[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Update to Internet Brands travel site lawsuit

[Matthew Roth]

Hi all, I'm sharing a blog post on behalf of Wikimedia Foundation General
Counsel Geoff Brigham with an update about the Internet Brands travel site
lawsuit. This update can be found online here:
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/11/28/update-to-internet-brands-travel-site-lawsuit/


The federal district court in Los Angeles has now issued its written order
on volunteer Ryan Holliday’s anti-SLAPP motion and motion to
dismiss<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:2012-09-26_Notice_of_Defendants%27_Special_Motion_to_Strike.pdf>.
A copy of the order is available
here<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:2012-11-19_D18_Order_re_Special_Mtn_to_Strike_and_Mtn_to_Dismiss.pdf>.
The order is consistent with our prior
report<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/11/19/update-on-internet-brands-v-holliday/>
following
the hearing on November 19. In the order, the court noted that Internet
Brands abandoned its federal Lanham Act claim. That claim was based on the
factual allegation that the Foundation was operating a new travel wiki
called “Wiki Travel Guide,” which Ryan showed to be incorrect. After being
required to respond to Ryan’s motion, Internet Brands was forced to admit
that the basis of its claim was primarily predicated on an assumption.
Noting that this Lanham Act claim was the only claim supporting federal
jurisdiction, the court dismissed the remainder of Internet Brands’ case
and found Ryan’s anti-SLAPP motion to be moot.

While we had hoped that the court would reach the merits of Ryan’s
anti-SLAPP motion, the dismissal of the entire suit nonetheless represents
a victory for Ryan and volunteer James Heilman (who was also named in the
suit). We congratulate both of them on this result.

Meanwhile, the Wikimedia Foundation is proceeding forward with its lawsuit
against Internet Brands in San Francisco. Internet Brands has filed a
demurrer (motion to dismiss), the hearing for which has been postponed to
December 14. The court has issued a tentative ruling on that motion, which
is available here<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/File:Minutes_-_Demurrer_11-19-12.pdf>.
In the tentative ruling, the court indicates that it is inclined to rule
against Internet Brands. We will update you further after the hearing.

*Geoff Brigham, General Counsel*

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Matthew Roth
Global Communications Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
+1.415.839.6885 ext 6635
www.wikimediafoundation.org
*https://donate.wikimedia.org*
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