Trademark Lawsuit Over Website Text Comparing Products Baffles the Judge–AR Pillow v. Cottrell
By Eric Goldman AR Pillow Inc. v. Cottrell, 2012 WL 868109 (W.D.Wash. March 13, 2012). The complaint. Every time I read an opinion like this, a little piece of me dies. This is a ridiculously easy case, yet somehow it…
Facebook Faces Jurisdictional Hurdle in its Trademark Lawsuit Against Faceporn–Facebook v. Pedersen
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Facebook v. Pedersen, 10-Cv-04673 (N.D. Cal.; March 2, 2012) Facebook sued Pedersen, a resident of Norway, alleging that Pedersen’s use of the “Faceporn” mark infringed on and diluted Facebook’s trademarks. After the complaint was filed, Pedersen…
Justin.tv Mostly Eliminates Zuffa’s Trademark and Communications Act Claims Over User-to-User Live Video Streaming
By Eric Goldman Zuffa LLC v. Justin.tv, Inc., 2012 WL 764424 (D. Nev. March 8, 2012). The complaint. [Note: I’ve worked with Justin.tv on related issues, but I’m speaking for myself in this post] Justin.tv allows user-to-user live video streaming….
Fake Political Attack Video Doesn’t Violate Lanham Act–Ron Paul v. Does
By Eric Goldman Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee, Inc. v. Does, 3:12-cv-00240-MEJ (N.D. Cal. March 8, 2012) The Doe Defendants registered the alias “NHLiberty4Paul” at YouTube and Twitter and posted a YouTube video attacking Jon Huntsman. The video ends…
Jan.-Feb. 2012 Quick Links, Part 2 (Trademarks, Patents, Trade Secrets, Innovation Edition)
By Eric Goldman Trademarks * Naked Cowboy v. CBS, 2012 WL 592539 (S.D.N.Y. Feb 23, 2012). The court rejects the trademark claim for CBS buying “Naked Cowboy” keyword advertising to promote the YouTube video for lack of use in commerce,…
Tea Partiers Wage War Against Each Other Over a Google Groups Account–Kremer v. Tea Party Patriots
By Eric Goldman Kremer v. Tea Party Patriots, Inc., 2012 WL 639134 (Ga. App. Ct. Feb. 29, 2012). The docket. I’m going to exercise extraordinary restraint and not crack any jokes about the Tea Party movement or its adherents. Kremer…
Talk Notes: Death of the Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine?
By Eric Goldman As you may know, the IP professor community is blessed to have a number of “work-in-progress” events where we share our research-in-process with, and get early feedback from, our peers. Last weekend, I attended one of those…
Are You Kinning Me? Microsoft Beats Trademark Lawsuit Over Kinect–Kinbook v. Microsoft
By Eric Goldman Kinbook LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8570 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 25, 2012) Microsoft makes the Kinect motion controller for Xbox, and for a while tried out a mobile phone named Kin. Kinbook makes a…
Top Internet Law Developments of 2011
By Eric Goldman As usual, I’m running late with my year-end recap. This post begins with my countdown of the top 5 Internet Law developments of 2011, then it lists other interesting developments and cases. It concludes with some of…
Just How Egregiously Must a Trademark Plaintiff Act Before a Court Awards Attorneys’ Fees to the Defendant?–1-800 Contacts v. Lens.com
By Eric Goldman 1-800 Contacts v. Lens.com, 2012 WL 113812 (D. Utah Jan. 13, 2012). Prior blog posts on the case dismissal in December 2010 and 1-800 Contacts’ fee dispute with its attorneys. The federal trademark statute says judges may…