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Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • October 13, 2021

    New Settlement Terms In Website Access Class Suit Preliminarily Approved

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Sept. 30 granted preliminary approval of new settlement terms that will provide $112,500 in addition to injunctive relief in a class suit accusing a juice company of failing to offer a website accessible to those with visual impairments.

  • October 12, 2021

    Objectors, Amici Appeal Fees Award, Dismissal In Apple IPhone Performance MDL

    SAN FRANCISCO — A coalition of 13 U.S. states filed an amicus curiae brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 8, protesting an attorney fees awarded issued to class counsel as part of a settlement of a multidistrict litigation over purported performance-throttling of certain iPhone models by Apple Inc.

  • October 11, 2021

    Yelp Reviewers’ Identities Must Be Disclosed To Doctor, Magistrate Judge Rules

    NEW YORK — A doctor who was the subject of multiple negative consumer reviews posted on Yelp Inc.’s website established a prima facie case of defamation, a New York federal magistrate judge ruled Oct. 6, granting the doctor’s motion to subpoena Yelp to obtain the reviewers’ identities for the purpose of pursuing his claims against them.

  • October 07, 2021

    Judge Dismisses ‘Insufficient’ UCL Claim Against Dating Website For Data Breach

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 5 granted a motion to dismiss putative class action plaintiffs’ claim against a dating website for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after finding that the plaintiffs failed to allege that they relied on the website’s representations about its data security before paying for subscriptions.

  • October 05, 2021

    Trump Wants Injunction, Opposes Transfer In Quest To Regain Social Media Accounts

    MIAMI — The same day that Donald J. Trump filed his opposition to Facebook Inc.’s motion to transfer a lawsuit alleging violations by the social network under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the former president also moved for a preliminary injunction on Oct. 1 in Florida federal court to require YouTube Inc. to reinstate his account on the video-sharing platform.

  • October 01, 2021

    Supreme Court Asked To Review Sovereign Immunity Criteria In ‘France.com’ Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Appealing a ruling that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) entitled France to sovereign immunity in a trademark infringement and cybersquatting lawsuit, the operator of a French tourism website asks the U.S. Supreme Court in a Sept. 16 petition for certiorari to review and resolve the proper method of determining whether a foreign sovereign is entitled to immunity.

  • September 29, 2021

    Judge Won’t Dismiss Putative Class Action Against Google For Banner Ads

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Sept. 24 declined to dismiss most of the putative class claims brought against Google LLC by two website owners including for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) in relation to Google’s former practice on its Android search app of superimposing its logo and a “Related Pages” banner on the plaintiffs’ website that featured links to competitors’ websites.

  • September 23, 2021

    Voters Seek Reinstatement Of Class Suit Accusing Dominion, Others Of Conspiracy

    DENVER — Voters whose putative class complaint accusing Dominion Voting Systems Inc., Facebook and others of conspiring to interfere in the 2020 presidential election was dismissed in April filed an appellant brief on Sept. 20 in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that they have standing, that their claims are redressable for nominal damages and that those damages are traceable to the parties they have sued.

  • September 22, 2021

    Insurer Has No Duty To Defend, Indemnify Technology Company, Federal Judge Rules

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida on Sept. 13 held that the acts underlying two lawsuits against a technology company insured “were nearly identical” and, therefore, its insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify because the claims in the second lawsuit relate to the claims in the first lawsuit that occurred before the policy’s inception.

  • September 21, 2021

    Arizona Federal Judge: Patents Allegedly Infringed By Amazon Are Invalid

    PHOENIX — A patent owner who accused Amazon.com Inc. in March of infringing two processing patents saw its case dismissed by a federal judge in Arizona, who declared the asserted technology ineligible for patenting.

  • September 16, 2021

    Judge Denies Insurer’s Motion For Summary Judgment In Defamation Coverage Suit

    BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge in Montana on Sept. 14 denied a renter’s insurer’s motion for summary judgment in its declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying defamation by libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims based on the insured’s purported dissemination of false statements on Facebook, finding that it is reasonable to conclude that a person in the insured’s position objectively would not have intended or expected the statements to damage the underlying claimant.

  • September 15, 2021

    Stay, Costs Motions Denied By High Court, 4th Circuit In Defamation Suit

    RICHMOND, Va. — Two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ mandate in a defamation suit appeal, the Fourth Circuit on Aug. 30 denied a motion by the appellant, which was accused of making online defamatory statements, to allocate costs prior to the case being remanded.

  • September 14, 2021

    ISP Appeals Liability Ruling, $1 Billion Judgment In 4th Circuit File-Sharing Suit

    RICHMOND, Va. — A trial court’s judgment that found it vicariously and contributorily liable for its subscribers’ acts of copyright infringement “is riddled with legal defects,” an internet service provider (ISP) tells the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a Sept. 8 reply brief supporting its appeal of the judgment and an accompanying $1 billion award, which it says will lead to “devastating consequences” and privacy concerns.

  • September 14, 2021

    Judge Dismisses Businessman’s UCL, Trademark Claims Against Facebook

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge on Sept. 10 dismissed with prejudice a businessman’s claims that Facebook Inc. violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and federal trademark laws by using his “Face” trademark, ruling that the businessman released all claims when he sold Facebook his trademark in 2008 and that his time-barred state law claims could not be tolled due to an alleged period of mental disability.

  • September 13, 2021

    Apple Mostly Prevails In Fortnite, App Store Monopoly Spat With Epic Games

    SAN FRANCISCO — In a lengthy and detailed ruling on Sept. 10 largely favoring Apple Inc., a California federal judge found that monopolization and restraint of trade claims brought by Epic Games Inc. related to the inclusion of its game Fortnite in Apple’s App Store failed, while determining that Apple did act anti-competitively under California’s unfair competition law (UCL), leading her to issue an injunction requiring Apple to permit app developers to communicate with consumers about alternate methods of making in-app purchases (IAPs) other than exclusively through the App Store.

  • September 09, 2021

    Panel Says Influencer Can’t Raise Anti-SLAPP Defense To Libel, UCL Claims

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on Sept. 3 affirmed the denial of a social media influencer’s special motion to strike a lawsuit brought against him by a bakery for libel, slander and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after he excoriated the bakery online for a cake it made for his son’s birthday, finding that the influencer’s statements did not pertain to any public interest.

  • September 08, 2021

    Pinterest Beats Copyright Case In California, But Leave To Amend Granted

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — In a Sept. 7 order, a federal judge in California agreed with the social media website Pinterest that allegations by a putative class that it contributes to “rampant” copyright infringement fail as a matter of law.

  • September 07, 2021

    Federal Circuit Affirms: Online Retailing Method Is Patent-Ineligible

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A claimed method for selling products or services over the internet using physical retail locations is ineligible for patenting, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded Sept. 2, affirming a rejection by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • September 01, 2021

    Developers, Apple Seek OK For $100 Million App Store Antitrust Suit Settlement

    OAKLAND, Calif. — After what they call “two years of contentious litigation,” two developers of apps for Apple Inc.’s operating system (iOS) filed a motion in California federal court on Aug. 26, seeking preliminary approval of a $100 million settlement of their claims that Apple monopolizes the distribution of iOS apps via anti-competitive practices related to its App Store.

  • August 30, 2021

    Adjustable Bed Company Asks High Court To Consider Initial Interest Confusion

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in belatedly adopting the “outdated” doctrine of presale initial interest confusion, a bed and mattress seller tells the U.S. Supreme Court in an Aug. 11 petition for certiorari, arguing that the doctrine and the appeals court’s ruling fail to take into account the realities of online shopping.