Law Commons^™

Electronic Billboards Along The Information Superhighway: Liability Under The Lanham Act For Using Trademarks To Key Internet Banner Ads, Christine Galbraith Davik

Faculty Publications

With almost one billion web pages on the Internet today, a search engine is a necessity at times. But search engines are also for-profit ventures and the financial success of these sites hinges on advertising revenue. One of the ways in which these sites generate income is by selling “keywords” to advertisers. Although there has been only one judicial decision – Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Netscape Communications – involving banner ads keyed to trademarks, it will undoubtedly not be the last. This article argues that despite the invisible nature of this unauthorized trademark use, the common practice of keying a …

At The Intersection Of Visible And Invisable Worlds: United States Privacy Law And The Internet, Dorothy J. Glancy

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this essay is to consider some characteristics ofUnited States privacy law that contribute to the obscurity of many intersections between the Internet and privacy law. This discussion is not an exhaustive catalogue of all of the ways in which United States privacy law may apply to Internet activities. Nor is it intended to be
an evaluation of the effectiveness of this privacy law. Rather, the point here is to explore why the application of privacy law to the Internet is a matter of considerable complexity and some uncertainty.
The focus is on certain characteristics of privacy law …

Understanding Internet Co-Branding Deals, Eric Goldman, Candice Lee

Faculty Publications

The Internet has spawned new business practices regarding the ways users access and obtain information and services. Because linking can create a network of web pages that appear integrated and seamless to users, many Internet companies enter what are known as co-branding relationships. This article addresses a common type of co-branding relationship in which a "provider" maintains a set of pages ("the co-branded site") that looks and feels like the "brander's" web site. The co-branded site is promoted on the brander's web site through linking.

Symposium Presentation: Doing Internet Co-Branding Agreements, Eric Goldman

Faculty Publications

Co-brand agreements are what I do. I am the self-titled "King of CoBrands," as this is what I've been doing with my life.

So, let's talk a little about co-branding agreements and about why they might matter. First let's define our terms.

Now, where there used to be one site, the provider site, there will be two sites, the provider site and co-branded site, which contains the branding of the portal, but contains all the same functionality, or similar functionality, as is in the provider's site.

Then the portal will drive traffic to this co-branding site, for purposes that we'll …

Silencing John Doe: Defamation And Discourse In Cyberspace, Lyrissa Lidsky

Faculty Publications

John Doe has become a popular defamation defendant as corporations and their officers bring defamation suits for statements made about them in Internet discussion fora. These new suits are not even arguably about recovering money damages but instead are brought for symbolic reasons — some worthy, some not so worthy. If the only consequence of these suits were that Internet users were held accountable for their speech, the suits would be an unalloyed good. However, these suits threaten to suppress legitimate criticism along with intentional and reckless falsehoods, and existing First Amendment law doctrines are not responsive to the threat …