Court Rejects Initial Interest Confusion Claims for Competitive Keyword Ads--Regalo v. Aborder

The litigants compete in the market for baby/pet gates. The incumbent sells under the brands “Regalo” and “Carlson.” The defendant “Aborder contends that the use of trademark advertising through the purchase of Amazon sponsored ads cannot constitute trademark infringement without…

Ninth Circuit Dismisses "Session Replay" Lawsuit--Popa v. Microsoft

This case involves “session replay” technologies, described as (cleaned up): the software embeds snippets of JavaScript computer code on a website, which then deploys on each website visitor’s internet browser for the purpose of intercepting and recording the website visitor’s…

The Ninth Circuit's Flood of TOS Formation Cases

Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit issued companion rulings in Chabolla and Godun that scrambled Ninth Circuit TOS formation law. You can see where I think things now stand in the (free!) Online Contracts chapter from my Internet Law casebook….

Court Greenlights Politician's Censorship of Social Media Comments--Fox v. Faison

Rep. Jeremy Faison is a Republican Tennessee state representative in what is a hugely Republican district (for example, his district includes Cocke County, which voted 83% for Trump in 2024). He also is the chamber’s Republican Caucus Chairman. He came…

Court Rejects Schedule A Claims Against Sellers of Compatible Parts/Accessories (Cross-Post)

[Cross posted with permission from Prof. Rebecca Tushnet’s Blog.] When they tell you that Schedule A cases are against counterfeiters, keep in mind that trademark owners are willing to call pretty much anything “counterfeiting,” including ads for compatible parts. Here,…

ACPA Doesn't Apply to Vanity URLs--Athene Annuity v. Athene Group

The magistrate judge issued a default $2M+ ACPA damages award covering 160 allegedly violative “domain names.” On review, the supervising judge partially reverses, despite no objections from the defendants. In fact, only 1 of the 160 “domain names” is actually…

Google Search Isn't a "Common Carrier" (DUH)--Ohio v. Google

State AGs undertake some of the stupidest and most MAGAlicious stunts, a form of vacuous theater to own the libs rather than better the lives of their constituents. In this case, Ohio AG Yost sued Google, claiming that Google Search…

Internet Access Providers Aren't Bound by DMCA Unmasking Subpoenas--In re Cox

The DMCA online safe harbor is a notice-and-takedown scheme. Web hosts aren’t liable for copyright-infringing third-party uploads unless and until the copyright owner submits a proper takedown notice to the host, at which point the web host can remain legally…

In 512(f), the "F" Stands for "Futility"--Shaffer v. Kavarnos

This 512(f) case reached a bench trial on the Lenz issue of what it means for a copyright takedown notice sender to consider fair use before sending their 512(c)(3) notices. Most 512(f) plaintiffs never get anywhere close to a trial,…

Google and Roblox Defeat Videogame Addiction Lawsuit--Courtright v. Epic Games

The plaintiff claims that “video games are designed, marketed, and sold in a way that creates and sustains addiction in users.” This becomes the anchor for a mondo 260 page complaint against Epic Games, Roblox, Mojang, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Another…