Ruling Clarifies <i>Situs</i> of Injury for Online Infringement Claims
April 28, 2011
Declaring that the Internet "plays an important role in the jurisdictional analysis in the specific context of this case," the New York Court of Appeals has ruled that in copyright infringement cases involving the uploading of a copyrighted printed literary work onto the Internet, the situs of injury for purposes of determining long-arm jurisdiction under NY CPLR 302(a)(3)(ii) is the location of the principal place of business of the copyright holder.
The Dangers of Dynamic Keyword Insertion
April 28, 2011
One aspect of PPC advertising in which keywords play a part ' and where such keyword use might be considered trademark infringement ' is the use of keywords within the text of an ad itself. Unfortunately, trademarked keywords sometimes appear in PPC ads automatically, without anyone intentionally selecting them. How is that possible? Through the use of a technique known as dynamic keyword insertion, combined with inexact keyword matching.
Mixed Summary Judgment Ruling in Ringtones Litigation
April 28, 2011
Record labels have taken a lot of heat for being slow learners when it comes to profiting from Internet-era trends like downloads of mobile ringtones, but the labels haven't been shy in one area: copyright litigation against online purveyors of their artists' music. Musicians, meanwhile, have targeted the labels for allegedly stiffing them on royalties when customers pay for their music online.
Winning the Battle Between Social Media and Electronic Discovery
April 28, 2011
As a starting point, it's important to recognize that social media is a delivery mechanism, but the content drives the entire downstream discovery and compliance-oriented tasks. On balance though, while the e-discovery and regulatory issues are fundamentally the same, the social media genre does genuinely pose a range of tactical and strategic discovery challenges.
Search Engine Advertising Trademark Claims
April 28, 2011
In <i>Network Automation, Inc. v. Advanced Systems Concepts, Inc.</i>, the Ninth Circuit: 1) expressly held that the use of a trademark as a search engine keyword for the purpose of triggering advertisements is a "use in commerce" of that trademark under the Lanham Act; but 2) vacated a preliminary injunction, finding that the district court's analysis of consumer confusion in the Internet context was too narrow.
Online Behavioral Advertising
April 28, 2011
The first quarter of this year has been marked by a rise of awareness and legal activity surrounding the question of behavioral, or targeted, advertising ' a significant area of operation and interest for e-commerce firms.
Watching You ' Steal My IP
April 28, 2011
Are you watching your online competitors, lest they steal your ideas, your customers, or both? How can an online firm learn when another firm is infringing its intellectual property?
Structuring Sweepstakes and Contests
April 26, 2011
Whether operated by a franchisor or a franchisee, contests involving skill or games of chance aimed at consumers are often an integral part of a promotional and brand-building effort. This article sets forth some key legal and practical issues you should consider when operating a promotion.
Social Media and Its Effects
April 24, 2011
In the legal world, the role of social media has become more prevalent in the last five years. Attorneys and their clients are grappling with how this emerging technology will affect their cases.
