SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Contracts Keyed to Farnsworth
Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp.
Citation:
306 F.3d 17
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Netscape’s (defendant) website offered various software programs, including “Communicator” and “SmartDownload,” for download. Spect (plaintiff) and other Netscape users downloaded both programs. To initiate installation of “Communicator,” the users were automatically shown a scrollable text of the program’s license agreement. The users had to click a “Yes” button in order to install the “Communicator” program, which indicated that they had accepted all of the license terms. The terms of the license agreement specified that all disputes relating to the program were subject to binding arbitration in California. The installation of “SmartDownload,” however, entailed no clickwrap presentation. There, users encountered no information about the existence of license terms once they clicked the “Download” button for the “SmartDownload” software. If they scrolled down the page, then they would have seen “SmartDownload’s” license terms. Specht and other Netscape users brought suit, alleging that the programs were used for electronic surveillance of their online activities. At trial, Netscape moved to compel arbitration.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.
19m 28s
