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…
Blockshopper Request to Dismiss Jones Day Lawsuit Denied
By Eric Goldman Jones Day v. Blockshopper LLC, 08CV4572 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 13, 2008). The CMLP page. 2008 has been a banner year for ridiculous trademark claims, so picking the most ridiculous is a little tricky…but this lawsuit easily makes…
October 2008 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Spam * Kramer v. Perez. An Iowa court awards $236M in damages in a spam case. Venkat’s comments. * After the government lost its jury trial against Impulse Media, the court denied Impulse Media attorneys fees. Contracts…
Rip-off Report Back in Court
By Eric Goldman It’s been a few months since I’ve blogged on new Rip-off Report litigation. For many companies, a blog hiatus might signal good news, but in Rip-off Report’s situation, it merely reflects that I’ve been falling behind in…
First Amendment Protects Spoof Strip Club in Video Game from Trademark Claim–ESS Entertainment v. Rock Star Videos
By Eric Goldman E.S.S. Entertainment 2000, Inc. v. Rock Star Videos, Inc., No. 06-56237 (9th Cir. Nov. 5, 2008) This case reinforces how trademark law has gone so far astray that easy cases have become hard ones. This lawsuit was…
American Airlines Sues Yahoo for Selling Keyword Advertising
By Eric Goldman American Airlines, Inc. v. Yahoo! Inc., 4:2008cv00626 (N.D. Tex. complaint filed Oct. 17, 2008). The Justia page. Here’s a lawsuit I never expected. Fresh off their settlement with Google, American Airlines is suing Yahoo for selling keyword…
September 2008 Quick Links, Part 1 (Special Trademarks/Domain Names Edition)
By Eric Goldman For some reason, September was an unusually busy Cyberlaw month, so I’m going to have at least 3 installations of my quick links series. This post focuses just on trademark- and domain name-related items from last month….