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Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • November 26, 2025

    Federal Circuit Says ‘Best’ Claim Limitation Invalid As Indefinite

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 25 affirmed a California federal judge’s finding that some claims in patents describing systems for routing streamed content over the internet were invalid as indefinite and likewise affirmed findings that the technology company’s products did not meet a claim limitation required by the patents at issue.

  • November 26, 2025

    DOJ Files Proposed Judgment In Antitrust Row With Rental Market Software Company

    GREENSBORO, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a proposed final judgment in a North Carolina federal court in an antitrust suit against RealPage Inc., a commercial revenue management software company, alleging that RealPage used nonpublic information obtained from landlords and runs the information through its algorithmic software to align pricing, thereby impeding the free market process.

  • November 25, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms Ruling Issuing $7.3M Sanction In Online Travel Marketing Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 24 affirmed a district court’s ruling issuing a permanent injunction barring certain individuals from future participation in multilevel marketing programs related to their participation in marketing internet-based travel services in violation of the FTC Act and imposing a sanction of $7,306,873.14 for violating a permanent injunction related to an earlier suit, finding that the sanction was appropriate and that the permanent injunction was “not overly broad.”

  • November 25, 2025

    Trade Association Seeks To Stop Enforcement Of Va. Social Media Monitoring Law

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Internet trade association NetChoice LLC filed a motion for preliminary injunction and a brief in support in its Virginia federal court suit seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent the Virginia attorney general from enforcing provisions of Senate Bill 854, a Virginia law that seeks to require social media platforms to determine whether a user is a minor, arguing in part that the law violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that the loss of First Amendment rights will inflict harm upon NetChoice members.

  • November 24, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Stolen Profits Suit Against PayPal Over ‘Honey’ Discount Finder

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Nov. 21 granted PayPal Inc.’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought against it by influencers and content creators active on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram who accused it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by using a discount-finding browser extension, “Honey,” to redirect profits from their market affiliate links to itself, finding that they lack standing for failure to allege an injury traceable to PayPal.

  • November 24, 2025

    5th Circuit Upholds Damages, Vacates Injunction In Software Trade Secrets Suit

    NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 21 affirmed a lower court’s award of $168,454,749 in compensatory and exemplary damages but vacated and remanded a permanent injunction in a dispute over the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets to develop a software platform by a technology consulting company, finding that requiring the technology consulting company to pay costs related to the software development while preventing it from using the software resulted in an overlap of the remedies which the lower court needs to address on remand.

  • November 21, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Wrong Construction Of Bot Detection Claim Leads To PTAB Reversal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 20 held that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) wrongly construed the claim term “acquiring interest data” when considering the patentability of a claim phrase in a patent describing a system to determine if a computer is being used by a human or a “bot”; under the correct construction, the panel held that the claim is anticipated by a prior art reference.

  • November 20, 2025

    IT Company: Fracking Proppant Supplier Misappropriated Trade Secrets And Software

    FORT WORTH, Texas — An IT services company has sued an energy company in Texas federal court alleging that it misappropriated trade secrets when it misused login credentials related to proprietary software code that the IT company created and managed for the energy company’s operations as a provider of proppants to the hydraulic fracturing industry.

  • November 20, 2025

    $3.25 Million Settlement, Injunctive Relief Approved In Student Data Breach Case

    LOS ANGELES — A California judge granted the state’s unopposed ex parte application for final judgment and a permanent injunction against a data storage provider, requiring the company to implement enhanced data security measures, undergo third-party audits for five years and pay $3.25 million in penalties after the state alleged that the provider failed to maintain data privacy safeguards that led to a 2022 breach exposing sensitive student information in at least 49 school districts.

  • November 19, 2025

    Judgment Entered For Meta In FTC Antitrust Suit Alleging Monopoly In Buying Rivals

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge on Nov. 18 entered judgment in favor of Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) regarding allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that Meta monopolized the personal social networking (PSN) market by buying rivals WhatsApp and Instagram, finding that the FTC failed to show Meta has monopoly power in the relevant market.

  • November 19, 2025

    Verizon Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review Of FCC Forfeiture Order, $46.9M Penalty

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Verizon Communications Inc. filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling denying review of a Federal Communications Commission forfeiture order imposing a $46.9 million penalty for violating the Communications Act and related regulations regarding Verizon’s alleged failure to safeguard certain customer proprietary network information.

  • November 18, 2025

    High Court Won’t Review Ruling Upholding Dismissal Of UCL Suit Against Amazon

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 17 denied certiorari to a remanufacturer of ink cartridges seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling affirming a lower court’s dismissal of a suit accusing Amazon.com Inc. and its subsidiaries of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL), the Lanham Act and other laws by allowing third-party sellers to post allegedly deceptive listings for recycled printer ink cartridges, thereby diverting business from authentic ink cartridge recyclers.

  • November 17, 2025

    Supreme Court Rejects Cases Asking If PTAB Can Review Expired Patents

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 17 rejected a patent-holding company’s petitions for writs of certiorari in disputes with Apple Inc., Google LLC, LG Electronics Inc. and an affiliate over multiple technology patents, declining to take up the company’s arguments regarding the constitutionality of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

  • November 14, 2025

    ‘Opt-Outs’ From $95 Million Siri Eavesdropping Settlement Appeal To 9th Circuit

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Nearly 13,000 purported class members and objectors who allegedly opted out of a $95 million settlement of a 6-year-old class action accusing Apple Inc. of collecting unauthorized recordings of Apple device users via its Siri digital assistant filed notice in California federal court that they will appeal the court’s final approval of the settlement to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • November 14, 2025

    11th Circuit Affirms Order Declining To Compel Arbitration In Telemarketing Suit

    ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s order denying a motion to compel arbitration by a company that sells automotive care products in a putative class suit accusing it of violating the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and similar Florida law by sending out unsolicited telemarketing messages, finding that the company failed to show the existence of a valid arbitration agreement.

  • November 13, 2025

    Judge Allows Class Claims Against Robinhood Over Interest Retention Practices

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge denied a motion filed by the operators of the “Robinhood” stock trading mobile app and website to dismiss putative class claims alleging that they violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and are liable for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, finding the plaintiffs adequately alleged that Robinhood unfairly retained the interest accrued on customers’ accounts that they placed into interest-bearing accounts through Robinhood.

  • November 13, 2025

    Judge Issues $4.4 Million Final Judgment In Meta Fraud Suit Against Spyware Firm

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge on Nov. 12 issued a final judgment of $4,447,190 in favor of WhatsApp Inc. (now known as WhatsApp LLC) and its parent company Facebook Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms Inc.) and against NSO Group Technologies Ltd. and its parent company after a jury found that the defendants violated a California computer fraud law in a suit accusing the defendants of acquiring unauthorized access to individuals’ WhatsApp accounts.

  • November 12, 2025

    Stay Denied In Class Suit Over Insurer’s ‘Discriminatory Advertising’ On Facebook

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied an insurer’s motion for a stay in a putative class action accusing the insurer of “discriminatory advertising” on Facebook, finding that the insurer failed to show how a ruling in a parallel state court case would have a “preclusive effect” on the instant case.

  • November 12, 2025

    6th Circuit Vacates Injunction, Remands In Tennessee Age Verification Law Dispute

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted the Tennessee attorney general’s motion to vacate a district court’s preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the Protect Tennessee Minors Act (PTMA), remanding “for proceedings consistent with” the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton.

  • November 11, 2025

    Judge Defers Ruling On Motion To Compel Class Members Who Sued Lender To Arbitrate

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Nov. 10 ordered a motion to compel arbitration held in abeyance, finding that genuine disputes remain as to the argument by consumer loan app operators that binding arbitration agreements exist as to more than 235,000 of 250,000 certified class members who sued the app operators for concealing fees while operating as an unlicensed lender in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and California finance laws.

  • November 10, 2025

    PayPal Denied Arbitration Of Content Creators’ Claims Over ‘Honey’ Browser Extension

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Nov. 7 deferred ruling on an administrative motion to relate four putative class actions brought by influencers and content creators active on YouTube and Instagram who accuse PayPal Inc. of interfering with prospective economic relations and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by using a popular browser extension to redirect their profits from market affiliate links to itself.

  • November 10, 2025

    S.D. High Court Affirms Auto Coverage Dispute Ruling Involving Social Media Search

    PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling denying judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) to an auto insurer and granting an insured’s request for attorney fees in a dispute over underinsured motorist benefits (UIM) after a jury returned a verdict in favor of the insured, finding that the lower court did not err in denying JMOL because a jury could have found that the insurer did not act reasonably in denying the UIM claim in part because the claim review did not go beyond examining documents supplied by the insured and a review of his social media accounts.

  • November 10, 2025

    High Court Allows Government Participation In ISP Infringement Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 10 granted the U.S. government’s motion to participate in oral argument when the high court considers whether it should overturn a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals finding that an internet service provider (ISP) is liable for contributory infringement for internet users who pirated copyrighted materials of record labels and music publishers; the high court also granted the government’s request for divided argument.

  • November 07, 2025

    Colo. Federal Judge Grants NetChoice Injunctive Relief In Social Media Law Dispute

    DENVER — A Colorado federal judge on Nov. 6 granted a motion for a preliminary injunction by NetChoice, an internet trade association representing multiple social media companies, to prevent the enforcement of a challenged portion of a law requiring social media companies to provide disclosures to minors about the purported health impacts of using social media, finding that NetChoice is likely to show that the provision of the law at issue does not meet the strict scrutiny standard pursuant to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

  • November 07, 2025

    Pa. Panel Affirms Order Denying Settlement Agreement Enforcement In Software Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a lower court order denying enforcement of a settlement agreement between a company that provided its software to a company with which it entered into an equal partnership, finding that because the company providing the software failed to include the software’s historical data to which the receiving company was entitled, the lower court did not err in denying the petition to enforce the settlement agreement.