E-Commerce Law

Federal Court Dismisses Facebook's Trademark Infringement Claims Against Teachbook

Teachbook, a social and professional networking Web site dedicated to teachers, successfully moved to dismiss Facebook's trademark infringement claims by arguing that it was not subject to personal jurisdiction in California.  Facebook, Inc. v. Teachbook.com, LLC, No. CV 10-03654 RMW, 2011 WL 1672464 (N.D. Cal. May 3, 2011).  The District Court for the Northern District of California held that although Facebook presented sufficient evidence to show that Teachbook intentionally adopted a "confusingly similar trademark," it did not purposefully avail itself of doing business in California because it did not register users in that state.

Tenth Circuit Addresses Limits of Internet-Based Personal Jurisdiction

In the on-going struggle for courts to clearly define the limits of personal jurisdiction for content posted and transmitted over the Internet, the Tenth Circuit reigned in the breadth of such non-territorial activities by requiring an Internet user to "intentionally direct" activities or content to a particular state to sufficiently confer personal jurisdiction on the forum.  Shrader v. Biddinger, 633 F.3d 1235 (10th Cir. 2011).  In doing so, the Court dismissed a pro se plaintiff's complaint for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress filed against a former business associate who authored an allegedly defamatory email about the Plaintiff and sent the email to the Plaintiff's customers.

Most Popular E-Commerce Law Posts of 2010

Happy New Year!  In no particular order, these were the most popular E-Commerce Law posts in 2010:

Student’s Off-Campus Cyber-Bullying Protected by the First Amendment

Plaintiff Granted Expedited Discovery to Subpoena Social Networking Sites for Identity of Defendants

Court Holds "No Legitimate Reasonable Expectation of Privacy" in "Private" Facebook or MySpace Postings

Operating Website with Name Similar to Plaintiff's Registered Trademark is Insufficient to Subject Defendant to Jurisdiction Under Calder Effects Test

Roger Clemens, Defamation, and Personal Jurisdiction for Interviews Given in Foreign Jurisdictions

Law Firm that "Cut and Paste" Section from Competing Firm's Website Properly Sued in Plaintiff's Home Forum

For Jurisdiction Purposes, A Website May Not Be Doing Business Where It Claims

Legal Issues Involved in Blogging

My This Week In Law (Episode No. 78) Companion

Operating Website with Name Similar to Plaintiff's Registered Trademark is Insufficient to Subject Defendant to Jurisdiction Under Calder Effects Test

In Mobile Anesthesiologists Chicago, LLC v. Anesthesia Associates of Houston Metroplex, P.A., ___ F.3d ___, 2010 WL 3811319 (7th Cir. Oct. 1, 2010), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a claim brought under the federal anti-cybersquatting statute for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Residing in Tennessee But Visiting an Oklahoma Company's Website Can Subject You to Personal Jurisdiction in Oklahoma

On August 6, 2010, the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma denied a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction where the defendants, who were based out of Tennessee, stole storm shelter website designs from the plaintiffs, who were based out of Oklahoma.

Plaintiff's Efforts to Silence Critics on Website Fails

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss a case for allegedly defamatory statements made on defendants’ website.  Vision Media TV Group, LLC v. Forte, 2010 WL 2836791 (S.D.FL July 19, 2010).  Defendants, Julia Forte personally and www.800Notes.com Advent LLC, operate an informational website out of North Carolina that allows third parties to post comments about telemarketing companies.  After a member of the public receives a marketing call, he or she can research the number on 800Notes.com to find comments about the company or to place comments on the message board.  It is especially targeted to members of the public who want to avoid harassing calls or to report violations of the national “Do Not Call” registry.

Jurisdiction Proper Where .net Directly Competes with .com

On July 20, 2010, the Northern District of California denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss or transfer venue in a Lanham Act case and state law trademark infringement action brought by the plaintiff.  Digby Adler Group LLC v. Image Rent A Car, Inc., 2010 WL 2867134 (N.D. California).  The plaintiff, Digby Adler Group LLC, is a California based car and rental van company, with a niche in long-term rentals to touring music groups.  Since 2003, plaintiff has done business under the service mark “Bandago” and registered the domain name bandago.com.  In 2008, plaintiff filed an application for registration of its mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.  The defendants, Image Rent A Car, Inc. and Van Rental Co., Inc., are also in the business of renting vans and other vehicles.  Their primary place of business is in New York, but they also operate rental offices in Florida.

Highest Bidder on eBay, Loser in Personal Jurisdiction Appeal

On June 3, 2010, the Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed the trial court’s dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction in a breach of contract case for a sale made through eBay.  MacNeil v. Trambert, 2010 WL 2222805 (Ill. App. 2 Dist. June 3, 2010).  The case started in November 2008 when the Appellant (“MacNeil” ) purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser from the Appellee (“Trambert”) on eBay.  After a few emails and phone calls between the parties, the transaction was completed.  Then MacNeil discovered that the vehicle did not have satellite radio or DVD screens in the headrest, as advertised in the eBay description.

Law Firm that "Cut and Paste" Section from Competing Firm's Website Properly Sued in Plaintiff's Home Forum

On May 28, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss for improper venue in a copyright infringement action.  Brayton Purcell LLP v. Recordon & Recordon, 2010 WL 2135302 (9th Cir. Mar. 28, 2010).  The original action stemmed from a copyright suit brought in the Northern District of California, alleging that Appellant copied verbatim material on Appellee’s website without proper attribution.

“Read and Understood” But Not “Agreed” – A Forum Selection Clause and Changing Venue for the Convenience of the Parties

On April 27, 2010, the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Washington granted a Motion for Change of Venue to transfer a case to the Eastern District of Virginia, after finding that a forum selection clause was never “agreed” to by the party to be bound.  K.S., by her guardian at litem, Isserlis v. Ambassador Programs, Inc., 2010 WL 1704719 (E.D. WA April 27, 2010).