- FTC Hammer Falls On LifeLock's Online Identity Theft Protection Service
- Keller v. Electronic Arts: Court Finds that Electronic Arts' Use of Personal Traits in Video Games Violated College Footballer's Rights of Publicity
- I've Moved My Practice to Epstein, Becker & Green in San Francisco
- Zynga v. Does d/b/a Easy Chips: California Federal Judge Applies Light Standard for Uncovering Identity of Anonymous Proprietor of On-line Business
- Catsouras v. California Highway Patrol: California Court Recognizes Family's Privacy Interest in Death Scene Photos of Deceased Relative
- U.S. v. Little: Emerging Circuit Split on Whether National Community Standards Should Be Applied in Internet Obscenity Cases
- Layshock and J.S.: The 3rd Circuit Attempts to Define the Circumstances under Which a School Can Punish a Student for Creating a Defamatory MySpace Profile
- Williams v. MetroPCS: Consumer Cannot be Bound by Terms of Contract She Never Received
- The FTC's Privacy Initiatives Pose a Threat to Online Behavioral Advertising, Despite the Lack of a Clear Congressional or Public Mandate
- Third Education Group v. Phelps: DMCA Notice and Takedown Procedures Lightly Policed by Misrepresentation Rule
- Nemet Chevrolet v. Consumeraffairs.com: 4th Circuit Reaffirms Its Position that the Communications Decency Act Provides Immunity from the Burden of Defending a Lawsuit
- Apex Technology v. Doe: May a Court Enter an Injunction Requiring an ISP to Take Down an Allegedly Defamatory Third Party Post?
- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC): Supreme Court Ruling Is a Major Victory for New Media First Amendment Rights
- Will Net Neutrality Stall-out?: Making Sense of the FCC's Grab for Jurisdiction over the Internet
- Major v. McCallister: Browsewrap Agreement Upheld by Missouri Court of Appeals
- Remedpar v. Allparts: The Other CFAA Circuit Split - Is a Loss in Revenues that Is Not Accompanied by an Interruption in Service Actionable under CFAA?
- Too Soon to Worry about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)?
- Blockowicz v. Williams: Online Publisher Not Subject to Injunction Against Original Author of Defamatory Posts
- Sedersten v. Taylor: Court Refuses Request to Unmask Anonymous Blogger who Was Not a Party to a Suit
- IsoHunt Mystery Resolved: Judge Wilson finds Gary Fung's BitTorrent Sites Liable for Contributory Copyright Infringement
- What are the Threshold Requirements for a CFAA Civil Suit?
- Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum: Judge Provide Outlines of Possible Fair Use Defense for Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
- Alamar Ranch v. Boise: District Court Rules that an Employee Waived the Attorney-client Privilege for Emails She Sent to Her Counsel from Her Work Computer
- Convertino v. DOJ: Federal Court Upholds Attorney-Client Privilege for Employee's Private Communications to which Employer Had Access
- Zheng v. Yahoo!: U.S. Companies Not Subject to U.S. Restrictions on Disclosure of Private Emails if the Disclosure Is Made in a Foreign Country
- Amburgy v. Express Scripts: Why a Missouri Court Held that an Increased Risk of Identity Theft Is Insufficient to Confer Standing in a Data Breach Case
- JM Test Systems v. Capital One: The Legal Decision-Tree for Determining the Party Liable for an Unauthorized Funds Transfer
- The YouTube Approach to Copyright Infringement Claims
- The Gary Fung / isoHunt Mystery: Are Torrent Sites Liable for Copyright Infringement Conducted by Third Parties?
- FTC v. Commerce Planet: Can a Website that Fully Discloses Charges to Be Made to Consumer Credit Cards Be Faulted for Unfair or Deceptive Conduct?
- Ubid v. Godaddy and Weather Underground v. Navigation Catalyst: How the "Effects Test" Drove the Courts to Opposite Rulings on Personal Jurisdiction
- Morningware v. Hearthware: Illinois Court Finds Use of Competitor's Trade Name to Drive Search Engine Advertising Can Constitute Trademark Infringement
- Citysearch Click Fraud Class Action Certified -- but Proving Meaningful Damages May Remain a Problem for Plaintiffs
- Lahoti v. Vericheck: How to Lose a Cybersqatting Case against a Serial Cybersquatter
- Apple v. Psystar: Installation of Modified Apple Software on Cloned Computers Constituted Copyright Infringement
- UMG Recordings v. Augusto: First Sale Doctrine Protects Reseller of Promo CDs
- How Far Must an Employer Go in Preventing Employee Internet Misconduct?
- Bosh v. Zavala: Was the Court's Order that a Cybersquatter to Turn Over 700 Domain Names that Incorporated Names of Non-appearing Parties to a Plaintiff Proper?
- Lasco Foods v. Hall and Shaw: Can an Employee Be Liable Under Federal Wiretap Laws for Accessing an Email on a Company Laptop for Purposes Adverse to the Company?
- Update on CFAA Circuit Split: District Courts in 8th Circuit Adopt Minority View, Permitting Claims Where Defendant Exceeds His Authority to Access Computer
- Brodsky v. Match.com: Court Upholds Forum Selection Clause Contained in Click-Wrap Agreement
- Doe v. Young: Can a Physician Be Liable for Invasion of Privacy for Disclosing Anonymized Photos of a Plaintiff's Torso to a Reporter?
- The Tagged.com Spam Cases: New York and Texas Attorney General Actions Show the Effectiveness of States' Retained Powers to Regulate Spam
- In re. Ameritrade Accountholder Litigation: Court Rejects Class Settlement He Viewed as Providing Members of Plaintiff Class with No Real Benefits
- U.S. v. Kilbride: 9th Circuit's Holding that Internet Obscenity Laws Should Be Governed by a National Standard Rests on Shaky Grounds
- Do I Need a Privacy Policy?: When Websites Are Required to Post Privacy Policies
- Swartz v. Doe: Tennessee Ruling Provides Clarity on Showing Needed to Uncover Identity of Anonymous Blogger in Defamation/Privacy Case
- U.S.A. v. Iconix: A Website's False Disclaimer that It Collects Personal Information from Children under Age 13 Can Lead to Doubled Penalties from the FTC
- Dart v. Craigslist: District Court Ruling Clarifies Extent to which a Website Can Permit Publication of Illegal Content but Retain Communications Decency Act (CDA) Immunity
- Patco Construction v. Ocean Bank: Who Pays when a Hacker Steals Money from a Business Bank Account?
- Notes from Digital Hollywood: Will Behaviorally Targeted Advertising Come to TV?
- Notes from Digital Hollywood: Online Video Companies Struggle for Means to Turn Online Content into Profits
- Notes from Digital Hollywood: Industry Solutions to Privacy Issues in Online Behavioral Advertising May Not Satisfy FTC Chiefs
- In re Cellco / Verizon (USA v. ASCAP): Behind the District Court Ruling that Customer Use of Ringtones Does Not Constitute a Public Performance
- Heartland Data Breach: Handicapping the Financial Institutions' Suit In Light of Recent Class Actions
- Carl v. BernardJCarl.com: Co-option of Personal Name for Gripe Website Supports Cause of Action for Defamation, but Not Trademark Infringement or Cybersquatting
- Noonan v. Staples: Jury Decides Against Plaintiff in Truth + Malice Internet Defamation Case
- Wilcox Associates v. Xspect Solutions: Court Finding of Bad Faith Was Primarily Based on Prior WIPO Finding that Defendant Acted in Bad Faith
- AT&T v. FCC: 3rd Circuit Rules that Corporations May Invoke Personal Privacy Exception to FOIA Disclosure
- Federal Court or UDRP Arbitration? How the Forum that Decides a Domain Name Dispute Can Make a Big Difference in the Results
- What Is the Federal Privacy Act? How the Privacy Act Can Protect Your First Amendment Rights from Government Intrusion
- Bloggers and Advertisers Beware: FTC Rules on Sponsored Endorsements Create Major Risks for "Word of Mouth" Advertising
- The Domain Name as Collateral: Considerations for Creditors Seeking to Use a Domain Name as a Security Interest or as a Source of Payment on a Judgment
- LVRC v. Brekka: 9th Circuit Decision Creates Circuit Split on Whether CFAA Applies to an Employee Who Misuses His Authority to Access His Employer's Computer Files
- Kindle Class Action Settlement: Gawronski v. Amazon Suit Regarding Amazon.com's Removal of Orwell Works from Kindle Devices Settles, but Leaves Many Questions
- FTC v. Innovative Marketing: When Is an Officer or Director Personally Liable if a Corporation Engages in Unfair Business Practices?
- Rocky Mountain Bank v. Google: Was Judge Ware's Order that Google Deactivate the Gmail of a Customer Inadvertently Sent Confidential Information Appropriate?
- Intellect Art Media v. Milewski: Xcentric/Ripoff Report Escapes Another Defamation Case
- ES&H v. Allied Safety: Court Sidesteps Split in Authority over Whether CFAA Applies to an Employee Who Misuses His Authority to Access His Employer's Computer Files
- Lane v. Facebook: Privacy Class Action Settlement Requires Facebook to Pay $9.5 Million, but Provides No Direct Benefits to Most Plaintiffs
- Corbis Corp. v. Starr: Finger-pointing Could Not Save Web Designer and Customer from Joint Copyright Infringement Liability
- FTC v. Sears: Is Placing Material Internet Contract Terms in a Scrollbox Now Taboo?
- California Energy Commission Rebuffs the Consumer Electronics Association and Announces Move to Implement Strict Restrictions on TV Power Use
- McLoughlin v. People's United Bank: No Claim for Future Identity Theft Losses where Plaintiffs Were Unable to Claim that Data Lost in a Breach Was Misused
- Stayart v. Yahoo!: Failure to Allege Intent to Commercialize One's Identity Dooms Action for False Endorsement under Lanham Act
- UMG v. Veoh: Has Judge Matz Gone too Far in Placing the Burden of Identifying Instances of Copyright Infringement onto the Backs of Copyright Holders?
- Ottinger v. Tiekert: New York Trial Courts Are Split on the Burdens to Be Imposed on a Plaintiff Seeking to Uncover the Identity of an Anonymous Blogger
- iMEGA v. Holder: Third Circuit Rejects Gaming Industry Group's Constitutional Challenges to Federal Internet Gambling Law (UIGEA)
- Batzel v. Smith: No Communications Decency Act Immunity for Publishing Private Communications on Your Website
- Akanoc, OnlineNIC and Computerme : Suits Involving Multiple Copyright, Trademark or Cybersquatting Claims Provide Opportunities for Startling Statutory Damage Awards
- Court Explains Why On-line Reseller Was Not Entitled to First Sale and Nominative Fair Use Defenses in Mary Kay Trademark Suit
- Good Copyright Registration "Hygiene" Necessary to Obtain Copyright Protection over Revised Versions of Software
- Steinbach v. Forest Park: Navigating the Federal Court Splits on the Interpretation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to a Remedy
- Louis Vuitton v. Akanoc: Letters to ISP Demanding Takedown of Infringing Websites Played Critical Role in Jury Finding that ISP Had Knowledge of Trademark Infringement
- Shames-Yeakel v. Citizens Financial Bank: Failure to Expeditiously Implement State-of the Art Security Measures Can Create Liability for Negligence in Data Breach Cases
- Dart v. Craigslist: Competing Views of Craigslist's Liability for Creating its "Adult" Services Section
- Brayton Purcell v. Recordon & Recordon: 9th Circuit Decision on Personal Jurisdiction and Venue in Passive Internet Website Case Goes Off-Track
- Internet gaming: Bill Offering Protection for Internet Gambling Delayed, but Not Necessarily Dead
- Digital media law: New Twitter harrassment suit by Idaho mayoral candidate Melissa Sue Robinson in progress
- Arista Records v. Launch Media: Degree of User Control over Song Selections Determines whether Webcasting Service Is Required to Pay Individual Licensing Fees for Sound Recordings
- Digital Media Law: Where is the flood of Twitter-squatting lawsuits?
- Solers, Inc. v. Doe & In re Liskula Cohen: Hurdles to Uncovering the Identity of an Anonymous Internet Poster Vary Greatly throughout the U.S.
- Digital media law: Koenig v. ALL.COM case shows the power of rem jurisdiction in resolving cybersquatting disputes
- CAN-SPAM update: Ninth Circuit Ruling Shuts down Anti-SPAM Cottage Industry
- Melkonian v. Facebook: New Privacy Suit against Facebook Faces Challenges
- Swoopo!: Do Penny Auction Sites Run Afoul of California Gambling Laws?
- DVD Copy Control Assn. v. Kaleidescape: California Court of Appeals Upholds License Agreement which Committed a Licensee to "Secret" Specifications
- Tiffany v. eBay: eBay's Notice and Takedown System and Trademark Law
- U.S. SAFE WEB Act Used by FTC to Prevent U.S. Exporter from Pretending to Be U.K.-Based Site
- Attack Blog's Salvos against Corporation and Blogger's Use of Copyrighted Photos in Parodies of Management Deemed Non-Actionable by California District Court
- On-line Privacy Update: FTC Uses Its Mandate to Expand Reach of Consumer Data Security Laws to Non-Financial Businesses
- TJX Data Security Breach Saga Continues: Financial Institution Class Action against TJX Survives on Based on Unfair Competition Claim Predicated on Statements in FTC Complaint against T.J. Maxx / Marshalls' Parent Company
- Goddard v. Google - Part II: Judge Fogel Rules that Google's Keyword Tool Is a Neutral Tool For Communications Decency Act Purposes
- Will Cloud Computing Create a Thunderstorm?: Loophole Permits Private Emails and other Digital Data Stored by Third Parties to Be Divulged to the Public without Stored Communications Act Liability
- Employer Access of Employee Digital Communications and Federal Wiretap Laws: It's Easier to Be Found Immune if the Communications Reside on Your Servers
- Internet Service Provider-Level Filtering for Copyrighted Materials and Federal Wiretap Laws
- The Kindle Content Deletion Flap: Predictions on how Amazon.com Will Respond to the Newly-Filed Class Action
- Mary Kay v. Yahoo! and Mary Kay v. Weber: Can Use of Third-Party Trademarks as Keywords for Ads Be "Fair Use"?
- What is the US SAFE WEB Act and what does it mean for you?
- The Doe v. MySpace Cases: Neutral On-screen Prompts Don't Make an Interactive Website a Developer of User Information for Communications Decency Act Purposes
- FTC v. Accusearch, Inc: No Communications Decency Act Immunity Where Website Operator Qualified As Developer of Material Posted on Website
- Does Identifying a Search Result as an Advertisement Eliminate Confusion with a Trademarked Search Term?
- Inside Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc.: Does Google's Use of Trademarks to Trigger Advertisements from Competitors Violate Federal Trademark Laws?
- 4th Circuit Sides with the Schoolmasters in On-line Plagiarism Detection Service Case
- The Legacy of Perfect 10: Websites that Use In-line Linking and Thumbnails to Bring Third Party Content to Users Can Avoid Suits for Direct Copyright Infringement
- Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc.: The Ninth Circuit Gets to the Right Destination But By the Wrong Route
- The Yath and Moreno Cases: Publication on a Social Networking Site Is Sufficient to Meet the "Publicity" Element of an Invasion of Privacy Tort Claim
- Microsoft Corp. v. Lam: The Role of CFAA in the Legal Battle Against Click Fraud
- Worden v. Alaska: The Ignorance is Bliss Defense Rides Again
- DMCA Take-Down Notices with Little Detail on the Identity and Location of Infringing Material Are Often Found to Be Insufficient
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Why a Compliant Take-Down Notice Can Be Important in a Successful Copyright Infringement Claim against an Internet Service Provider
- Communications Decency Act Update: A CDA Defense Can Be Raised in a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss
- California's Anti-Spam Laws May Provide a Potent Weapon for Private Parties to Wield Against Spammers (Eventually)
- Six Years After CAN-SPAM: Effective Spam Control Can Require Both Technical and Litigation Solutions
- Update on Proposed California Efficiency Standards for TVs: Given the Efficiency of our Market System, Does Consumer Demand for Green Technology Make this Regulation Unnecessary?
- Frustration for Consumers Seeking to Recover from a Retailer in a Maine Data Theft Case
- Tort Liability from Data Thefts: The Race is to the Swift
- The Manifesto of the Swedish Pirate Party: A Sweeping Rollback of Intellectual Property Rights
- Are interactive websites "developers" of all information they require users to provide in online profiles?
- DOJ Asks U.S. Supreme Court Not to Hear Case with Potential Major Impact on Cloud-Computing Copyright Issues
- Circuits Shift Away from Finding that the Communications Decency Act Provides Broad "Immunity" from Liability for Third-Party Content to Digital Media Providers
- Barnes v. Yahoo: No Communications Decency Act Protection for Internet Service Provider Who Fails to Keep Its Promise to Take Down an Offending Post
- Did Recent Decisions on the Scope of Immunity under the Communications Decency Act Inform Craigslist's Decision to Modify Its Site?
- Facebook Suit Against Social Networking Aggregator Power.com Survives Initial Court Test
- Digital Media Immunity Statutes Don't Cover the Author of an Internet Post
- Texas Court Rules that Internet Contract Giving Website Owner the Right to Make Unilateral Amendments Is Illusory
- Golan v. Holder: Colorado Federal Court Finds that Federal Law Restoring Expired Copyright Claims of Foreign Authors Violates the First Amendment
- What to do when it's too late: How to minimize your losses when you learn your customer may file for bankruptcy protection
- French Attempt at Legislation Requiring ISP's to Assist in Controlling Piracy Hits Snag
- Federal Government Puts Baby Teeth into Enforcement of Criminal Copyright Infringement Laws
- Can a Clause Permitting a Website Operator to Unilaterally Change the Terms of the Website User Agreement Be Enforced?
- Fireworks at House Committee Hearing on Performance Rights Bill: Texas Professor Disputes Claim that Broadcasts Increase Sales of Recorded Music
- Emerging Circuit Split: Does the Communications Decency Act Shield State Law Claims for Misappropriation of Right of Publicity?
- Controlling Discovery in Digital Media Cases: Lessons from the Viacom Suit Against YouTube/Google
- Court Split Widens over Whether DMCA Rules against Removal of Copyright Management Information Apply Only to Automatic, Computerized Copyright Management Systems
- Digital Media Lawyer Beware: Court's Rejection of "Hot News" Cause of Action Appears to Be Based on Misunderstanding of Pleading Standards For Hot News Claim
- Hearings on Legislation to Require AM/FM Radio to Pay Performance Rights Royalties Currently Paid by Digital Media Sources Set to Begin
- Using the "Hot News" Doctrine to Work Around Limits to Copyright Protection
- Final Version of Federal Stimulus Bill Contains over $40 Billion for Information Technology Spending
- District Court Holds that a Website's Assistance of Users in Creating On-line Content Can Be Sufficient to Eliminate Immunity Under the Communications Decency Act
- Fair Housing Council Decision Leaves Unanswered Questions as to Assistance a Website Operator Can Give Users in Creation of Content without Forgoing CDA Immunity
- Arizona District Court Finds that Detection Evasion Features of a "Bot" which Permitted Users to Access Software on Interactive Game Distributor's Server Violate the DMCA
- Harvard Study Finds Significant Limits in the Ability of Current Technology Used by Social Networking Sites to Reduce Online Risks to Minors
- "Actual Knowledge" Language in COPPA Places Interactive Web Sites at Risk of Non-compliance
- Manufacturer Compliance with Energy Efficiency Regulations for Consumer Electronics to Be Surveyed by California Energy Commission
- Recent Federal Court Ruling Would Make It Easy to Sue Foreign Website Operators in U.S. Courts
- Court Finds that File-Sharing Site Can Be Entitled to DMCA Safe Harbor Protection even though It Converts and Allows Access to User-uploaded Content
- Overbroad Rules on Internet Publication of Materials "Harmful to Minors" Killed by Supreme Court Ruling
- New Energy Efficiency Regulations for TVs Are Coming to California: Why You Should Be Concerned
- Winners in Recent Patent Infringement Cases Awarded Attorneys Fee Awards in Excess of Royalty Damages
- New Class Actions Filed Regarding LCD Rear Projection HDTV's Using "Optical Block" Technology
- Minimizing Risks from Product Returns
- Returns of Consumer Electronics Set to Increase in 2009: Time for Manufacturers and Distributors to Assess and Minimize their Risks
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Recent Entries
- March 10, 2010 2:47 PM
FTC Hammer Falls On LifeLock's Online Identity Theft Protection ServiceLifeLock has just agreed to a stipulated judgment under which it will pay the FTC and 35 State attorneys general $12 million to settle claims that its misrepresented the effectiveness of its consumer identity theft protection service. But the larger question is whether a method does exist that will protect consumers against identity theft. - March 9, 2010 12:38 PM
Keller v. Electronic Arts: Court Finds that Electronic Arts' Use of Personal Traits in Video Games Violated College Footballer's Rights of PublicityHow far can a video game designer go in patterning game characters after real life celebrities without violating their publicity rights? Read today's post for a case that found that Electronic Arts' NCAA Football game may have crossed the line. - March 8, 2010 3:34 PM
I've Moved My Practice to Epstein, Becker & Green in San FranciscoWondering why you haven't seen any posts from my blog in a while? The answer is that I've move my practice to the San Francisco office of Epstein, Beck & Green. - February 22, 2010 1:00 AM
Zynga v. Does d/b/a Easy Chips: California Federal Judge Applies Light Standard for Uncovering Identity of Anonymous Proprietor of On-line BusinessThe standards imposed on plaintiffs seeking to uncover the identity of an anonymous Internet player vary greatly from court to court. Should these standards be uniform? - February 16, 2010 1:21 AM
Catsouras v. California Highway Patrol: California Court Recognizes Family's Privacy Interest in Death Scene Photos of Deceased RelativeIt is well-established that even a close relative may not recover for an invasion of privacy of another person. However, in a January 29, 2010 decision, the California Court of Appeal held that family members have a common law privacy right in the death images of a decedent. Did this opinion do away with old rule against "relational" privacy claims? Read today's post to find out.