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Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • July 03, 2019

    Federal Circuit Upholds Board In Cross-Appeal Of Inter Partes Reviews

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a July 2 ruling, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals left intact findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in three inter partes reviews (IPRs) that various claims of a Finjan computer antivirus patent are patentable, while others are not (Palo Alto Networks Inc. v. Finjan Inc., Nos. 2017-2543, -2623, -2047, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19752).

  • July 03, 2019

    $25M Tinder Age-Bias Class Settlement Granted Final Approval

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California granted final approval on June 19 of a class settlement valued at approximately $25 million reached in a class lawsuit accusing a smartphone-based dating application of discriminatory age-based pricing in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) (Lisa Kim, et al. v. Tinder, Inc., et al., No. 18-3093, C.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108041).

  • July 02, 2019

    Another App Developer Sues Apple For App Store Unfair Competition, Monopolization

    OAKLAND, Calif. — In the wake of a May ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court permitting consumers to pursue antitrust claims against Apple Inc. for alleged monopolization via its App Store, a developer of iPhone apps filed a potential class action against the tech giant in California federal court on June 28, alleging violation of the Sherman Act and California’s unfair competition law (UCL) (Barry Sermons v. Apple Inc., No. 4:19-cv-03796, N.D. Calif.).

  • July 02, 2019

    Patent Owner Responds To Microsoft Petition For Inter Partes Review

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Assertions by Microsoft Corp. that a patent relating to image capture is not entitled to its claimed priority date of 1999 fail, the patent owner told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a July 1 preliminary patent owner response (Microsoft Corp. v. Kewazinga Corp., No. IPR2019-00872, PTAB).

  • July 01, 2019

    Federal Circuit Upholds Some Rejections, Vacates Others In Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals June 28 found that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board “failed to make necessary factual findings” when rejecting three patent claims relating to improved communication over the Internet (VirnetX Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc., No. 18-1751, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19444).

  • July 01, 2019

    Rulings On Experts, Judgment For Microsoft Affirmed By Panel In Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Delaware federal court in a patent infringement suit against Microsoft Corp. properly excluded one expert’s survey and another’s opinions for the plaintiff company and did not err in awarding Microsoft summary judgment of no indirect infringement, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided June 28 (Parallel Networks Licensing, LLC v. Microsoft Corporation, No. 18-1120, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19442).

  • June 28, 2019

    Trump To 2nd Circuit: High Court Ruling Supports Reversal Of Twitter Dispute

    NEW YORK — Three months after oral argument was heard in President Donald J. Trump’s appeal of a ruling that his banning of individuals from his Twitter account violated their rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the president on June 26 filed a letter advising the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that he says supports his position that he is free to ban anyone from his personal Twitter account without it being a state action or constitutional violation (Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 18-1691, 2nd Cir.).

  • June 28, 2019

    Trade Secret, Patent Experts Vetted By Federal Judge In Wireless Technology Row

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on June 25 trimmed proposed expert testimony from both sides in a patent infringement and trade secrets misappropriation suit over a project by Google LLC to provide wireless services through the use of balloons in the stratosphere (Space Data Corporation v. Alphabet Inc., et al., No. 5:16-cv-3260, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106297).

  • June 28, 2019

    Studio Asks High Court To Clarify Volitional Requirement In Zillow Copyright Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A real estate photography studio tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a June 13 petition for certiorari that the circuit courts of appeal are divided on whether liability for direct copyright infringement requires a showing of volitional conduct, arguing that a website operator, such as respondent Zillow Inc., should be found liable for infringing content on its site when it has the ability to control such content (VHT Inc. v. Zillow Group Inc., et al., No. 18-1540, U.S. Sup.).

  • June 24, 2019

    Digital Music Reseller’s First-Sale Doctrine Petition Denied By Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 declined to consider a question over whether “used” digital music files can legally be resold under the Copyright Act’s first-sale doctrine, denying a petition for certiorari by digital music marketplace operator ReDigi Inc. (ReDigi Inc., et al. v. Capitol Records LLC, et al., No. 18-1430, U.S. Sup., 2019 U.S. LEXIS 4296).

  • June 20, 2019

    Jury Finds VidAngel’s Infringement Willful, Awards Studios $62.4 Million

    LOS ANGELES — On the fifth and final day of oral arguments in the liability trial for VidAngel Inc. in California federal court, a jury on June 17 found that the online video-filtering service’s infringement of the plaintiff studios’ copyrighted works was willful, awarding the studios $61,425,000 related to copyright infringement (Disney Enterprises Inc., et al. v. VidAngel Inc., No. 2:16-cv-04109, C.D. Calif.).

  • June 19, 2019

    Internet Platforms Seek Dismissal Of Terror-Aiding Suit Over Dallas Shooting

    DALLAS — Twitter Inc., Google LLC and Facebook Inc. on June 14 jointly filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging liability under the Antiterrorism Act (ATA) for a 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, with the internet platform providers telling a Texas federal court that the plaintiffs have not established any connection between the shooter’s actions and their online services (Jesus Retana, et al. v. Twitter Inc., et al., No. 3:19-cv-00359, N.D. Texas).

  • June 19, 2019

    Production Of Records Ordered In Bitcoin Ownership Dispute; Sanctions Not Issued

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida federal magistrate judge on June 14 found no reason why the defendant in a dispute over the ownership of a bitcoin fortune could not produce records indicating the amount of bitcoin he had mined, granting a motion to compel such production in compliance with a previous court order but declining to issue related sanctions at present (Ira Kleiman, et al. v. Craig Wright, No. 9:18-cv-80176, S.D. Fla.).

  • June 19, 2019

    IPhone Owners’ Attorney Sanctioned For Disclosing Confidential Apple Documents

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two attorneys representing a putative class of iPhone users who sued Apple Inc. for engaging in performance throttling of certain phone models violated a discovery protective order, a California federal judge ruled June 14, finding that one attorney’s actions were likely willful, leading him to grant in part Apple’s motion for sanctions (In re:  Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation, No. 5:18-md-02827, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100322).

  • June 18, 2019

    Judge:  Company’s Unfair Competition Claim Against Apple Superseded By CUTSA

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on June 17 ruled that a technology company has failed to sufficiently show that Apple Inc. engaged in unfair competition under California common law when it allegedly infringed on the company’s patented technology and intellectual property to develop its “Emergency SOS” product for its Apple devices because the claim is preempted by federal patent law and is superseded by the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (CUTSA) (Zomm LLC v. Apple Inc., No. 18-4969, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101029).

  • June 18, 2019

    Property Owners Seek Final Approval Of Pokémon GO Nuisance Class Action

    SAN FRANCISCO — One month after a California federal judge granted preliminary approval of a settlement of nuisance and trespass claims against the creator of Pokémon GO, the plaintiff property owners on June 13 moved for final approval of the settlement, asserting that it is “fundamentally fair, adequate, and reasonable” (In re Pokémon GO Nuisance Litigation, No. 3:16-cv-04300, N.D. Calif.).

  • June 18, 2019

    Studios, VidAngel Debate Judgment As A Matter Of Law During Damages Trial

    LOS ANGELES — Online video-filtering service VidAngel Inc. on June 17 opposed a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) that plaintiff movie studios filed in California federal court on day four of oral arguments in a damages trial related to copyright infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (Disney Enterprises Inc., et al. v. VidAngel Inc., No. 2:16-cv-04109, C.D. Calif.).

  • June 18, 2019

    Domino’s Pizza Seeks High Court Review Of ADA Website Accessibility Guidelines

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Citing a split among federal appeals courts, a lack of clear guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a glut of litigation on the matter, Domino’s Pizza LLC on June 13 filed a petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to the accessibility of websites for people with disabilities (Domino’s Pizza LLC v. Guillermo Robles, No. 18-1539, U.S. Sup.).

  • June 17, 2019

    9th Circuit:  Facebook May Be Sued For Automated Texts Under TCPA

    SAN FRANCISCO — Reversing and remanding a trial court’s dismissal of a man’s class claims against Facebook Inc. under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 13 found that he sufficiently alleged that the social network sent automated, unwanted text messages via an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) (Noah Duguid v. Facebook Inc., No. 17-15320, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 17675).

  • June 14, 2019

    Travel Site To High Court: PTO’s Fees Award In Trademark Appeal Was Improper

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a May 30 reply supporting its petition for certiorari over an attorney fees award granted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) after a successful challenge of a trademark registration denial, Booking.com B.V. asks the U.S. Supreme Court to consolidate its case with a similar already granted petition over a fees award in a patent validity lawsuit (Booking.com B.V. v. Andrei Iancu, No. 18-1309, U.S. Sup.).

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