Court Denies TRO Seeking to Remove Facebook's “Russia State-Controlled Media” Label--Maffick v. Facebook

Maffick publishes millennial-friendly videos on Facebook pages titled “In the Now,” “Waste-Ed” and “Soapbox.” See this CNN article for some background. Facebook added its new “Russia State-Controlled Media” label to their pages (see today’s screenshot on the right; I added…

Competitive Keyword Advertising Still Isn't Trademark Infringement, Unless.... --Adler v. Reyes & Adler v. McNeil

Competitive keyword advertising lawsuits are still stupid, and they are still typically doomed in court. This is especially true in keyword advertising disputes between rival lawyers, something that I spoke out against in 2016. Despite that, one of these two…

Another Roundup of Online Contract Formation Cases

Time for another roundup of online contract formation cases. HomeAdvisor, Inc. v. Waddell, 2020 WL 2988565 (Tex. Ct. App. June 4, 2020) The court finds this a valid contract formation process: The court explains: the submittal page was uncluttered, with…

Section 230 Preempts Another FOSTA Claim--Doe v. Kik

Kik is a messaging service. “Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have knowledge that sexual predators use its service to prey on minors but have failed to provide any warnings or enact policies to protect minors from such abuses.” The plaintiff alleges…

The First Amendment Protects the Marketing Term "Vegan Butter"--Miyoko's v. Ross

I have been a vegetarian for 35+ years. Over the past 15+ years, I have shifted towards being vegan. I eat virtually 100% vegan in the home and always prefer vegan options when they are available. My embrace of veganism…

Infringing Polish Website Isn't Subject to Personal Jurisdiction in the United States--AMA v. Wanat

AMA Multimedia sued Marcin Wanat, Maciej Madon, and MW Media, a Poland-based partnership. AMA was only able to serve Wanat, so he’s the only defendant in the lawsuit. He moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in the United…

Want to Write a Story About Tardigrades in Space? Make It So!--Abdin v. CBS

This is a fun opinion for four reasons. First, it deals with the always-interesting idea/expression dichotomy. Second, it deals with tardigrades, the cute microscopic “water bears” with extraordinary physical properties. Third, it deals with Star Trek, one of my favorite…

Australian Court Says Using a Zipper-Mouth Emoji Can Be Defamatory--Burrows v. Houda

This case involves a Twitter thread discussing the plaintiff’s alleged misconduct as a lawyer. I’m still looking for the original thread (some or all of it appears to be deleted based on my attempts to find it on Twitter) or…

Want to Know What I Did This Summer? A Roundup of My Projects During the Pandemic Summer

I had Spring semester off from teaching, so I was on “summer” break all of 2020. That break is over now; I’m already a week-and-a-half through the semester. I’ve completed numerous projects since the pandemic shutdown (which I’m dating as…

Section 230 Protects Craigslist from Sex Trafficking Claims, Despite FOSTA--JB v. Craigslist

This is an important early judicial interpretation of FOSTA. The court reaches several key conclusions, including that Section 230(c)(1) still preempts state civil claims and Craigslist did not “participate in a venture” with every advertiser of commercial sex. If this…