Category: Legal Research

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Legal Research

Can You Hear Me Now

Yahoo!/AP reports that the Federal Communications Act prohibits the State of South Carolina from installing communications jamming equipment inside jails and prisons to prevent inmates from using cell phones to commit further crimes.

How many bars can they get inside of prison? I would imagine that cell phone reception inside an imposing concrete structure should be pretty dismal. And, instead of paying for some electronic wizardry to jam signals, the prison can install aluminum siding or other materials to further physically disrupt the cell phones inside the prison. Maybe the state officials need to think outside the box.

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Legal Research

American Airlines, Inc. v. Yahoo! Inc.

Last year, American Airlines sued Google for permitting third parties to purchase keyword advertising on Google based on trademarks of American Airlines. Because the parties settled, Professor Eric Goldman suggested that Google may not have made any special concessions to American Airlines regarding the use of AA trademarks in keyword advertising. Professor Goldman added that American Airlines may have “completely wasted its time and money.”

I suspect that American Airlines must have wrestled something from Google, else why would it have sued Yahoo! last week for the same act?

I found the complaint to be humorous because American Airlines alleged that Yahoo! owns and operates one of the world’s largest Internet search engines, constituting a significant share of the search engine market. Yes, Yahoo! has 20% of the U.S. search market share, but it ranks a distant second to Google. Sort of like saying SanDisk is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of MP3 players. We’re not exactly talking about a photo finish here. Anyways, I’ll predict that this one gets settled fast now that Yahoo! has apparently pulled most of the sponsored results from appearing when conducting a search for various American Airlines trademarks.

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Legal Research

Using a Cell Phone While Driving in California

Just over three months ago, California started prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving. However, the law allowed drivers 18 and over to use a cell phone provided that they also used a hands-free device. So, I was quite surprised to see other drivers talking on cell phones these past few days. You can’t miss the unmistakeable sign: right hand glued to the right ear while driving. This morning, Palo Alto Online reported that the CHP had cited over 20,000 drivers for talking on a cell phone. Although the base fine is $20, the DMV states that “[w]ith the addition of penalty assessments, the fine can be more than triple the base fine amount.” In these times of financial crisis, we can thank our fellow drivers for chipping in an extra $400,000 – $1,200,000 to help out the state.

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Legal Research

Credit Default Swap Explained

I just discovered OverHedged, a blog by Thompson Hine that covers hedge fund litigation. Earlier, I was reading a news article about credit default swap (CDS) agreements and started looking for some information on CDS litigation. Google directed me to this page regarding Aon Financial Products v. Societe Generale. Well-written and extremely insightful. A sign of a good blog is when you want to browse around and read their other posts.

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Legal Research

Florida Bar Find a Lawyer

The Florida Bar Member Search permits visitors to verify the standing of a Florida attorney. However, I think certain profile data is not automatically updated.

How else can you explain that on the same page, the listing shows that an attorney is a “Member in Good Standing” and “Eligible to practice in Florida,” but also was permanently disbarred?

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Legal Research

Apple Sued for iPhone 3G Bugs

This is the first iPhone 3G lawsuit I’ve seen so far. I wonder if the the iPhone 2.0.2 software update fixed the problem; i.e., slow 3G connection speeds and multiple dropped calls.

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Legal Research

Alimoney

I chuckled the first time I spotted the typo alimoney. In some ways, the misspelling (alimoney) makes more sense than the correct spelling (alimony). After all, “alimoney” is about transferring “money” from the pocket of one party to another in a divorce proceeding. Of course, for the ex-husband or ex-wife that has to pay spousal support, the preferred spelling may be all-my-money. Google shows 11,700 matches for alimoney, so a lot of people have misspelling alimony.

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Legal Research

2008 Summer Olympics Tickets Security

This tidbit comes from a lawsuit filed by the United States Olympic Committee and the IOC:

For security reasons, tickets to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies have been specially designed to prohibit, to the greatest extent possible, counterfeiting and speculative ticket reselling. Specifically, each ticket to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the upcoming Games is embedded with a microchip containing the ticket’s serial number, which can then be read by a database maintained by the [Beijing Organizing Comittee for the Olympic Games] to retrieve the bearer’s photograph, passport details, addresses, e-mail address and telephone numbers.

Sounds like fun. Hopefully, the lines to get into the stadium will move faster than the ones to get inside an Apple retail store to purchase an iPhone 3G.

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Legal Research

Scrabulous isn't the Only Facebook Application Facing Legal Woes

Minekey Inc., the producer of iThink, was sued by i.think inc. for trademark infringement. iThink is an online polling application on Facebook that allows users to enter an opinion and permits other iThink users to vote whether they agree or disagree with that opinion. i.think inc is a online research and survey business. Here’s a copy of the amended complaint that i.think inc. recently filed in the U.S. District Court – Northern District of Texas.

Of course, trademark battles are not solely the province of for-profit businesses. In the U.S. District Court – Northern District of Illinois, Plaintiff Robert Morris College is seeking a declaratory judgment that changing its name to Robert Morris University “to more accurately reflect its status” does not infringe on Defendant Robert Morris University’s rights under the Lanham Act or the laws of trademark or unfair competition.

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Legal Research

Sandwich Showdown

New York Times: Can a Sandwich Be Slandered? Some companies have made a sport of using advertising to bash a competing brand: Pepsi and Coke, Colgate and Crest, Miller Lite and Bud Light. It was a rivalry of this sort that compelled Quiznos, the toasted-sandwich chain, to invite the public to submit homemade commercials in a contest intended to attack a top rival, Subway. . . . Subway promptly sued Quiznos and iFilm, the Web site owned by Viacom that ran the contest, saying that many of the homemade videos made false claims and depicted its brand in a derogatory way.

Where is tort reform when you need it? I think Chef Gordon Ramsay would be the ideal expert witness in this battle royale between sandwich chains. He is always insightful and entertaining. I’m no chef, but I’ve had enough sandwiches over the years to be able to tell the difference between a good sandwich and a bad one. My preference is Quiznos, Togo’s and Subway, from most favorite to least favorite.

Quiznos offers the best-tasting sandwiches. Their meat looks and tastes like real meat with excellent flavor and texture. Even their greens are better. Sauteed onions or the same-old shredded lettuce and tomatoes combination? No comparison. Subway must be feeling the heat because they now offer toasted sandwiches. However, while the bread is warm and crunchy, the fillings are just the same.

I like Togo’s. However, I have stood in line on more than one occasion saying (to no one in particular) that I wished Togo’s had toasted sandwiches. Usually, it comes down to how far I want to travel and how much change do I have in my wallet. Sure, Quiznos offers the tastiest sandwiches, but their sandwiches cost a pretty penny.