Question for lawyers... Yelp and Antitrust Law (1 Viewer)

[Politician Spock]

I'm not all that educated on this topic, but I'm somewhat aware that Yelp has some legal right to create a page using protected assets of a business, such as their trademark and image, without approval because it's being used for public reviews.

That said, my question is does Yelp have the right to sell advertising space on a Yelp page of my business, while excluding my business from the revenue Yelp is making from the use of my trademarks and images on that page to sell ads?

I bring this up because Yelp is constantly trying to get me to buy an advertising contract, and a key "benefit" of it is that the competitors ads they show on my page without having a advertising contract with Yelp are removed. Shouldn't Yelp being paying me to use my trademarks and images to sell ads for my competitors on my page, instead of me paying Yelp to remove them?

Thoughts?

 

[ChiefD]

Yelp is evil.

 

[Politician Spock]

If a newspaper has a restaurant review column, and one week's edition they review Bob's BBQ, with the name, logo, and photos as part of the review, and there are paid ads alongside that review page... What's the policy you want to see there? Do you think it's OK if they phone up Bob before the review is run to offer him first chance at those ad spaces? Maybe to run coupons and menu specials? And if Bob says no thanks... Can they offer those ads to Charlie's BBQ? Or are all competitors barred? And would that ban apply just to BBQs? All restaurants? All places people go when getting getting out of the house, including other options like movie theaters? Pubs? A Dave & Busters arcade? Who's responsibility is it to enforce all that? The newspaper? Their lawyers? Or should they rub all their ads by Bob first for his OK? 

The bolded makes your analogy very different than what Yelp is doing. Yelp creates a permanent page of a business. And they are allowed to do that only because it's a place for public reviews, and not for Yelp to review them. 

It would be more like Yelp building a replica of a McDonalds building, not to operate as a McDonalds, but instead to house public reviews. But then selling ads on the building. 

 

[parasaurolophus]

The bolded makes your analogy very different than what Yelp is doing. Yelp creates a permanent page of a business. And they are allowed to do that only because it's a place for public reviews, and not for Yelp to review them. 

It would be more like Yelp building a replica of a McDonalds building, not to operate as a McDonalds, but instead to house public reviews. But then selling ads on the building. 

Wouldnt that be different since you actually built something in the likeness of the business? Nobody is going to yelp because they accidentally thought it was a place to buy hamburgers.

 

[The Z Machine]

The reviews are mostly paid for anyway... I have little faith in their ratings.

 

[Politician Spock]

Wouldnt that be different since you actually built something in the likeness of the business? Nobody is going to yelp because they accidentally thought it was a place to buy hamburgers.

Any analogy is going to be different because what Yelp is doing is unique. 

This video explains it pretty well.