Case

Website that neglected to properly verify bank account ownership held liable for fraud committed by users of site.

We often counsel our clients not to make absolute promises about security or data protection. Just like there is no ocean-front property in Arizona, there is no such thing as perfect security or safety. 

LifeLock, Inc. just learned this lesson the hard way when they promised consumers protection from all forms of identity theft.  As a result, they are now agreeing to pay $12 million in fines state and federal regulators.

The California Supreme Court, in Christoff v. Nestle USA, Inc., 47 Cal.4th 468, 213 P.3d 132 (2009) discussed the impact of the single publication rule on right of publicity claims in non-traditional media.  Its decision opens the door to extended liability for right of publicity claims beyond the two year statute of limitations that the Court of Appeals applied.

A federal district court in Virginia recently issued a preliminary injunction to prevent a company from using a competitor's trademarks online.  Deltek Inc. v. Iuovo Systems, Inc., No. 09-330 (E.D. Va. Apr. 20, 2009).  In this case, Deltek sued Iuovo for visibly using the Deltek name to advertise services and for including the mark in meta tags to drive traffic to the Iuovo website.  The court held that this use may cause consumers to erroneously conclude that Iuovo is affiliated with Deltek and, therefore, amounts to trademark infringement.

In Party City Corp. v. Superior Court of San Diego County, the California Court of Appeals held that zip codes are not "personally identifying information" under California's Song-Beverly Credit Card Act.

In Mobilisa, Inc. v. Doe, 217 Ariz. 103, 170 P.3d 712 (2007), the Arizona Court of Appeals adopted a three-part test for use in determining when an anonymous internet poster's identity may be obtained.  Arizona joins New York, New Jersey, and California in formulating similar but different tests to determine when the identity of anonymous posters can be obtained.

In Christoff v. Nestle USA, Inc., 152 Cal. App. 4th 1439, 62 Cal. Rptr. 3d 122 (2007), the California Court of Appeals reversed a $16 million jury verdict in a right of publicity case brought under California's publicity statute and remanded to the lower court for consideration based on its opinion.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides website operators immunity from civil liability based on information provided by another "information content provider." Most courts have interpreted this language broadly and held that as long as the website operator only published - but did not participate in the creation and development of - information, it was immune from liability. A federal court in Wyoming, however, recently read Section 230 narrowly, and entered judgment for the Federal Trade Commission in a false advertising case against Abika.com, a firm whose website offered information products, including records of telephone call details. (Federal Trade Commission v. Accusearch, Inc., d/b/a/ Abika.com (D. Wy., September 28, 2007). Customers would place orders with Abika for confidential information about specific telephone numbers. Abika would buy the information, if available, from third-party vendors, then resell it to the customers. The vendors got this information illegally from people employed by or otherwise associated with telephone carriers.

Sweepstakes can be effective vehicles for marketing products and services and engaging consumers with a brand during the holidays. However, sweepstakes are highly regulated at both state and federal levels and can trigger legal challenges if not carefully structured.

On behalf of client Vonage Holdings Corp., Perkins Coie obtained complete dismissal of a purported class action anti-spam case filed against Vonage in California. The plaintiff, a recent law school graduate represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, sought damages and injunctive relief from Vonage in California state court on the theory that email advertisements for Vonage services sent from more than one domain name violated California's anti-spam law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Section 17529.5, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

A recent decision by the United States District Court for the Central District of California in MySpace, Inc. v. Wallace, No. 07-1929 (C.D. Cal. 2007), has paved the way for entities offering interactive messaging on private networks to use the CAN-SPAM Act to combat spam. Messages sent through private networks may qualify as electronic mail messages under the Act even though they are sent over an intranet rather than the public internet. Therefore, social networking websites, chat and video game providers, and web portals who may not consider themselves to be internet service providers because they use private networks, nevertheless may fall within the purview of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Ninth Circuit recently held in Douglas v. Talk America Inc., No. 06-75424, 2007 WL 2069542 (9th Cir. July 18, 2007) that the unilateral addition of a mandatory arbitration clause and other amendments to an online contract are invalid absent actual notice to the customer. The Douglas decision calls into question the common practice by ecommerce companies of amending their online terms and policies at will with little in the way of notice other than posting the revised terms or policies and perhaps including a revised effective date on the terms or policies themselves. The concerns are probably overstated, and we review some best practices for your consideration.

Kavu Inc. v. Omnipak Corp., W.D. Wash., No. 2:06-cv-00109-RSL (class certification order 1/23/07).

A federal district court in Washington state has held that a suit arising from an unsolicited commercial fax is entitled to class certification under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Washington Consumer Protection Act.  The defendant had sent unsolicited fax advertisements to 3,000 numbers that it had obtained from the Manufacturers News, a company that compiles and sells contact information for businesses.  The court distinguished the case before it from prior cases in which class certification was denied; in those cases, noted the court, the defendant had the opportunity to provide individual defenses with respect to whether a particular recipient had given permission to receive the fax.  In the case before it, however, whether the defendant had obtained consent would be an issue common to all recipients.   The commonality element was met, rendering class certification appropriate.

In November 2006, Zango (formerly known as 180solutions, Inc.) a major adware distributor, settled FTC charges arising from the distribution of its adware by its network of third party affiliates, who frequently offered consumers free content and software without disclosing that downloading them would result in installation of Zango's adware.

Asis Internet Servs. v. Optin Global Inc., N.D. Cal., No. C-05-5124-CW, 9/27/06

A federal district court has held that mortgage brokers who used "lead generators" are liable for violations of CAN-SPAM resulting from thousands of unsolicited commercial emails sent by third-party "spammers" used by the lead generators.  The mortgage brokers, held the court, had "knowingly induced" the spammers to send the illegal spam through the lead generators.  By knowingly inducing the spammers to send the messages, stated the court, the mortgage brokers met the definition of "initiator" under CAN-SPAM.  Because the mortgage brokers' products or services were advertised in the messages, they were deemed "senders" of the unsolicited commercial emails in question.

N.D.N.Y. Case No. 5:04-CV-1055 (9/28/06)
The court granted Google's motion to dismiss Rescuecom's allegation that Google's use of the "Rescuecom" mark as a keyword in connection with the sale of sponsored links is a commercial use.  The court reasoned that the use of the mark was not a "use in commerce" because the mark was never displayed; thus, although such use of the mark was commercial in nature, it did not constitute a "use in commerce."

No. 401394/2005 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) (settlement announced Oct. 20, 2005)
Intermix Media agreed to pay a $7.5 million to settle charges of false advertising and deceptive busines practices, raised by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

384 F.Supp.2d 1219 (N.D. Ill. 2005)
DirectRevenue installed spyware, allegedly without consent, onto computers by bundling it with other legitimate software that was available "free" on the Internet, such as games. Through the spyware, advertisers bombarded users' computers with ads that constantly "pop up" over whatever web page a user is viewing.

121 P.3d 831 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2005)
Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed trial court's holding that Acacia violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by delivering unsolicited text message advertisements to Joffe's mobile phone. The appellate court determined that the TCPA applies to text messages, and application as such did not violate Acacia's First Amendment rights.

2005 WL 832398 (N.D. Cal. 2005)
N.D. Cal.
The Northern District of California declined to grant Google's motion to dismiss trademark infringement and unfair competition claims, finding that there was a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether Google's advertising scheme created confusion by presenting ads of American Blind's competitors when keywords related to American Blind were entered into Google's search engine. Google sold "American Blind," "Americanblinds."

N.D.N.Y. Case No. 04-CV-001055, (9/7/04)
U.S. District Court
Complaint filed by Rescuecom Corporation against Google, Inc. alleges that Google's use of the "Rescuecom" mark as a keyword in connection with the sale of sponsored links is a commercial use because the defendant is a commercial entity selling and offering for sale advertising on its internet Search Engine.

No. CGC-04-433518 (S.F. Sup. Ct. filed Aug. 3, 2004) (class action)
Class action lawsuit filed in California state court alleges ads appearing on Internet search engines violate California gambling laws by steering users to gambling websites based on certain keyword searches and using geo-tracking software to target advertising for certain regions, including California. Named defendants include search engines Google, Ask Jeeves, Altavista, and others.

No. 2:03-cv-04269-R-VBK, Doc. 125 (C.D. Cal. final judgment Jul. 7, 2004)
Federal district court entered $4 million judgment against spammer that misrepresented himself as being associated with Microsoft's Windows Update service. Khoshnood sent spam email directing recipients to www.

Utah state court, Third District (Salt Lake City)
Internet retailer Overstock.com sued competitor SmartBargains under Utah's Spyware Control Act for allegedly using spyware to display pop-up ads over the Overstock.

No. 2:04-cv-00100-GC (D. Me. filed May 17, 2004)
See L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Nordstrom, Inc.

No. 2:04-cv-00099-GC (D. Me. filed May 17, 2004)
See L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Nordstrom, Inc.

No. 2:04-cv-00098-GC (D. Me. filed May 17, 2004)
See L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Nordstrom, Inc.

No. 2:04-cv-00101-GC (D. Me. filed May 17, 2004)
Clothing retailer L.L. Bean sued Nordstrom in federal district court for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and related claims, alleging Nordstrom used spyware to cause Nordstrom ads to appear in pop-up windows when computer users visited L.

309 F. Supp. 2d 446 (E.D.N.Y. 2004)
Federal district court held that a forum selection clause in an Internet service provider's (ISP) terms of use agreement was not unconscionable, even though the computer window allowed the plaintiff to view only ten lines of the agreement at a time, and the clause appeared over 300 lines into the document. Novak alleged that Google failed to remove material from its online discussion groups that Novak deemed objectionable, thereby breaching Google's terms of service.

Federal District Court in N.Y.--Filed
Federal
American Blind and Wallpaper Factory filed suit in New York District Court against Google, AOL and Netscape. American Blind's suit is based on Google's practice of selling advertisements linked to certain keywords.

309 F. Supp. 2d 467 (S.D.N.Y. 2003), aff'd 414 F.3d 400 (2d Cir. 2005)
1-800 Contacts sued WhenU.com to get an injuction stopping WhenU.com from sending pop-up ads to people visiting 1-800 Contacts website who had unknowingly downloaded WhenU's software onto their computer.

293 F. Supp. 2d 734 (E.D. Mich. 2003)
Federal
Wells Fargo sought a preliminary injunction to stop WhenU.com from sending pop-up ads to internet users visiting Wells Fargo's website.

279 F. Supp. 2d 723 (E.D.V.A 2003); No. 02-1469-A (E.D.Va. 2003)
Federal
A federal court has ruled on the legality of pop-up ads. WhenU.com develops an application that comes bundled with popular free software such as peer to peer applications.

filed (2003)
Federal
Lending Tree has filed suit against Gator Corp. for flashing pop-up ads of competitors when visitors access its site. Lending Tree claims that the pop-up ads have damaged Lending Tree's brand and infringed on its copyright and trademark.

(2d Cir. 2003)
Federal
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a New York law banning the sale of cigarettes over the Internet. The court found that the district court had erred in finding that the law violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

No. 02-207199-1 (Wash. Sup. Ct. 2003)
WA
A lawsuit has been filed against Bonzi Software, Inc., alleging that it tricked users into visiting its website through the use of deceptive online banner advertisements.

Case No. CIV-02-1457-M (W.D. Okla. 2003)
Federal
A federal judge denied a preliminary injunction to restore a website's page rank on Google's search engine. SearchKing, an advertising seller, filed suit after Google intentionally reduced SearchKing's page rank.

Germany-District Court of Munich
Foreign
The court held that Google could not be held liable for trademark infringement where an advertiser uses the trademark in a keyword.

(E.D. Va. 2002)
Federal
A federal court issued a temporary injunction in a copyright infringement case involving targeted pop-up advertising. The Washington Post, Dow Jones, and eight other publishers sued Gator alleging that Gator's unauthorized ads violate their copyright and trademark rights by altering the intended display of their websites.

Copenhagen Baliff's Court (Denmark, 7/5/2002)
Foreign
The Copenhagen Lower Bailiff's Court ordered Newsbooster.com to stop linking to websites of Danish newspapers. The court held that Newsbooster.

2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7770 (S.D.N.Y. 2002)
Federal
About.com sued advertiser Targetfirst in state court. Targetfirst removed the case to federal court and counterclaimed for fraud and breach of contract, alleging that About.

255 F.3d 728 (9th Cir. 2001)
Federal
The Ninth Circuit ruled on the application of the US Sentencing Commission Guidelies (USSG) to a defendant fraudulently selling computers online. The defendant Pirello placed four advertisements on Internet classified-ads websites, soliciting buyers for computers.

161 F. Supp. 2d 1183 (W.D. Wash. 2001)
Federal
The court granted a Michigan-based defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in Washington State. The defendant established a website on which its products were for sale nationwide, placed advertisements in industry journals, and maintained a toll-free number for receiving orders.

No. 01-CV-4854 (E.D. Pa. 2001)
Federal
The FTC filed a complaint against John Zuccarini, seeking to force him to cease his "mousetrapping" activities and return all profits earned from this type of advertising. "Mousetrapping" occurs when a visitor to a site is trapped because the back button on the browser is rigged to trigger pop-up advertisements.

(FTC, 2001)
F.T.C.
The FTC has launched a non-public investigation of online advertisers and direct marketers concerning their use of "delete-resistant" pop up ads. These types of ads may constitute an unfair act or practice in violation of section 5 of the FTC Act.

254 F.3d 476 (3d Cir. 2001)
Federal
The 3d Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that found John Zuccarini liable for violating the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Plaintiff Shields sued Zuccarini for registering 5 domain names that had minor spelling variations of Shields' website.

San Rafeal District Court (Cal. 2001)
CA
A California judge denied DoubleClick's motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit that accuses DoubleClick of privacy violations. Plaintiffs in the case are arguing that by using cookies, DoubleClick is able to collect personality identifying information and create personal profiles.

00 Civ. 0641 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)
Federal
A New York Federal District Court has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Internet advertising giant DoubleClick, Inc. The class alleged various privacy claims stemming from DoubleClick’s practice of placing “cookies” on computer hard drives of the people visiting sites with which they have advertisement deals.

00 Civ. 0641 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)
Federal
A New York Federal District Court has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Internet advertising giant DoubleClick, Inc. The class alleged various privacy claims stemming from DoubleClick’s practice of placing “cookies” on computer hard drives of the people visiting sites with which they have advertisement deals.

84 F. Supp. 2d 180 (D. Mass. 2000)
Federal
Federal judge ruled that Massachusetts cigarette regulations prohibiting advertising in places frequented by minors are valid exercises of state authority. However, the judge also ruled that attempts by the state to regulate advertising in nationally distributed print media, or the Internet, would impose an impermissible burden on interstate commerce.

2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15719 (E.D. Pa. 2000)
PA
The Eastern District of Pennsylvania awarded the largest statutory award to date under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999. The defendant, who was ordered to pay $530,000 in damages and attorney's fees, earned up to $1 million dollars per year by registering domain names based on mispelled web sites that lured users into "mousetraps" with multiple advertising windows.

Greene Cty. Cir. Ct., Mo., filed Sept. 13, 2000
MO
Missouri's attorney general filed suit against health, beauty and wellness retailer More.com for violation of its customer privacy policy.

Greene Cty. Cir. Ct., Mo., filed Sept. 13, 2000
MO
Missouri's attorney general filed suit against health, beauty and wellness retailer More.com for violation of its customer privacy policy.

Greene Cty. Cir. Ct., Mo., filed Sept. 13, 2000
MO
Missouri's attorney general filed suit against health, beauty and wellness retailer More.com for violation of its customer privacy policy.

Multiple courts (filed Aug., 2000)
Federal
Motorola has filed five copyright infringement suits against individuals in federal courts in California, New Jersey, New York and Texas. The complaints allege that the defendants advertised and sold Motorola Radio Service Software on the eBay auction site after acquiring the software without consent.

No. 00-2288 (E.D. Pa., June 2000)
Federal
Trademark infringement action arising from the defendant's marketing and sales of "Tundra Pants" in a Seattle, WA retail store and via mail order catalogs and the Internet. Plaintiff manufactures and sells clothing under the registered trademarks "Tundra" and "Tundra Sports."

S.D.N.Y., filed May 25, 2000
Federal
Following a decision that MP3.com violated the copyrights of major record labels by allowing users to listen and download unauthorized copies of songs (see RIAA v. MP3.com).

94 F. Supp. 2d 457 (S.D.N.Y. 2000)
Federal
Jeri-Jo brought a contempt action for violating a July 1999 injunction barring Sixty from advertising or promoting apparel in the United States using Jeri-Jo's ENERGIE trademark. The court, in denying the action held that the defendant's hyperlink from its U.S. website.

208 F.3d 741 (9th Cir. 2000)
Federal
America Online subscribers sued in federal court for RICO, and the Communications Act of 1934 violations as well as state claims of unfair business practices, negligence, false advertising , and fraud and deceit. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's dismissal, finding 1) failure to show a pattern of activity required by RICO, 2) the Communications Act did not apply because AOL was not a "common carrier", and 3) AOL was not a "state actor" subject to constitutional privacy claims.

105 F. Supp. 2d 816 (S.D. Ohio 2000)
Federal
Trademark infringement action brought by the owners of "Lexis," "Nexis," and "Lexis-Nexis." against Innovator, a competitor that also provides an information retrieval system.

2000 Va. Cir. LEXIS 191 (Va. Cir. Ct., Mar. 8, 2000)
VA
HotJobs brought a breach of contract action after receiving notice from DCI that it was exercising its option to cancel an Internet advertising agreement. HotJobs contends the agreement contained no unilateral cancellation provision under the circumstances in question.

No. CV-421 (Marin Cty. Sup. Ct., filed Jan. 27, 2000)
CA
Complaint alleges state law claims of unfair business practices and false and misleading advertising by DoubleClick for its alleged practice of using cookies to create profiles of Internet users in contradiction of its stated privacy policy. Seeks private attorney general status.

FTC File No. 982 3563; FTC File No. 982 3565 (1999)
FTC
Dell Computer and Micron Electronics entered consent decrees with the Federal Trade Commission regarding leasing advertisements. The consent decree requires both companies to make disclosures more prominent, and to maintain records to demonstrate compliance.

No. 2:99-1914 (E.D. Va. filed Nov. 12, 1999)
Federal
DoubleClick filed suit alleging infringement of its patent on a system for delivering and measuring Internet advertising. L90.com filed a countersuit in May, 2000.

354 F.3d 1020 (9th Cir. 2004); 55 F. Supp. 2d 1070 (C.D. Cal. 1999)
Federal
Keyword advertising case in which defendants sold service to advertisers whereby banner ad would appear when user typed certain terms into search engines. Playboy sued over inclusion of terms Playboy and Playmate, both registered marks.

No. C99-0897 (W.D. Wash., filed June 3, 1999)
Federal
Amazon.com sought declaratory judgment that it has not infringed any intellectual property rights of the New York Times by designating books as being on the Times' bestseller list.

No. 99-2-03549-6SEA (Wash. Sup. Ct. King Cty. filed Feb. 10, 1999)
WA
State of Washington sued store owner under state's Unsolicited Electronic Mail Act for sending email advertisements with misleading subject messages, false routing information, and false email return addresses.

1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1087 (N.D. Ill. 1999)
Federal
In a trademark infringement action, personal jurisdiction over an Ohio resident in Illinois district court was improper based solely on an Internet advertisement for defendant's business posted by a third party.

1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14825 (S.D.N.Y. 1999)
Federal
Plaintiff filed a trademark suit against iBeauty.com and search engine Excite. iBeauty.com bought rights to place banner advertisements keyed to plaintiff's trademarks on portal sites.

1998 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3740 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1998)
CT
Jurisdiction was proper in Connecticut over a Florida partnership under the Connecticut personal jurisdiction statute and satisfied due process requirements, when, in addition to the availability of making reservations and other arrangements through the Internet, defendant also "concentrated" advertising in Connecticut, and actively booked reservations for Connecticut citizens through Connecticut travel agents.

1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20255, (E.D. Pa. 1998)
Federal
In a wrongful death action, the court characterized the defendant's Web site as a passive advertisement that was not sufficient to create general personal jurisdiction. Defendant's Web site contained information and photographs describing the various tours and services the defendant offered, but did not permit the reader to purchase or reserve tours over the Internet.

1998 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3431 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1998)
CT
In a slip-and-fall negligence action, personal jurisdiction in Connecticut was improper over a New York corporation when there was no evidence that defendant's Web site was ever actually accessed by any Connecticut resident. Defendant's other advertising and activities also did not create personal jurisdiction.

28 F. Supp. 2d 644 (D. Utah 1998)
Federal
In product liability action, defendant's contacts with Utah were not sufficiently "continuous and systematic" to establish general jurisdiction with (1) a Web site, which the court analogized to a journal advertisement, (2) direct mailings, and (3) less than one percent of defendant's total national sales in the disputed jurisdiction.

30 F. Supp. 2d 534 (D. Md 1998)
Federal
In a contract dispute, applying the Zippo spectrum of Internet presence for personal jurisdiction, defendant's Web site was characterized as a passive advertisement and therefore did not subject the company to general personal jurisdiction. The Web site contained a description of the company, its capabilities, a partial list of customers, and its phone and fax number, but did not afford customers electronic communication with the company.

27 F. Supp. 2d 102 (D. Mass. 1998)
Federal
Plaintiff alleged that statements on defendant's Web site which referred disparagingly to plaintiff's products and presence of metatags which caused defendant's Web site to show as "hits" when searching for plaintiff's Web site constituted false and misleading statements in advertising, marketing, and promotion. The court found a likelihood of success on the merits and entered a preliminary injunction enjoining defendant from using its Web site in any way which may cause Internet users confusion between the parties.

21 F.Supp. 2d 1109 (N.D. Cal. 1998)
Federal
Plaintiff, manufacturer and licensor of "Java" software, sued Microsoft for false advertising, trademark infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract, and interference with economic advantage, alleging that programs in defendant's new Internet Explorer 4 browser are not compatible with all computer operating systems, in violation of the parties' license agreement. The court granted Sun's request for a preliminary injunction, requiring Microsoft to correct its failure to pass Sun's Java compatibility tests within 90 days.

27 F. Supp. 2d 109 (D. Conn. 1998)
Federal
In trademark infringement action, Defendant's Web site was a passive advertisement, and therefore personal jurisdiction was improper. Both parties produced a generic blood product for hemophilia known as AHF.

1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 6307 (Tex. Ct. App. 1998)
TX
In medical malpractice action, minimum contacts sufficient for personal jurisdiction found when, in addition to Mayo Clinic's Web site, which court analogized to advertisement in nationally circulated magazine, Mayo Clinic had advertised in traditional national publications, treated more than 1,000 Texas residents in the five years preceding the suit, and actively recruited Texas residents for employment.

21 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (D. Utah 1998)
Federal
In action alleging trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, copyright infringement, and business tort, defendant's Web site, which court characterized as passive advertisement, was not sufficient to support exercise of personal jurisdiction.

1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14418 (N.D. Ill. 1998)
Federal
In a trademark infringement action, both parties' advertising on the Internet, along with other evidence, "moderately" tipped analysis in favor of plaintiff under likelihood of confusion factor which considers area and manner of concurrent use.

1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13154 (N.D. Cal. 1998)
Federal
Defendant's use of another's trademark as a domain name, without more, does not confer personal jurisdiction in trademark infringement case. Court distinguished defendant, who registered domain name "nomayo.

17 F. Supp. 2d 104 (D.Conn. 1998)
Federal
In patent and trade dress infringement case, defendant's Web site was not sufficient to confer personal jurisdiction. Court found that defendant's Web site was similar to an advertisement in a national magazine or newspaper.

No. CV 98-5943 DDP (C.D. Cal., Nov. 3, 1998)
Federal
California-based company could not obtain jurisdiction in California over alleged infringer of its trademark based in Ohio, when jurisdiction was based solely on defendant's operation of a web site that was accessible to California residents, with no showing anyone in California had availed themselves of interactive potential.

568 N.W.2d 715 (Minn. Ct. App. 1997)
MN
Existence of a Web site accessible -- and actually accessed -- by Minnesota residents was sufficient to confer Minnesota jurisdiction over nonresident defendant Web site operators, where the Web site actively solicited subscribers and violated Minnesota's advertising and gambling laws by publicizing the allegedly false claim that the site's operators offered a system of gambling on sports events that was legal anywhere.

3 F.Supp. 2d 1165 (D. Colo. 1998)
Federal
Court permanently enjoined defendant Intercable from marketing as "programming" Jones Internet Channel, a service providing Internet access and content via broadband cable technology. The court noted that where the primary benefit of cable Internet access was the speed of transmission and the unlimited storage of information, the service constituted more than mere packaging or programming, and as such required the approval of the directors unrelated to Jones Internet Channel, as set forth in Intercable's Shareholders' Agreement.

999 F. Supp. 636 (E.D. Pa. 1998)
Federal
Online seller of oriental rugs, located in Lancaster (Eastern District of Pennsylvania) sued competitor, located in Pittsburgh (Western District of Pennsylvania) for allegedly copying substantial portions of plaintiff's Web site. Defendant challenged venue, alleging that it could not be "found" in the Eastern District.

5 F. Supp. 2d 762 (D. Ariz. 1998)
Federal
Court, citing Cybersell, found purposeful availment and therefore jurisdiction over defendants where defendants' Internet advertisements were accessible to Arizona residents and there was evidence that several Arizona residents had made reservations using the Web site(s).

999 F. Supp. 1365 (D. Haw. 1998)
Federal
In a products liability suit, defendant, a Louisiana corporation that manufactures pressure gauges, was not amenable to personal jurisdiction in Hawaii based on advertising on its Web page and in a national trade publication. The court held that the defendant did not deliberately direct its advertising efforts to Hawaii residents.

999 F.Supp. 1301 (N.D. Cal. 1998)
Federal
The court enjoined Microsoft from stating that Internet Explorer Version 4.0 is Java compliant, and ordered immediate removal of the "JAVA Compatible" service mark from all forms of the browser product.

1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3297 (E.D. La. 1998)
Federal
In trademark infringement action, Internet Web site advertisements may be admitted as evidence of the way in which a mark is perceived by the relevant public. The plaintiff alleged that such advertisements should be prohibited due to the lack of testimony regarding the authenticity of the information contained therein.

No. WMN 98-495 (D. Md., filed 3/4/98)
Federal
Action against a group of individuals and businesses allegedly offering bogus business opportunities by means of unsolicited email.

993 F. Supp. 621 (N.D. Ohio 1997)
Federal
In action for trademark infringement, court rejects defendants' motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Noting first that defendants advertised in a trade journal with broad circulation in Ohio, the Court finds "even more compelling" defendants' use of an Internet site with the domain name "QUALITYSOLUTIONS."

CV 97-4070-WDK (C.D. Cal. 12/17/97)
Federal
Nonresident company's national advertisement via Internet and national periodicals, combined with use of 1-800 telephone number and actual sales transactions with state residents, constituted purposeful availment of the forum state sufficient to support exercise of personal jurisdiction in an action for trademark infringement.

1997 U.S. Dist.. LEXIS 18687 (N.D. Ill. 1997)
Unknown
The state of Illinois has no jurisdiction in an action against a nonresident trucking company that advertised products via the World Wide Web under an allegedly infringing trademark. The court held that causing injury within the forum state by means of trademark infringement was insufficient to support jurisdiction absent a showing that the defendant had "entered" the forum state by means of electronic communications expressly "directed to" residents of Illinois.

981 F. Supp. 714 (D. Mass. 1997)
Federal
Defendant's marketing of cigar humidors on its Web site was one of several factors cited by court in deciding that the California defendant was subject to Massachusetts jurisdiction in an action for trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution. Jurisdiction was proper because defendant actively chose to market his goods in Massachusetts and plaintiff's claim arose from the sale of the allegedly infringing materials within the forum state.

1997 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 577 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
NY
Likelihood that plaintiff Web advertising company will prevail on a claim of trade secret misappropriation by two former employees was sufficient to support an injunction precluding defendants from forming their own such company or selling Web advertising for a period of six months. Court declined to grant the injunction for a full year, saying that within six months the defendants' knowledge of plaintiff's activities will have "evaporated," given the constant flux of the Web advertising business.

26 Med. L. Rptr. 1185 (C.D. Cal. 1997)
Federal
No jurisdiction in California over French publishers of magazine Paris Match in defamation action. Publishers' activities were not purposefully directed to California, since the issue in which the allegedly defamatory report appeared had only limited distribution in California, and the publisher's use of an Internet Web site to promote its publication was merely passive advertising.

989 F.Supp. 173 (D.Conn. 1997)
Federal
One of three actions brought by E-data Corp. naming, in total, 46 separate defendants, alleging patent infringement arising from the defendants' unlicensed use of online transaction systems.

(S.D. Cal. filed 8/20/97)
Federal
Japanese Internet service provider charges trespass, unfair competition, and violations of Electronic Communications Privacy Act arising from defendant's alleged flooding of plaintiff's servers with email ads bearing false Typhoon return addresses.

663 N.Y.S.2d 468 (Sup. Ct. 1997)
NY
New York state's consumer fraud and false advertising laws were enforceable against a state resident whose email sales "scam" was targeted outside the state by means of global electronic communication. Dismissing defendants' jurisdictional challenge, the court noted that the Internet nature of defendant's transactions did not affect jurisdictional analysis, since "the focus is primarily on the location of the messenger.

97 Civ. 3466 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y. filed May 5, 1997)
Federal
Barnes & Noble, operator of bookstores, catalog service and Web site, sued operator of Internet-based book searching and ordering service, maintaining that Amazon.com's use of the slogan "Earth's Biggest Bookstore" and related statements constitute false and misleading advertising.

1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14492 (N.D. Cal. 1997)
Federal
Preliminary injunction issued against defendant who posted on its Web site applets consisting of plaintiff's copyrighted software. Court held that such posting could constitute both infringement and contributory infringement (in that it encouraged users to make additional copies of the work).

960 F. Supp. 456 (D. Mass. 1997)
Federal
Plaintiff Digital Equipment, operator of the AltaVista search engine, purchased all rights to the AltaVista name from defendant AltaVista Technology, then licensed back the name rights for certain limited purposes, including AltaVista's continued use of the "altavista.com" domain name.

Docket Nos. 95-831-O-H, 96-868-O-H, 96-908-O-H, and 96-910-O-H (Disciplinary District, Board Of Professional Responsibility, Supreme Court Of Tennessee, 2/27/97)
TN
Laurence Canter of the Arizona immigration law firm Canter & Siegel, widely known for use of unsolicited mass email as a means of advertising legal services, was disbarred from practice in Tennessee for violations of the Tennessee Code of Professional Responsibility. Violations included mismanagement and conversion of client funds, in addition to the use of mass email to solicit clients, which, the Board held, "violated the standards of conduct for use of the Internet as well as Tennessee's Code of Professional Responsibility.

1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2065 (S.D.N.Y. 1997)
Federal
Hearst, owner of Esquire magazine and numerous trademark registrations for ESQUIRE and ESQ., brought suit in New York challenging the right of registered owner Goldberger to the domain name "esqwire.

958 F. Supp. 1258 (N.D. Ill. 1997)
Federal
Nonresident defendant's web site and national advertising were insufficient to support jurisdiction based on a contention that defendant had directed commerce at the state of Illinois. "Plaintiffs ask this court to hold that any defendant who advertises nationally or on the Internet is subject to its jurisdiction.

968 F. Supp. 1356 (W.D. Ark. 1997)
Federal
In wrongful death action, mere Web site advertising was an insufficient "contact" with Arkansas to support jurisdiction over third party defendants, a Hong Kong manufacturer.

LLC, 96-2481-Civ-Moreno (S.D. Fla. 1996)
Federal
National advertising campaign that included a Web site as well as 1-800 number, magazine ads, and direct-mail ads was sufficient to create jurisdiction in Florida over a Nevada corporation, in a cause of action alleging trademark infringement, since injury in a trademark infringement case occurs wherever the infringing mark is used.

888 F. Supp. 1328 (E.D. Tex. 1995)
Federal
Memorandum opinion in action challenging Texas Bar rules involving lawyer advertising includes dicta suggesting that the Internet is a "public medium" for purposes of Texas Bar rules limiting lawyers' activities in Public media, and states that "simply because a particular lawyer is unfamiliar with a new technology or its applications, does not mean lawyers in general will be unable to conform their professional conduct to the terms of a regulation implicating that technology."