By Eric Goldman Marketing * I’ve blogged about Various, which operates AdultFriendFinder.com, before. They made the news recently in two ways. First, they sold to Penthouse for half-a-billion dollars. Second, they settled with the FTC for “pelting” users with unwanted…

By Eric Goldman Boston Duck Tours, LP v. Super Duck Tours, LLC, 2007 WL 4465464 (D. Mass. Dec. 5, 2007) In the latest advertiser-vs.-advertiser lawsuit over keyword advertising, a court from the First Circuit (in Massachusetts) deemed keyword advertising to…

By Eric Goldman [UPDATE: If you’re looking for discussion of the July 2008 District Court ruling, go here.] Fred was kind enough to post the post-trial briefs filed by Tiffany and eBay in the lawsuit over eBay’s contributory liability for…

By Eric Goldman Browne v. Avvo, C07-0920RSL (W.D. Wash. motion to dismiss granted Dec. 18, 2007) The lawsuit against Avvo for lawyer ratings has been dismissed without leave to amend. This is a big win for Avvo. The ruling turns…

By Eric Goldman In re Subpoena Issued Pursuant to The Digital Millennium Copyright Action To: 43SB.Com, LLC, 2007 WL 4335441 (D. Id. Dec. 7, 2007) We have long known that the DMCA expedited subpoena procedures for identifying copyright infringers (17…

By Eric Goldman Marketing/Branding * To stimulate demand for its services, the British postal service is pointing out that snail mail is a good way to use olfactory marketing. Try to keep up with THAT, spammers! But doesn’t this give…

By Eric Goldman Howard Bashman provides some useful updates on the Roommates.com case. First, the Ninth Circuit has rejected the amicus brief filed by Amazon.com and numerous other Internet companies because, according to Bashman, the amicus brief would have created…

By Eric Goldman I was so jammed at the beginning of November that I didn’t have time to post my quick links from October. Never fear; that omission is being corrected with a double shot of quick links covering October…

By Eric Goldman U.S. v. Hanny, 2007 WL 4322265 (8th Cir. Dec. 12, 2007) Given its blatant illegality, I’m a little surprised that we don’t hear more about busts of companies and individuals selling prescription drugs over the Internet. I…

By Eric Goldman Facebook, Inc. v. ConnectU LLC, 2007 WL 4249924 (N.D.Cal. Nov. 30, 2007) (denying sanctions); Facebook, Inc. v. ConnectU LLC, 2007 WL 4249926 (N.D.Cal. Nov. 30, 2007) (dismissing individual defendants) You may recall the intertwined relationship between ConnectU…