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

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

December 13, 2024
UCL, RICO Suit Against Gaming Company That Uses Bots Stayed Pending Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted a motion filed by a gaming company, its co-founders and two investors to stay putative class claims against them for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and federal racketeering laws by falsely advertising their mobile games as offering live competition when players in fact compete with bots, finding a stay appropriate pending an appeal of his earlier refusal to compel arbitration.
December 12, 2024
DOJ Urges Panel To Reject Bid To Stop Enforcement Of Act Banning TikTok In U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Dec. 11 urged the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reject motions for a temporary injunction filed by petitioners TikTok Inc., Tik Tok creators and a nonprofit seeking to stop the enforcement a federal law that promises to ban the popular social network on Jan. 19, 2025, absent a corporate ownership change, arguing that while the petitioners are entitled to seek the law’s enjoinment in the U.S. Supreme Court, they are not entitled to an injunction against a federal law when the Circuit Court rejected their challenge to that law.
December 12, 2024
Real Estate Law Firm, Cyber Security Insurer Settle Coverage Dispute

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A real estate law firm, its insurer and a third-party administrator filed a joint stipulation asking a North Carolina federal court to dismiss with prejudice the firm’s lawsuit seeking coverage under a cybersecurity policy for gross negligence and obstruction of justice cross-claims arising from a “cyber incident” in 2021 that resulted in the misdirection of funds.
December 11, 2024
FTC Announces Refunds Under Epic Games $245M Settlement For Fortnite Purchases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is sending the first round of refunds that will total more than $72 million as part of Epic Games Inc.’s agreement to pay $245 million to resolve allegations that users were tricked into purchasing items while playing the popular online game Fortnite and that children playing the game were allowed to purchase items without parental consent.
December 11, 2024
8th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment For Hospital On Chair’s Speech Claim

ST. PAUL, Minn. — An Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed summary judgment for a hospital on a former department chair’s claim of First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution retaliation, finding that there was evidence that social media posts were discussed leading up to the chair’s demotion.
December 10, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms Construction Of ‘Merchants’ Claim In Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Delaware federal judge did not err when holding that the claim term “merchants” should be limited only to those who sell goods, not services, in a patent dispute involving e-commerce platforms, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, affirming the judge’s finding of noninfringement.
December 10, 2024
5th Circuit Rejects Rehearing Petitions From ISP, Labels In Copyright Fight

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected petitions for rehearing from parties on both sides of a copyright infringement suit, standing by its October decision to affirm 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 to reverse the judge’s holding that the ISP was separately liable for infringement for each of more than a thousand songs.
December 10, 2024
PPE Seller’s Lawsuit Against Postal Service Stemming From Hacked Email Settles

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and a personal protective equipment (PPE) seller it contracted with to purchase PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic on Dec. 9 filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit brought by the seller alleging that the USPS failed to pay it for two shipments of PPE after a third party commandeered the seller’s email system and persuaded the USPS to direct payments to a different bank account.
December 03, 2024
COMMENTARY: The Future Of Work: Exploring The Employment And Data Protection Law Implications Of The Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In European Workplaces

By Matthew Howse, Louise Skinner, Vishnu Shankar and William Mallin
December 09, 2024
Dismissal Of Claims Apple Lured Users Into ICloud Subscriptions Affirmed

SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the dismissal of a putative class complaint brought by plaintiffs who claimed that Apple “addicted” them to its free iCloud data storage service and then required them to pay once the data they stored exceeded its free storage maximum of five gigabytes, writing that they failed to plead any misrepresentations.
December 06, 2024
D.C. Circuit Denies TikTok Petitions Over 1st Amendment Challenge To Federal Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 6 denied petitions filed by TikTok Inc., Tik Tok creators and a nonprofit promoting TikTok content seeking review of a federal law that promises to ban the popular social network absent a corporate ownership change, finding that provisions of the act related to the TikTok platform “are narrowly tailored to further” national security interests.
December 06, 2024
Some Claims Obvious In Circuit Package Patent Row, Federal Circuit Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a patent infringement dispute between manufacturers of semiconductors, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 5 affirmed findings from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that some claims in the relevant patents are ineligible as obvious while other claims are patent eligible, handing mixed results to both the appellant and cross-appellant companies.
December 06, 2024
Federal Circuit: No Infringement By Meta Of Data Storage Patent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New York federal judge did not err in granting summary judgment in a patent dispute between social media company Meta Platforms Inc. and a company that accused it of infringing patents related to methods of storing data chronologically, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said, affirming the judge’s holding that the evidence did not show that Meta’s product satisfied the patents’ claim limitations.
December 06, 2024
Epic, Apple File Status Report, Disagree On Privileged Documents In Antitrust Row

OAKLAND, Calif. — In an antitrust suit filed by Epic Games Inc. against Apple Inc. in a California federal court, the parties filed a status report regarding discovery, with Epic asserting “that Apple has engaged in gross overuse of privilege” and Apple claiming that Epic’s search terms are “too broad.” In the case, Epic has moved to enforce an injunction requiring Apple to permit app developers to inform users of methods of making in-app purchases (IAPs) outside of the company’s App Store.
December 05, 2024
$30M 23andMe Data Breach Settlement Gets Court’s Conditional Preliminary OK

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation involving claims against genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. for failing to protecting users’ data from hackers granted preliminary approval on Dec. 4 to a $30 million settlement of the claims on the condition that the plaintiffs amend their definition of the settlement class to exclude parties who are pursuing arbitration and despite “serious concerns” with the plaintiffs’ $7.5 million attorney fees request.
December 05, 2024
Judge Tosses CBD Gummies Suit Filed By Former Arkansas Governor Against Meta

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal judge dismissed a suit filed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee against Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., asserting that Meta violated Arkansas state and common law by allowing unidentified third parties to post advertisements on Facebook that falsely claimed that Huckabee endorsed their cannabidiol (CBD) gummies, finding, in part, that Huckabee failed to plead the element of scienter necessary under Arkansas law.
December 05, 2024
GAO: Crypto Options Seem To Be A Small Part Of The 401(k) Market

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a report released publicly Dec. 4 regarding crypto assets in 401(k)s, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted data and projection limitations, saying in part that “certain crypto assets continue to trade in markets that do not have investor protections or comprehensive oversight.”
December 03, 2024
Antitrust Hockey League Suit Tossed As Lacking Jurisdiction Via Internet Sales

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge dismissed claims against the Canadian Hockey League and related organizations (CHL defendants) for violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in a suit against the CHL defendants and National Hockey League for their purported collaboration to prevent recruiting of players outside of certain zones, finding, in part, that personal jurisdiction cannot be established by selling “internet-based merchandise to New York customers” because the plaintiffs failed to show “that the CHL Defendants caused injury in New York to the named Plaintiffs.”
December 03, 2024
Discovery Rulings Issued In FCA Suit Over Alleged Cyber-Distracted Anesthesiologists

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah federal magistrate judge granted in part motions to stay depositions filed by defendant anesthesiologists and their practices in a qui tam suit asserting that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) and a similar Nevada law by submitting for payment to government insurers claims for anesthesiology services when they were instead allegedly “immersed in the Internet” rather than providing care to their patients during surgery.
December 02, 2024
Class Certification Denied For Lack Of Adequacy In Twitter Arbitration Fee Fight

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California denied a motion for class certification filed by former Twitter Inc. employees who have sought to compel arbitration against Twitter and X Corp. but have been unable to proceed in part due to Twitter and X’s refusal to pay the required fees, opining that the workers have not show they can adequately represent the proposed class.
December 02, 2024
4th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider No Coverage Ruling For Cryptocurrency Loss

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied an insured’s petition seeking a rehearing or rehearing en banc of its affirmation of a lower court’s dismissal of his breach of contract lawsuit seeking homeowners insurance coverage for his alleged $170,000 cryptocurrency loss.
December 02, 2024
5th Circuit Remands For Lower Court Review Of Social Media Moderation Law

NEW ORLEANS — In a case on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that a Texas social media content moderation law was not properly before the court, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals remanded the suit to a district court, finding that the lower court must make a factual determination regarding the activities covered by the law in the dispute between the Texas attorney general and nonprofit internet trade association companies.
November 27, 2024
Association Seeks Extension In High Court Age-Based Online Texas Porn Law Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Free Speech Coalition Inc. (FSC), a nonprofit adult industry trade association along with adult entertainment industry petitioners on Nov. 27 filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking an extension to file their reply brief in their petition before the court urging reversal of a ruling by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that vacated an injunction for a Texas law (HB 1181) requiring the operators of pornographic websites to verify that their visitors are adults.
November 27, 2024
EPA Appeals To 2nd Circuit Dismissal Of CAA Violations Suit Against EBay

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Nov. 26 filed a notice of appeal in a New York federal court advising that it was appealing to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the lower court’s dismissal of a suit filed on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging that eBay Inc. is in violation of federal environmental laws by selling motor vehicle parts and accessories, pesticides and paint remover products that run afoul of pollution standards and are toxic.
November 26, 2024
Petitioner Tells High Court 5th Circuit Contract Ruling Could Affect Copyrights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Days after a plaintiff software company filed a petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of a $1.6 billion award in a contract dispute with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), IBM on Nov. 25 waived its right to respond to the petition.