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….
Delayed Enforcement Blocks Domain Name Lawsuit–Southern Grouts v. 3M
By Eric Goldman Southern Grouts & Mortars, Inc. v. 3M Co., 2008 WL 4346798 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 17, 2008) I’m often baffled by lawsuits over domain names and keywords because they just don’t seem to make any economic sense. This…
August 2008 Quick Links, Part 1
By Eric Goldman eBay * Mazur v. eBay Inc., 2008 WL 2951351 (N.D. Cal. July 25, 2008). See my previous blog post on the case. Some commentators are excited about this ruling because it rejects eBay’s motion to dismiss a…
426,487 Reasons Why Metatags Still Matter (In Court)–Venture Tape v. McGills
By Eric Goldman Venture Tape Corp. v. McGills Glass Warehouse, 2008 WL 3959997 (1st Cir. Aug. 28, 2008). For more on the case, see the initial 2003 ruling denying a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and a 2006…
7Search Sues McAfee For Red Flagging It
By Eric Goldman 7Search.com v. McAfee, Inc., 1:2008cv04831 (N.D. Ill. complaint filed Aug. 25, 2008). The Justia page. I don’t have a good sense of how many lawsuits have been filed against anti-spyware vendors for classifying third party software as…