Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce
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December 7, 2018
Travel Websites Seek Inter Partes Review Of IBM Computing Patent
ALEXANDRIA, Va. —The operators of several travel websites on Dec. 6 requested institution of inter partes review by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of an International Business Machines patent directed to a method of providing users with a single-sign-on in a federated computing environment (Expedia Inc., et al. v. International Business Machines Corp., No. IPR2019-00404, PTAB).
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December 6, 2018
States Seek Discovery From Gun Rights Groups In Suit Over 3D-Printable Gun Plans
SEATTLE — Claiming that two defendant firearm rights organizations have violated a Washington federal court’s injunction against the dissemination of 3D-printable gun plans, a group of U.S. states in a Dec. 4 motion asks the court to compel the groups to respond to discovery requests aimed at uncovering the defendants’ post-injunction actions (Washington, et al. v. U.S. Department of State, et al., No. 2:18-cv-01115, W.D. Wash.).
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December 5, 2018
Apple Successfully Petitions Board For Inter Partes Review
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Dec. 4 instituted inter partes review (IPR) of a patent directed to a camera lens assembly (Apple Inc. v. Corephotonics Ltd., No. IPR2018-01140, PTAB).
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December 5, 2018
Bench Trial Planned In Massachusetts To Decide Patent Inventorship
BOSTON — Citing the existence of genuine disputes of material fact, a Massachusetts federal judge on Dec. 3 denied a request for partial summary judgment on the question of patent inventorship, reserving the issue for a bench trial slated to begin Jan. 2 (Egenera Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc., No. 16-11613, D. Mass., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204092).
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December 5, 2018
Maine Federal Judge Temporarily Restrains Trademark Defendant
PORTLAND, Maine — On Dec. 4, hours after docketing a complaint for trademark infringement, a Maine federal judge entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) in the case, enjoining a defendant from using any trademark, logo, design or source designation online that is a copy, reproduction, colorable imitation or simulation of a plaintiff’s trademarks, trade dress and logos (Symetra Life Insurance Co. v. Guy Emerson, No. 18-492, D. Maine, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205039).
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December 3, 2018
Justices Won’t Hear Pro Se Petitioner’s Suit Against Apple Over Reading Device
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Florida man who appealed the standard for dismissing his copyright infringement suit against Apple Inc. saw his petition for certiorari denied by the U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 3, leaving a judgment against the pro se litigant in tact (Thomas S. Ross v. Apple Inc., No. 18-494, U.S. Sup., 2018 U.S. LEXIS 7142).
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December 3, 2018
Media-Monitoring Service Denied Certiorari In Fair-Use Spat With Fox News
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The provider of an online media-monitoring service saw its petition for certiorari denied in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dec. 3 order list, leaving its question about the transformative use of copyrighted material in a dispute with Fox News Network LLC unanswered (TVEyes Inc. v. Fox News Network LLC, No. 18-321, U.S. Sup., 2018 U.S. LEXIS 7049).
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November 29, 2018
Facebook’s Settlement In Trade Secrets Dispute To Remain Confidential
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Nov. 26 declined to compel the production of the terms of a confidential settlement between the plaintiff and co-defendant Facebook Inc. in a trade secrets misappropriation lawsuit, ruling that the other co-defendants are not entitled to an offset of lost profits and unjust enrichment damages (BladeRoom Group Limited, et al. v. Emerson Electric Co., et al., No. 15-1370, N.D. Calif., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 199738).
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November 28, 2018
Chamber Of Commerce Opposes Nontaxable Costs Awards In High Court Copyright Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Nov. 20 amicus curiae brief supporting petitioner Rimini Street Inc., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tells the U.S. Supreme Court that an award of nontaxable costs to Oracle USA Inc. in an underlying software copyright lawsuit runs counter to copyright law and will lead to unpredictable results in future litigation (Rimini Street Inc., et al. v. Oracle USA Inc., et al., No. 17-1625, U.S. Sup.).
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November 28, 2018
‘Copyright Troll’ Porn Firm Denied Discovery To Identify Doe Downloading Defendant
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Characterizing an adult entertainment company as a serial litigator, a District of Columbia federal judge on Nov. 16 denied the plaintiff’s motion to conduct pre-conference discovery to learn the identity of a John Doe defendant in a copyright infringement case, chiding the plaintiff for treating the court like “an ATM” in its “high-tech shakedown” (Strike 3 Holdings LLC v. John Doe, No. 1:18-cv-01425, D. D.C., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195580).
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November 27, 2018
Legally Blind Man Sues 42 Colleges, Universities For Website ADA Violations
NEW YORK — The Nov. 19 filing of a complaint against Nazareth College in New York federal court brought the tally to 42 lawsuits filed in one week by a legally blind New York man against colleges and universities that he contends violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by operating websites that are not accessible to the visually impaired (Jason Camacho v. Nazareth College, No. 1:18-cv-10851, S.D. N.Y.).
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November 26, 2018
Apple, IPhone Owners, DOJ Debate Antitrust Standing Before U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 26 heard arguments from Apple Inc., the U.S. government and a group of iPhone owners about how to determine who has standing to sue for an alleged monopoly related to Apple’s App Store, with much of the parties’ and the justices’ attention focusing on the applicability of Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 720 (1977) (Apple Inc. v. Robert Pepper, et al., No. 17-204, U.S. Sup.).
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November 21, 2018
Petitioners Tell D.C. Circuit Net Neutrality Repeal Was Unauthorized, Harms Public
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a pair of Nov. 16 reply briefs, two groups of petitioners opposing the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal net neutrality raise arguments to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding the FCC’s authority to take certain actions and negative repercussions the public may face from the diminished regulation of internet service providers (ISPs) (Mozilla Corp., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, et al., No. 18-1051, D.C. Cir.).
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November 14, 2018
Software Support Firm Tells High Court Oracle’s Costs Award Was Improper
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A trial court erred in awarding Oracle USA Inc. nontaxable costs in a copyright infringement lawsuit, a software support company argues in its Nov. 13 merits brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, stating that the guidelines of the Fee Act do not permit such an award (Rimini Street Inc., et al. v. Oracle USA Inc., et al., No. 17-1625, U.S. Sup.).
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November 13, 2018
High Court Won’t Decide Fraud-On-The-Court Issue In Computer Fraud Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A medical testing company’s questions about what constitutes a fraud on the court will not be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied its petition for certiorari Nov. 13 in a case where computer fraud was alleged against a data security firm that purportedly discovered a flaw in the medical firm’s network security (LabMD Inc. v. Tiversa Inc., No. 18-435, U.S. Sup., 2018 U.S. LEXIS 6735).
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November 13, 2018
Operator Of Unregistered Crypto Exchange Settles SEC Enforcement Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In in a Nov. 8 order in cease-and-desist proceedings, the Securities and Exchange Commission held that the operator of a cryptocurrency exchange will pay $375,000 in disgorgement and civil penalties to settle claims alleging that it developed and operated the exchange without first registering it with the SEC as required pursuant to federal securities law (In the Matter of Zachary Coburn, Release No. 34-84553, SEC).
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November 13, 2018
Utah Federal Judge Grants Default Judgment Against BitTorrent Users
SALT LAKE CITY — Granting a movie production company’s motion for default judgment, a Utah federal judge on Nov. 8 found that seven Doe defendants’ failure to respond to copyright infringement claims against them related to the online peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing of a motion picture merited the requested judgment; however, she reduced the requested statutory award from $10,000 to $1,500 per defendant (Bodyguard Productions Inc. v. Does 1-25, No. 2:18-cv-00026, D. Utah, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192234).
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November 12, 2018
9th Circuit Won’t Revisit Ruling That Tribe’s Bingo Violates Internet Gaming Law
SAN FRANCISCO — After seeking opinions from the United States and California on an Indian tribe’s request to rehear a finding that its online bingo operation is illegal, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 7 denied the request, leaving unanswered a legal question of first impression the tribe presented in its rehearing petition (California, et al. v. Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, et al., No. 17-55150, 9th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 31580).
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November 12, 2018
New York Times Seeks To Intervene, Unseal Items In Buzzfeed Russian Dossier Suit
MIAMI — Citing public interest and the general right of access to court documents, the New York Times Co. (NYT) filed a brief in Florida federal court Nov. 7 supporting its motion to intervene in a defamation suit over Buzzfeed Inc.’s reporting over the Trump campaign’s purported ties to Russia, seeking to unseal documents that the newspaper asserts are of interest internationally (Aleksej Gubarev, et al. v. Buzzfeed Inc., et al., No. 0:17-cv-60426, S.D. Fla.).
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November 9, 2018
Facebook Tells 9th Circuit TCPA Is Unconstitutional, Defends ‘Unique’ Texts
SAN FRANCISCO — In a Nov. 8 supplemental appellee brief, Facebook Inc. disputes the U.S. government’s defense of the constitutionality of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), arguing to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a recent ruling defining an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the statute does not apply to the present case because the text messages received by the plaintiff were targeted and unique (Noah Duguid v. Facebook Inc., No. 17-15320, 9th Cir.).