http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php All the Internet Law that's Fit to Print Wed, 14 May 2008 19:20:39 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss092 jbender@ibusinesslawyer.com jbender@ibusinesslawyer.com en [This post was originally published 8/16/03 -- somehow the original post was deleted from the blog] The 9th Circuit held earlier this week that Section 230 of the CDA immunizes an online dating service from liability arising out of statements made by its users. Carafano v. Metrosplash, No. CV-01-00018-DT (9th ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=25&c=1 The 9th held last Friday that a domain name registrant may sue a registrar, NSI, for conversion of the registrant's domain name. Kremen v. Cohen, CV-98-20718-JW (9th Cir. Jul. 25, 2003). The case turned on whether a domain name is a species of "property" susceptible to conversion. ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=23&c=1 The 4th Circuit recently solidified the principle it first articulated in May that, so long as personal jurisdiction is available, US law governs entirely any domain dispute brought in a US court. Hawes v. NSI, No. 02-1182 (4th Cir. Jul. 9, 2003). Moreover, by virtue of US companies' ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=22&c=1 The Supreme Court of California held earlier this week that mass e-mails do not constitute trespass to chattels unless they damage the recipient's computer equipment. Intel v. Hamidi, S103781 (Ca. Jun. 30, 2003) [Briefs available here]. In doing so, the court braked a judicial trend to extend trespass ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=21&c=1 "There is no reason inherent in the technological features of cyberspace why First Amendment and defamation law should apply differently in cyberspace than in the brick and mortar world[,]" the 9th Circuit began an opinion earlier this week. Batzel v. Cremers, CV-00-09590-SVW (9th Cir. Jun. 24, 2003). Congress, ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=20&c=1 The Fourth Circuit yesterday reversed one of the most outrageous cybersquatting decisions to emerge from the Eastern District of Virginia. Barcelona.com, Inc. v. Excelentisimo Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, No. 02-1396 (4th. Cir. Jun. 2, 2003). The appellate decision stands as perhaps the most cogent statement of the jurisdictional and substantive ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=19&c=1 My first post to this blog pointed to a New York Times article entitled "The Power of the Fourth." The article covered "the Fourth Circuit[, which] is considered the shrewdest, most aggressively conservative federal appeals court in the nation." I noted that the 4th Circuit was particularly important ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=18&c=1 The 9th Circuit recently upheld a lower court finding that use of a competitor's trademark in a website's text and metatags constituted trademark infringement. Horphag Research Ltd. v. Pellegrini, CV-00-00372-VAP (9th Cir. May 9, 2003). The decision raises the stakes for parties that use a competitor's mark for ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=17&c=1 A First Circuit decision suggests that online service providers should either be very careful what they promise or be very thorough about beta testing before they make the promises. The court, in In Re Pharmatrak, Inc. Privacy Litigation, No. 02-2138 (1st Cir. 2003), held that Pharmatrak, a website statistics ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=16&c=1 The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and district courts in Maine and Illinois handed down Internet jurisdiction decisions this month. See Hockerson-Halberdt, Inc. v. Propet USA, Inc., 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 7277 (Apr. 1, 2003); Cecil McBee v. Delica Co., Ltd., 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6123 ... http://ibusinesslaw.info/index.php?p=15&c=1