Eric Goldman

How annoyed are judges about getting filings with hallucinated citations? They are using ChatGPT to write limericks mocking the filers 🤖😵

https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/2486572/opinion/Opinion_2025-0843.pdf

"You Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Gotta Hand It To Chief Justice Roberts"

https://abovethelaw.com/2026/02/you-do-not-under-any-circumstances-gotta-hand-it-to-chief-justice-roberts/

The Santa Clara University campus is beautiful, especially when the spring flowers are on display

https://flic.kr/p/2s5Qh5J

This high schooler is doing a better job of developing Internet policy than virtually every legislator in the world

https://edsource.org/2026/social-media-ai-mental-health/755990

No surprises here: Texas A&M's restrictions on DEI-related teaching led to widespread censorship (including pre-compliance/self-censorship)

https://www.chronicle.com/article/inside-texas-a-ms-scramble-to-censor-its-curriculum

Spotted at Costco Mountain View: 10 lb chocolate Easter bunny for $140 🍫🐰

https://flic.kr/p/2rZazY7

Eating instructions: smash with a mallet or saw with a warm bread knife

The town of Mendocino, shimmering in the sun (taken from the Mendocino Headlands State Park)

https://flic.kr/p/2s3mboX

"courts are regularly degrading Section 230’s protections...[this post recaps] 30 times Section 230 did not apply (many in the 9th Circuit) from case law and in the statute itself" 📉

https://project-disco.org/competition/30-exceptions-for-section-230s-30th-anniversary/

AAUP said the litigation was filed “amid a broader pattern in which the federal government has increasingly weaponized antisemitism to pressure and reshape higher education institutions toward a far-right agenda”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/us/justice-department-ucla-lawsuit.html

Blog Post: Comments on the Jury Verdict in the Los Angeles Social Media Addiction Bellwether Trial

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/comments-on-the-jury-verdict-in-the-los-angeles-social-media-addiction-bellwether-trial.htm

Sea tunnel at Mendocino Headlands State Park

https://flic.kr/p/2s3jRDn

NYT: "Nine Law Firms Surrendered. Four Law Firms Won"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/opinion/law-firms-resistance-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&unlocked_article_code=1.QVA.DZN9.FzruSSgqayfT

The surrending law firms: A&O Shearman, Cadwalader, Kirkland, Latham & Watkins, Milbank, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thacher, Skadden, Willkie

I signed onto this letter, which does a good job helping taxonomize the many problems and unknowns associated with mandatory online age authentication

https://www.politico.eu/article/age-check-social-media-scientist-warning/

For more detail, see my full paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5208739

CHE: "Government’s Demands for Employee Data to Identify Antisemitism Unsettle Academics"

From the article: The EEOC's information request "shows how difficult it is for the [EEOC] to investigate antisemitism without coming off as, well, creepy"

https://www.chronicle.com/article/governments-demands-for-employee-data-to-identify-antisemitism-unsettles-academics?sra=true

Like most of the things he says, these remarks are not OK

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-loses-it-at-supreme-court-justices-who-voted-against-him/

I substantially expanded my comments about the jury verdict in the LA Superior court social media addiction trial

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/comments-on-the-jury-verdict-in-the-los-angeles-social-media-addiction-bellwether-trial.htm

Blog Post: Quick Comments on the SCOTUS Cox v. Sony Ruling

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/quick-comments-on-scotus-cox-v-sony-ruling.htm

Good outcome in SCOTUS's Cox v. Sony decision https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-171_bq7d.pdf

BUT...Thomas' opinion overrides decades of common law to restate contributory copyright infringement as (1) inducement, or (2) the service is "tailored" to infringement. What will future plaintiffs do with prong #2?

Blog Post: What Does a Hologram Trademark Signify When the Hologram Isn’t There?–Upper Deck v. Pixels

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/what-does-a-hologram-trademark-signify-when-the-hologram-isnt-there-upper-deck-v-pixels.htm

"Trump administration drops suits against law firms with ties to Democrats and other Trump foes" 🌮 https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/02/politics/trump-administration-drops-suits-against-law-firms

The law firms that "settled" with Trump instead of fighting:
A&O Shearman, Cadwalader, Kirkland, Latham & Watkins, Milbank, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thacher, Skadden, Willkie

Blog Post: Does 512(f) Apply Differently to Counternotices Compared to Takedown Notices? #Copyright

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/does-512f-apply-differently-to-counternotices-compared-to-takedown-notices.htm

"Design Patent Bar Plagued by Low Applicant Numbers Two Years In"

@design_law@mastodon.social: “when you’re an art major, people don’t exactly encourage you to go to law school. I was treated by some people like I was some kind of delusional Elle Woods wannabe”

https://www.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw/bloomberglawnews/bloomberg-law-news/BNA%200000019c-7d89-dbd5-a1df-7f99c95a0001

From my blog archive: why I'm not amused by bloggers' April Fools "jokes" https://personal.ericgoldman.org/bloggers_april/

While not every lawyer who files hallucinated citations is categorically incompetent, the hallucination phenomenon may be speeding up the identification and sanctioning of the ones who are 🤖😵 https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/alabama/alsdce/1:2022cv00448/70919/353/0.pdf?ts=1775058380

Blog Post: A SAD Scheme Plaintiff Unsuccessfully Plays an IP Privilege Card–Price v. Schedule A Defendants

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/02/a-sad-scheme-plaintiff-unsuccessfully-plays-an-ip-privilege-card-price-v-schedule-a-defendants.htm

Blog Post: Catching Up on Some Social Media Addiction Rulings

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/catching-up-on-some-social-media-addiction-rulings.htm

"What began as the misuse of artificial intelligence in a court filing (which Mr. Watkins characterized as an inadvertent technical error) grew into repeated instances of lying & obfuscation" 🤖😵

https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3959&context=historical

(Sanctions include a 3 month suspension from NDAla courts)

Blog Post: Free-Trial Commercial Database Defeats Publicity Rights Claim–LaFleur v. Yardi

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/free-trial-commercial-database-defeats-publicity-rights-claim-lafleur-v-yardi.htm

Blog Post: Do DMCA Takedown Notices Need to Expressly Refer to the Lack of Fair Use?–Take-Two v. PlayerAuctions

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/03/do-dmca-takedown-notices-need-to-expressly-refer-to-the-lack-of-fair-use-take-two-v-playerauctions.htm

Why do plaintliffs file SAD Scheme cases in Florida instead of Illinois? This plaintiff's lawyer offers a boldly candid anwer:

"as a matter of personal preference, [lawyer] favors litigating in the southern climate during the winter months"

😎

https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3958&context=historical

"BORTAC’s presence in Chicago was a textbook case of authoritarian overreach"

https://www.wired.com/story/border-patrol-bortac-borstar-use-of-force-midway-blitz/

Blog Post: If You Don’t Keep Good Records, Don’t Be Surprised if Your TOS Formation Fails in Court–White v. PayPal

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/02/if-you-dont-keep-good-records-dont-be-surprised-if-your-tos-formation-fails-in-court-white-v-paypal.htm

I continue to see a lot of confusion about what the Take It Down Act says and does, as well as its policy merits. I "debated" the law's removal provisions with Jim Steyer of Common Sense Media. Watch the video:

https://youtu.be/_UswjUbvQBc?si=lrpJvp7dJUK9D9vi

Blog Post: I Was the Son of a Librarian 📚

https://personal.ericgoldman.org/i-was-the-son-of-a-librarian/

Blog Post: Section 230 Preempts Lawsuit Over Unwanted Gmail Spam–Dor v. Google

https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2026/02/section-230-preempts-lawsuit-over-unwanted-gmail-spam-dor-v-google.htm