A judge has just rejected Apple's claim for a preliminary injunction to stop Amazon from using the term App Store This comes out of the case where Apple suited Amazon for trademark infringement saying that Amazon improperly used Apple's "App Store" name. Amazon argued that the term is generic and therefore not protectable. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton did not agree that the term … [Read more...]
Law Professors: PROTECT IP Will “Make it Difficult For Online Advertisers To Do Business on the Web
According to several stories out today a group law professors has come strongly out against the PROTECT IP bill, saying that the pending Senate bill "could make it difficult for online advertisers and credit card companies to continue doing business on the Web" The Protect IP Act provides for court orders forcing Google, Bing and other search engines to stop returning certain results. In … [Read more...]
ICE Now Seeking To Extradite Foreign Operators Of .Com & .Net Sites Which Violate US Law To Face Trial In US
So it appears The US government is saying is if you operate a website under a .com or .net and you are subject to US law, even if you live outside the US, your servers are located outside the US and your site is in compliance with local law in the jurisdiction you operate. The Guardian.co.uk, is quoting the Assistant Deputy Director of The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) … [Read more...]
Lens.com Fights Back Trademark Infringement Charges & Files Suit Against 1800Contacts Over Keyword Advertising
According to MediaPost.com, Lens.com filed suit against 1800Contacts alleging they are violating antitrust laws and engaging in "vexatious and sham" litigation by suing 15 competitors over their paid search campaigns. This an interesting case as 1800contacts has been according to the suit suing and threating competitors who buy keyword advertising under their trademark, a practice courts have … [Read more...]
FBI Seizes Servers at Digital One In US, “Taking Tens of Clients Sites Down” When Only Wanting 1
The New York Times reported a few days ago that "The F.B.I. seized Web servers in a raid on a data center early Tuesday, causing several Web sites, including those run by the New York publisher Curbed Network, to go offline." "The raid happened at 1:15 a.m. at a hosting facility in Reston, Va., used by DigitalOne, which is based in Switzerland." "In an e-mail to one of its clients on … [Read more...]
TheHill.com: Bill To Legalize Online Poker To Be Introduced As Soon As Next Week
According to TheHill.com, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is expected to introduce legislation as soon as next week that would legalize online poker and create a new federal regulatory body to oversee the sites. The bill would legalize only online poker, other forms of Internet gambling and betting would remain illegal. "Under the legislation, online poker sites would have to be registered in … [Read more...]
Federal Trade Commission May Open Anti-Trust Investigation On Google
According to the Wall Street Journal the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may "start a wide-ranging, formal antitrust investigation into whether the search giant has abused its dominance on the Web. This could mark the start of a lengthy legal process, similar to the years long battle Microsoft faced in the 1990's resulting in 10 years of legal problems with both the US and EU regulators. At … [Read more...]