Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • 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.

  • October 10, 2024

    Meta Asks High Court To Review Class Certification Ruling In Advertising Fraud Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Meta Platforms Inc. filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling affirming the certification of a damages class in a suit alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment related to Meta’s online advertising services, asserting that review is necessary because “the Ninth Circuit applied a one-sided deference regime that stacks the deck in favor of class certification, in conflict with all other circuits” except the Second Circuit.

  • October 09, 2024

    NCAA, Conferences’ NIL Agreement With Student-Athletes Preliminarily Approved

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted preliminary approval to an amended settlement agreement in a lawsuit by college athletes who have accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and five conferences of violating the Sherman Act by restricting compensation for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses; the student-athletes report that the revisions to the NCAA rules will result in an estimated “$20 billion more flowing to student-athletes over the next ten years.”

  • October 09, 2024

    California Brings Consumer Protection Suit Against TikTok For Harming Youth

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — The California Attorney General’s Office on Oct. 8 filed a lawsuit in state court accusing the owners and operators of the TikTok social media app of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL) by intentionally targeting children, including those younger than 13, with addictive features and illegally collecting their data.  Similar consumer protection suits were recently filed in more than a dozen other states.

  • October 09, 2024

    2nd Circuit: Keyword Search Ads Based On Trademarks Not Infringing

    NEW YORK — Affirming a New York federal judge’s entry of judgment on the pleadings in a trademark dispute between competing eyewear brands, the Second Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 8 said that “the mere act of purchasing a search engine keyword that is a competitor’s trademark does not alone, in the context of keyword search advertising, constitute trademark infringement.”

  • October 08, 2024

    3-Year Injunction Issued Against Google In Antitrust Dispute With Epic Games

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Oct. 7 issued a three-year permanent injunction against Google 10 months after a jury entered a verdict in favor or Epic Games Inc. in its antitrust dispute with Google LLC over the Android app market and the Google Play Store, finding that “[r]equiring Google to allow other app stores to be distributed through the Play Store for a discrete period is a modest step to correct the consequence of unlawfully preventing rival stores from reaching users and developers.”

  • October 07, 2024

    Judge Grants Injunction: Calif. AI Election Law Acts As ‘Hammer Instead Of Scalpel’

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Recently enacted California legislation imposing potential civil penalties for manipulated and deceptive artificial intelligence-generated election materials acts more like a “hammer instead of a scalpel” and likely violates constitutional speech protections, a federal judge in California said in enjoining the law.