Competitive Pop-up Ads Aren’t Unfair Competition or Tortious Interference–Overstock v. SmartBargains
…Internet retailing peer 1-800 Contacts flipped–and go seek out a friendly and easily persuaded Utah state legislator to give it a tailor-made anti-keyword advertising statute? Stranger things have happened in…
Wikipedia Ethics Event, May 15 at SCU
By Eric Goldman The High Tech Law Institute is cosponsoring (along with the Center for Science, Technology and Society and the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics) the following event: The…
11th Circuit Freaks Out About Metatags–North American Medical v. Axiom
…and thus the trademark references have no chance of being perceived. Along the way, the 11th Circuit distinguishes (and denigrates) the Second Circuit’s 1-800 Contacts v. WhenU case on two…
Utah Amends Trademark Protection Act (But Only After Some Drama)
…friend 1-800 Contacts, who initially had been part of the coalition to repeal the Utah Trademark Protection Act but apparently had a last-minute change of mind. I don’t fully understand…
Rescuecom v. Google Oral Arguments Finally Calendared
…the Second Circuit ducked search engine liability in its influential 1-800 Contacts v. WhenU precedent and will now have to address it squarely, (4) an affirmance might prove persuasive enough…
1-800 SKI VAIL Doesn’t Infringe–Vail Associates v. Vend-Tel-Co
…defendant operates nearly 2 dozen 800-phone lines that all begin “1-800-SKI-[destination].” At issue in this case is the phone line 1-800-SKI-VAIL. The 800 number was a redirection service that routed…
Kentucky Court Votes Keyword Ads = TM Use in Commerce–TDI v. Golf Preservations
…defendant). The court describes the precedent cited by both sides regarding the “use in commerce” question (a2z and 1-800 Contacts on the defense; GEICO, American Blinds, Buying for the Home,…
ABA IP Section Quietly Considering Anti-Consumer Proposals to Regulate Keyword Advertising
…fact. Like the fourth resolution (discussed below), this appears to be a simple attack on 1-800 Contacts ruling—which held that the use of trademarks to display ads does not, by…
1-800 Contacts Sues LensWorld for Keyword Advertising
…frenzy imminent, or is LensWorld uniquely positioned for 1-800 Contacts’ enmity? Finally, for those of you who purchase contact lenses and other eyecare items online, I trust you’ve noted 1-800…
September 2007 Quick Links Part II
By Eric Goldman Contracts * Manasher v. NECC Telecom, No. 06-cv-10749 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 18, 2007). NECC included the following language on its invoices: “NECC’s Agreement ‘Disclosure and Liabilities’ can…