Q2 2010 Quick Links Part 2
By Eric Goldman Marketing and Advertising * Good talk from FTC Chair Leibowitz: “we have great hopes for self-regulation….So long as self-regulation is making forward progress, the FTC is not interested in regulating” behavioral targeting. * NYT on teaching middle…
Puzzling 9th Circuit Dilution Opinion Over eVisa.com–Visa v. JSL
By Eric Goldman VISA International Service Ass’n v. JSL Corp., No. 08-15206 (9th Cir. June 28, 2010) A number of us in the trademark community are scratching our heads at last week’s Ninth Circuit trademark dilution opinion, authored by Judge…
Payment Service Providers May Be Liable for Counterfeit Website Sales–Gucci v. Frontline
By Eric Goldman Gucci America, Inc. v. Frontline Processing Corp., 2010 WL 2541367 (S.D.N.Y. June 23, 2010) This case relates to an online seller of Gucci counterfeit goods called TheBagAddiction.com, run by Laurette. Gucci already successfully shut down the counterfeit…
YouTube Gets Decisive Win in Viacom/FAPL Case
By Eric Goldman Viacom International, Inc., v. YouTube, Inc., 2010 WL 2532404 (SDNY June 23, 2010). The Viacom v. YouTube case has been noteworthy for numerous reasons. It involves the cherished Internet brands YouTube and Google, it’s been going on…
Google Can’t Shake Cybersquatting Claim–Vulcan Golf v. Google
By Eric Goldman Vulcan Golf, LLC v. Google Inc., 1:07-cv-03371 (N.D. Ill. June 9, 2010). My 2007 blog post when the complaint was filed. My 2008 blog post on the denial of a motion to dismiss. My 2008 blog post…
Another Trademark Owner Apparently Gives Up Lawsuit Against Google–Parts Geek v. US Auto Parts
By Eric Goldman Parts Geek LLC v. U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc., 5:10-cv-01713-JF (N.D. Cal. voluntary dismissal May 5, 2010) In April, Google successfully transferred the Parts Geek keyword advertising lawsuit from New Jersey to its home court in Northern…
April-May 2010 Quick Links Part 1 (IP Edition)
By Eric Goldman [Note: I just got back from the Netherlands, where I had extremely limited Internet connectivity, so sorry for my absence in the last week (although you were in good hands with Venkat). I will be posting more…
Life May Be “Rad,” But This Trademark Lawsuit Isn’t–Williams v. CafePress.com
By Eric Goldman Williams v. Life’s Rad, 2010 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 46763 (N.D. Cal. May 12, 2010) This lawsuit bummed me out. The trademark at issue–the surfing-inspired “Life’s Rad”–is supposed to lift people up, but it’s hard to maintain a sunny…
Steps Brand Owners Can Take to Deal With Brandjacking on Social Networks
[Post by Venkat] Winston & Strawn published an article titled [pdf] “Five Steps to Protect Your Trademarks in a Web 2.0 World.” The article sets out some steps brand owners can take to prevent or deal with infringement of their…
A First Look by Tom McCarthy at the Sixth Circuit’s 2010 Victoria’s Secret Tarnishment Decision [Guest Blog Post]
By J. Thomas McCarthy [Eric’s note: Last week, the Sixth Circuit issued a new ruling in the long-running V Secret Catalogue v. Moseley case, this time featuring three opinions from a three-judge panel. Tom McCarthy has generously shared his views…