Inc., 05-CV-10684 (SDNY complaint filed Dec. 21, 2005) It’s no surprise that Google has been sued again for trademark infringement, but the basis of this lawsuit is surprising. Rather than another lawsuit…
Click Defense Lawsuit Update
By Eric Goldman Click Defense v. Google, No. 5:05-cv-02579-RMW (N.D. Cal.). The Click Defense lawsuit is one of three pending click fraud actions (the other two being the Lane’s Gifts and CLRB Hanson Industries LLC cases). After launching the lawsuit…
Yale Regulating Search? Conference Recap
By Eric Goldman I attended the Regulating Search? conference at Yale Law School this weekend. This post contains the notes I took at the conference. A couple of meta-observations: * almost everyone on the various panels spoke against government regulation….