A Significant Section 230 Defense Win in the Ninth Circuit--Dyroff v. Ultimate Software

This is an important Section 230 ruling from the Ninth Circuit. First, it decisively rejects several of the flavor-of-the-month theories plaintiffs have advanced to eviscerate Section 230. Second, the opinion resolves those theories efficiently and with little wasted motion. That…

This case involves yet another politician, Missouri Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch (who formerly tweeted @CheriMO44 but the account is currently gone), who blocked constituents on Twitter. I previously blogged this case in February, when the court rejected Rep. Reisch’s motion…

Section 230 Doesn't Protect Print-on-Demand Vendor--Atari v. Sunfrog

Atari sued a print-on-demand outfit, Sunfrog, for user-uploaded designs that are allegedly infringing. In addition to copyright and trademark claims, Atari asserted an unfair competition claim. Sunfrog defended that claim on Section 230 grounds. The court says no. At this…

InvenTel makes security cams for cars. It is trying to crack down on Chinese counterfeiters. It brought a prior lawsuit against a wide range of defendants, including GoDaddy. InvenTel voluntarily dismissed GoDaddy from that suit. It brought a second round…

Comments on Rep. Gosar's "Stop the Censorship Act," Another "Conservative" Attack on Section 230

At this point, many “conservatives” favor government regulation of the editorial practices of Internet companies. As a result, proposals coming from DC “conservatives” that reference “censorship” in their titles almost certainly are designed to embrace, not prevent, censorship. For example,…

In 2016, the Texas Bar issued an opinion decisively blessing competitive keyword advertising by lawyers. (Note: I define competitive keyword advertising as buying a rival’s name/brand as the trigger for ads without displaying the name/brand in the ad copy). At…

Another Competitive Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Fails--Dr. Greenberg v. Perfect Body Image

Dr. Stephen Greenberg is a plastic surgeon on Long Island. Perfect Body Image provides “non-surgical and non-invasive aesthetic services, including, among other things, laser treatments.” Perfect Body doesn’t have any doctors on staff. In addition to Stephen, at least two…

Copyright Protection for Banana Costumes Is, Uh, Bananas--Silvertop v. Kangaroo

The Third Circuit has held that a banana costume qualified for copyright protection (the blog reference to the district court opinion). The plaintiff’s design is on the left. The defendants’ designs are in the middle and on the right. The…

Claim Over Takedown Notice Triggers Anti-SLAPP Law & a Fee Shift--Complex v. X17 [EDITED TO CORRECT A MAJOR ERROR]

*** CRITICAL UPDATE*** Ugh, I’m embarrassed to admit that I made a serious error in reading the opinion. I cannot edit the post to correct the error. The mistake infects the entire post and the main point. I’m leaving up…

Some Much-Needed Pushback on the Anti-Section 230 Craziness (Linkwrap)

The criticisms of Section 230 are a sign we’re living in Crazytown. The lies and misdirection about Section 230–coming both from cranks/trolls as well as our government leaders (please, no jokes about how those are the same thing)–are out of…