Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

October 31, 2024
9th Circuit: No Fees For Defendant Who Settled Adult Film Copyright Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — A panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a California federal judge’s decision to deny attorney fees to a John Doe defendant who settled with a prodigiously litigious adult film company that accused Doe of copyright violations, but the panel disagreed as to why Doe was not due fees.
October 30, 2024
Broadband Providers Urge High Court Review Of 2nd Circuit Ruling In Rate Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New York State Telecommunications Association and other broadband providers on Oct. 30 filed a reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, urging review of the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling reversing a district court’s judgment that granted a permanent injunction barring the enforcement of New York’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA) and found that the Federal Communications Act of 1934 preempts state regulation of broadband services.
October 30, 2024
10th Circuit Files Notice On Record In Social Media Moderation 1st Amendment Row

DENVER — In an appeal to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by Utah officials of a district court ruling granting a preliminary injunction to an internet trade association to stop the enforcement of Utah legislation to moderate minors’ access to social media due to the law’s purported violation of the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 10th Circuit clerk of court issued a notice advising that the lower court said its record is complete.
October 29, 2024
9th Circuit Denies Rehearing Of Ruling That Uber Has Duty Of Care Toward Driver

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied a petition for rehearing en banc or panel rehearing of a panel reversal of a grant of summary judgment by a Washington federal court in favor of a rideshare company in a lawsuit by the estate and survivors of one the company’s drivers stemming from the driver’s murder during a carjacking attempt perpetrated by two people who had signed up for the company’s services with false personal information and a prepaid phone and gift card minutes before being matched with the driver.
October 28, 2024
Judge Grants Preliminary OK To $20M Settlement Over Apple Watch Battery Swelling

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 25 granted a motion for preliminary approval of a $20 million settlement between Apple Inc. and plaintiffs who sought damages from Apple on behalf of a nationwide class for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws based on a battery swelling defect with early-model Apple Watches that in some cases caused watch screens to detach or shatter.
October 28, 2024
Federal Circuit Vacates Denial Of Injunction In Standard-Essential Patent Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a North Carolina federal judge’s decision to deny related technology companies an antisuit injunction to bar a patent holder from enforcing in the United States injunctions the patent holder obtained in Colombia and Brazil related to standard-essential patents (SEPs), finding that whether the patent holder complied with obligations related to the SEPs is a question before the court.
October 25, 2024
Federal Circuit Majority Says Comcast Didn’t Infringe On Online Phone Patent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of judges in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 24 affirmed a federal judge’s entry of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) finding that Comcast Cable Communications LLC did not infringe on one of two patents related to internet-based phone calls, but the panel disagreed on whether the judge should have granted Comcast’s post-trial JMOL request on the other patent.
October 25, 2024
4th Circuit Affirms Ruling In Insurer’s Favor In Suit Over Cryptocurrency Loss

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 24 affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking homeowners insurance coverage for his alleged $170,000 cryptocurrency loss, agreeing with the lower court that the insured’s loss of cryptocurrency is not a “direct physical loss” to trigger policy coverage.
October 25, 2024
Alexa AI Voice Plaintiffs Seeking Class Certification Point To Recent BIPA Ruling

CHICAGO — A federal judge recently certified a class action after finding that finger scans fell within the definition of fingerprints and were governed by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), plaintiffs in a federal court in Illinois challenging the capture and use of voices for training the Alexa artificial intelligence said in an unopposed motion for leave to file supplemental authority.
October 25, 2024
Mass. Justice Won’t Toss Unfair Acts Suit Against Meta Over ‘Addictive’ Instagram

BOSTON— A Massachusetts justice denied a dismissal motion filed by Meta Platforms Inc. and Instagram LLC in a suit filed against them by the commonwealth of Massachusetts alleging that the defendants engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by falsely using design features on the Instagram social media platform they wrongfully claimed were not addictive, resulting in purported physical and mental harm to teenaged users, finding that Massachusetts sufficiently alleged that the harm could have been avoided “and that such harm was not outweighed by Instagram’s countervailing benefits.”
October 24, 2024
DOJ, Google Cite ‘Impasse’ In Report On Discovery In Sherman Act Antitrust Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Justice (DOJ) and officials from numerous states filed a joint status report along with Google LLC in a District of Columbia federal court outlining discovery issues where the DOJ says the parties are at an “impasse” in a suit in which a federal judge overseeing the case previously determined that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
October 24, 2024
9th Circuit: Law Firm’s Online Ad Keywords Don’t Infringe On Competitor’s Name

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed an Arizona federal judge’s finding that a defendant law firm’s purchasing of a competitor’s trademark in Google keyword ads was not trademark infringement, agreeing that the plaintiff law firm failed to establish a likelihood of confusion caused by the ads; a judge on the panel issued a concurring opinion arguing that the Ninth Circuit should reconsider the relevant case law.
October 24, 2024
Reconsideration Bid Denied In FTC, States’ Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

SEATTLE — Finding no “manifest error,” a Washington federal judge denied Pennsylvania’s motion to reconsider dismissal of a claim for violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (PUTPCPL) in an antitrust suit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general for 19 states against Amazon.com Inc. over its alleged monopoly power.
October 24, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Stay Discovery Subpoena On S.C. Agency Pending Cert Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. of the United States on Oct. 23 denied an application by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCDPRT) to stay, pending resolution of its petition for certiorari, a mandate by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a dispute over waiver and immunity related to a discovery subpoena served on the agency by Google LLC in an antitrust lawsuit.
October 22, 2024
Insurer Says It Owes No Defense, Indemnification For Data Breach Claim, Suit

SEATTLE — A media tech insurer filed suit in a Washington federal court seeking a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify its financial services firm insured against a bank’s indemnification demand for a data breach incident and a related subrogation lawsuit brought by the bank’s insurer.
October 21, 2024
Judge Grants Partial Stay In Antitrust Dispute Over Google Play App Monopoly

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 18 granted a partial stay of a court-ordered three-year permanent injunction effective on Nov. 1, which among other things prohibits Google from requiring the use of Google Play Billing in apps distributed on Google Play Store, pending resolution of the stay requests Google filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
October 18, 2024
10th Circuit Backs Dismissal Of Overstock Shareholder’s Market Manipulation Suit

DENVER — Affirming dismissal of a putative class action in which a shareholder asserted securities fraud claims against an online retailer and some executives, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in part “that an open-market transaction may qualify as manipulative conduct, but only if accompanied by plausibly alleged deception,” noting that it was an issue “of first impression for this court.”
October 16, 2024
Magistrate Denies AGs’ Bid To Stay Discovery Order In Social Media Addiction MDL

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal magistrate judge on Oct. 15 denied a motion by state attorneys general to stay a discovery order in a product liability multidistrict ligation over the purported addictive qualities for adolescents of several of the largest social media platforms, finding that the attorneys general failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits or irreparable harm absent the stay.
October 16, 2024
South Carolina Agency To High Court: No Immunity Waiver In Discovery Subpoena Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCDPRT) in an Oct. 15 reply brief defends its application with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals mandate of a ruling that the department waived sovereign immunity in a discovery subpoena with Google LLC, arguing that state law and binding precedent establish that the state’s attorney general has no authority to waive its immunity.
October 15, 2024
Google Seeks Stay Of Injunction In Antitrust Dispute Over Google Play App Monopoly

SAN FRANCISCO — After a California federal judge overseeing an antitrust dispute between Epic Games Inc. and Google LLC issued a three-year permanent injunction effective on Nov. 1, which among other things prohibits Google from requiring the use of Google Play Billing in apps distributed on Google Play Store, Google filed a motion to stay the injunction, asserting that it is likely to succeed on its appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
October 15, 2024
New York Times’ Auto Renewal Class Settlement Granted Final Approval

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted final approval of a $2,375,000 nonreversionary cash settlement to be paid by The New York Times Co. to end a class complaint accusing the newspaper publisher of engaging in an illegal “automatic renewal” scheme on its website and mobile application for The New York Times newspaper, approved the award of attorney fees, costs and expenses of $791,666.66 and approved a class representative incentive award of $5,000; the approval followed additional settlement negotiations after the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed final approval of a settlement that included $1.65 million in cash plus “coupons.”
October 11, 2024
Apple Argues For Dismissal Of Government’s ‘Fishing Expedition’ Antitrust Suit

NEWARK, N.J. — Apple Inc. on Oct. 10 filed a brief supporting its dismissal motion in an antitrust suit against it by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and attorneys general from 20 states, alleging that Apple violated the Sherman Antitrust Act through its monopolization of the smartphone market.
October 11, 2024
11th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Short Squeeze Investor Suit Under N.Y. Law

ATLANTA — Saying in an unpublished per curiam opinion that retail investors “failed to show that [securities broker-dealer Apex Clearing Corp.] is liable for its actions under New York law,” an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed dismissal of a putative class case that was part of multidistrict litigation over the January 2021 halting of retail investor trading in certain meme stocks.
October 11, 2024
Private Equity Firms Amend Federal Complaint Against D&O, Cyber Liability Insurer

OMAHA, Neb.— Two private equity firms filed an amended complaint against their directors and officers and cyber liability insurer in a Nebraska federal court, seeking coverage for the alleged $2.8 million they lost when an imposter investor hacked a reserve account (Panorama Point Partners LLC, et al. v. Everest National Insurance Company, No. 24-393, D. Neb.).
October 10, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms ISP’s Copyright Infringement But Reverses Damages Award

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 9 affirmed a Texas federal jury’s finding that an internet service provider (ISP) was vicariously liable for copyright infringement by failing to prevent the piracy of plaintiff music labels’ copyrighted works, but the panel reversed a finding that the ISP was separately liable for the infringement of each of 1,403 songs.