Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce
-
October 07, 2019
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Petition Over CDA Immunity In Grindr Negligence Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A petition for certiorari over the application of an immunity defense under the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which was filed by a New York man who brought negligence and product liability claims against Grindr LLC after he was the victim of online harassment, was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Oct. 7 order list (Matthew Herrick v. Grindr LLC, et al., No. 19-192, U.S. Sup.).
-
October 07, 2019
Domino’s Pizza’s Petition Over Website Accessibility Denied By Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its Oct. 7 order list, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to enter the debate over what obligations the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) imposes upon a website operator in terms of making a website accessible to people with disabilities, denying a petition for certiorari by Domino’s Pizza LLC in a lawsuit brought by a blind man (Domino’s Pizza LLC v. Guillermo Robles, No. 18-1539, U.S. Sup.).
-
October 07, 2019
High Court Denies Copyright Volitional Conduct Petition Over Online Photo Use
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 declined to consider three questions over the role that volitional conduct plays in copyright infringement, denying a petition for certiorari by a real estate photography firm, which sued Zillow Inc. for its purportedly infringing use of certain photographs in its online listings that the petitioner said Zillow had the ability to control (VHT Inc. v. Zillow Group Inc., et al., No. 18-1540, U.S. Sup.).
-
October 03, 2019
Solicitor General Counsels Against Certiorari In Google, Oracle Java Copyright Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Opining that lines of Java computer code copied by Google LLC constituted protectable expressive content, Solicitor General (SG) Noel J. Francisco, in a Sept. 27 amicus curiae brief filed on behalf of the U.S. government, asserts that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly ruled in favor of Oracle America Inc. in a long-running copyright dispute, recommending that the U.S. Supreme Court deny Google’s petition for certiorari (Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc., No. 18-956, U.S. Sup.).
-
October 02, 2019
D.C. Circuit Mostly Affirms Net Neutrality Repeal, Permits State Neutrality Rules
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission’s 2018 order repealing net neutrality was mostly affirmed Oct. 1 in a detailed 186-page opinion by a District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel that upheld reclassification, deregulation and transparency provisions, while vacating a portion of the order that would preempt state laws that conflict with the order (Mozilla Corp., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, et al., No. 18-1051, D.C. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 29480).
-
September 30, 2019
$62.4 Million Judgment Issued Against VidAngel In Studios’ Copyright Suit
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge on Sept. 23 issued judgment against VidAngel Inc., in accordance with a $62.4 million jury verdict that penalized the online video-filtering service provider for violating the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) via its services (Disney Enterprises Inc., et al. v. VidAngel Inc., No. 2:16-cv-04109, C.D. Calif.).
-
September 27, 2019
FTC Says Match.com Operator Engaged In Deceptive, Unfair Practices
DALLAS — Match Group Inc., which operates the popular dating website Match.com, has engaged in five kinds of deceptive or unfair practices for the purpose of inducing consumers to subscribe or remain subscribed to its service, the Federal Trade Commission says in a complaint filed Sept. 25 in Texas federal court, alleging violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) (Federal Trade Commission v. Match Group Inc., No. 3:19-cv-02281, N.D. Texas).
-
September 20, 2019
Federal Judge Reserves Ruling On Insurer’s Coverage Duties For Trademark Claims
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington on Sept. 17 held that an insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its plumbing company insured under an insurance policy’s businessowners liability coverage, reserving his ruling on whether an underlying trademark infringement suit triggers the policy’s cyber liability and data breach response coverage (Mid-Century Insurance Company v. Hunt's Plumbing & Mechanical LLC, et al., No. 19-0285, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160098).
-
September 19, 2019
Petitioner Seeks Review Of Patent Relating To ‘Downloadables’
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a Sept. 18 petition for inter partes review (IPR) filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Unified Patents Inc. took aim at a Finjan Inc. patent directed to the creation or receipt of a security profile for a file received over a network, also known as a “downloadable,” as well as transmission of the downloadable and its related security profile (Unified Patents Inc. v. Finjan Inc., No. IPR2019-01611, PTAB).
-
September 06, 2019
COMMENTARY: The Value Of Digital Accessibility Statements: A Checklist For Getting Started
By Dallas Richard
-
September 17, 2019
9th Circuit Won’t Stay Mandate In TCPA Dispute Over Facebook Text Messages
SAN FRANCISCO — Three weeks after it denied rehearing of a decision in which it revived a lawsuit against Facebook Inc. under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for sending unwanted text messages, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 12 denied the social network’s motion to stay its mandate in light of a pending petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court (Noah Duguid v. Facebook Inc., et al., No. 17-15320, 9th Cir.).
-
September 17, 2019
Judge Won’t Order Groups To Remove Pharmacy Comparison Website From ‘Blacklist’
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — In a one-page order issued Sept. 12, a New York federal judge denied a preliminary injunction motion by the operator of a website that provides information about international pharmacies in which the operator sought to require two defendants that it says are part of an anti-competitive conspiracy to prevent it from obtaining information about foreign drugs to remove it from a purported “blacklist” of not recommended websites that has been distributed to consumers (PharmacyChecker.com LLC v. National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, et al., No. 7:19-cv-07577, S.D. N.Y.).
-
September 16, 2019
No Coverage Due For Online Scam; Bad Faith, Breach Of Contract Claims Dismissed
LAS VEGAS — A Nevada federal judge on Sept. 11 granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in favor of an insurer after determining that an insured’s claims for breach of contract, bad faith and unfair claims practices cannot proceed because no coverage is afforded for an online scam perpetrated against the insured (Sanderina LLC, et al. v. Great American Insurance Co., No. 18-772, D. Nev., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154760).
-
September 11, 2019
In Response To Board, Patent Owner Urges Denial Of Google Petition
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Efforts by Google Inc. to cancel various claims of a coding patent should fail because the “vast majority” of General Plastic Indus. Co. v. Canon Kabushiki Kaisha factors weigh against institution of inter partes review (IPR), a patent owner told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Sept. 6 (Google Inc. v. Realtime Adaptive Streaming LLC, No. IPR2019-01038, PTAB).
-
September 11, 2019
Some Google Images Discovery Ordered In Photo Repository’s Unfair Competition Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — In a Sept. 9 minute entry, issued after a hearing, a California federal judge directed Google LLC to provide some documents related to its “Google Images” feature to the operator of an online photo repository that sued the tech giant for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) related to an advertising and marketing agreement (Dreamstime.com LLC v. Google LLC, et al., No. 3:18-cv-01910, N.D. Calif.).
-
September 11, 2019
Permanent Injunction Issued Against VidAngel After Willful Copyright Verdict
LOS ANGELES — Three months after a jury found that VidAngel Inc.’s online video-filtering service ran afoul of the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), awarding the plaintiff movie studios $62.4 million, a California federal judge on Sept. 5 granted the studios’ motion for a permanent injunction barring the defendant from any further infringing acts (Disney Enterprises Inc., et al. v. VidAngel Inc., No. 2:16-cv-04109, C.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152395).
-
September 10, 2019
Rimini Street Again Told To Provide Oracle Post-Injunction Compliance Discovery
LAS VEGAS — Five months after Oracle USA Inc. was permitted to conduct limited discovery to ensure that Rimini Street Inc. was complying with a permanent injunction against it in a long-running software copyright lawsuit, a Nevada federal magistrate judge on Sept. 6 signed an order setting parameters on that discovery and establishing a schedule for Rimini’s compliance (Oracle USA Inc., et al. v. Rimini Street Inc., et al., No. 2:10-cv-00106, D. Nev.).
-
September 09, 2019
9th Circuit Affirms Injunction In Suit Over Use Of LinkedIn Data
SAN FRANCISCO — A trial court properly enjoined LinkedIn Corp. from preventing a data analytics company from accessing publicly available data on its network, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Sept. 9, finding that the analytics firm established a likelihood of irreparable harm without an injunction and raised serious questions about the viability of LinkedIn’s claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) (hiQ Labs Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp., No. 17-16783, 9th Cir.).
-
September 09, 2019
TV Anchor Sues Facebook, Reddit, Others Over Unauthorized Photo Use
PHILADELPHIA — Facebook Inc. and Reddit Inc. were among those named by a Philadelphia TV news anchor as having used a photo of her online without authorization, for the “abhorrent and disgusting” purpose of sexualizing her image, the plaintiff says in a complaint filed Sept. 4 in Pennsylvania federal court in which she alleges publicity rights violations (Karen Hepp v. Facebook Inc., et al., No. 2:19-cv-04034, E.D. Pa.).
-
September 06, 2019
Grindr Waives Response To High Court Petition Over CDA Immunity Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Grindr LLC and related companies filed notices of waiver in the U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 16 and 22, declining to respond to a petition for certiorari from a man who brought negligence and product liability claims against the dating app provider and choosing not to reply to questions about the scope of immunity provided by the Communications Decency Act (CDA) (Matthew Herrick v. Grindr LLC, et al., No. 19-192, U.S. Sup.).