Since the Seventh Circuit opinion in ProCD v. Zeidenberg (7th Cir. 1996), judicial analysis of standard form contracts has proceeded along lines that have, in general, been more favorable to the efforts of sellers and licensors seeking to enforce the provisions of "agreement now, terms later" contracts. The ProCD v. Zeidenberg analysis of the relevant… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Barnes v. Yahoo! Opinion on Remand a Caution to Web Site Operators: Don’t Let Employees Make Promises That They Can’t Keep
Posted in Online ContentTo the great frustration of plaintiffs and their attorneys, and even some judges, courts have construed Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in such a way as to make it virtually impossible to hold a Web site operator liable for defamatory material that is posted on the site by a third party, even if… Continue Reading
Jacobsen v. Katzer: Open Source Software Project Gains Key Rulings in Copyright Infringement Litigation
Posted in Copyright, Open SourceJacobsen v. Katzer involves a dispute over rights in software code distributed pursuant to the open source Artistic License. Last year the case yielded one of the very few judicial rulings dealing with open source software. As we wrote at the time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected the argument that… Continue Reading
Web Site Invitation to Submit Art Work for Authentication Does Not a Contract Make, the New York Appellate Division Rules – A General Lesson for User-Generated Content
Posted in ContractsCan the submission of user-generated content pursuant to an invitation posted on a Web site give rise to implied contractual obligations on behalf of the Web site owner? Although the recent case of Thome v. The Alexander & Louisa Calder Foundation, 2009 NY Slip. Op., 2009 N.Y. App. Civ. LEXIS 8707 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st… Continue Reading