Online Retailer’s Link to House Brand from Manufacturer’s Product Page Might Infringe–BabyAge v. Leachco

By Eric Goldman BabyAge.com, Inc. v. Leachco, Inc., 2009 WL 82552 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 12, 2009). The Justia page. Welcome to the cutthroat world of pregnancy pillows. Leachco manufactures pregnancy pillows and has a patent on them. BabyAge is an…

Web Host Faces Potential Contributory Trademark Liability–Louis Vuitton v. Akanoc

By Eric Goldman Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A. v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., C 07-03952 JW (N.D. Cal. Dec. 23, 2008) This is one of countless anti-counterfeiting actions by luxury brands against allegedly infringing websites—but the twist is that the brand owner…

Brand Spillovers Article Now Available

By Eric Goldman I have finally posted my article, Brand Spillovers, to SSRN. It will be published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology later this year. I have blogged about this project several times over the past 4…

American Airlines v. Yahoo Venue Transfer Denied

By Eric Goldman American Airlines, Inc. v. Yahoo!, Inc., 4:08-CV-626-A (N.D. Tex. Jan. 16, 2009) The procedural battles over American Airlines’ lawsuit against Yahoo for selling trademarked keywords continue. You may recall that American Airlines sued Yahoo in its home…

Cautionary Tale of Website Co-Ownership–Mikhlyn v. Bove

By Eric Goldman Mikhlyn v. Bove, 2008 WL 4610304 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 15, 2008). The Justia page. In my Co-Blogging Law article, I discussed the potentially ugly legal consequences of “blog divorces” when co-bloggers fall out of love with each other…

December 2008 Quick Links, Part 1

By Eric Goldman Copyright * Stockwire Research Group, Inc. v. Lebed, 577 F .Supp. 2d 1262 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 18, 2008). $2.5M default judgment for violation of anti-circumvention provisions. * The RIAA announced that it is shifting away from suing…

Vulcan Golf v. Google Class Certification Denied

By Eric Goldman Vulcan Golf, LLC v. Google Inc., 1:07-cv-03371 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 18, 2008). Previous blog posts: initial complaint filed, ruling on motion to dismiss This is a complex lawsuit by trademark owners attacking domaining and the role of…

Keyword Ads and Other Marketing Supports Remote Jurisdiction–Market America v. Optihealth

By Eric Goldman Market America v. Optihealth Products, Inc., 2008 WL 5069802 (M.D.N.C. Nov. 21, 2008) This lawsuit involves the trademark “OPC-3.” “OPC” is the generic term for “group of antioxidant bioflavonoids” that companies sell as dietary supplements. The plaintiff…

November 2008 Quick Links

By Eric Goldman Trademark * NYT: “A handful of new Web sites with names like Typo Bay and Typo Buddy are out to help shoppers save money by searching eBay for misspelled brand names.” In 2005, I blogged that typographical…

Yahoo Countersues American Airlines for Declaratory Judgment

By Eric Goldman Yahoo, Inc. v. American Airlines, Inc., C08-05308 (N.D. Cal. complaint filed Nov. 21, 2008). The Justia page. As you recall, American Airlines recently followed its July settlement with Google by bringing a clone-and-revise trademark infringement lawsuit against…