Newsletter RSS

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

  • 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 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.

  • November 26, 2024

    Google Must Provide Discovery In Gift Card Scam Suit Pending Disposition Of Claims

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge on Nov. 25 denied Google LLC and affiliated companies’ motion for reconsideration of a past order allowing discovery to continue in a putative class action against it for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect consumers from Google Play gift card scammers, writing that a stay is not warranted by an order dismissing the claims because they were dismissed with leave to amend.

  • November 26, 2024

    Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over OnlyFans Subscribers’ Unfair Renewals Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted an adult website operator’s motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by plaintiffs who accused it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly charging them automatic renewal fees without warning, finding that after amendment and supplementary briefing the plaintiffs failed to establish personal jurisdiction.

  • November 26, 2024

    High Court To Review Delegated Oversight Of Telecommunications Subsidies

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has granted two petitions for a writ of certiorari and consolidated cases concerning whether Congress violated the nondelegation doctrine by authorizing the Federal Communications Commission to delegate a subsidy program to a private entity, both arising out of the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that the program violates the “private nondelegation doctrine.”

  • November 25, 2024

    Federal Circuit Agrees: Electronic Pipe Patent Anticipated By Prior Art

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 22 affirmed a finding from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review (IPR) brought by tobacco company Philip Morris Products SA and its American subsidiary, agreeing with the PTAB’s holding that multiple claims in a patent on an electronic smoking pipe product were patent ineligible for being anticipated by prior art.

  • November 22, 2024

    Roblox Brings Cross-Claims Against Third-Party Developers In Parents’ Gambling Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — Roblox Corp. in its amended answer to putative class claims brought in California federal court by parents who say it allowed their minor children to play gambling games has for the first time brought cross-claims against the third-party developers behind the games at issue, asserting that they flaunted its rules and are “pillaging Roblox’s intellectual property” in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

  • November 22, 2024

    TikTok Not Entitled To Attorney Fees In Digital Media Patent Infringement Suit

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite TikTok Inc. being the prevailing party and being granted judgment on the pleadings in a patent infringement suit over video clip storytelling, a California federal magistrate judge found that the case was not exceptional, leading her to deny the social media company’s motion for attorney fees of almost $5 million.

  • November 21, 2024

    DOJ, States Argue That ‘Google Must Divest Chrome’ In Sherman Act Antitrust Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a suit in which a federal judge overseeing the case previously determined that Google LLC violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and officials from numerous states on Nov. 20 urged the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to adopt their proposed final judgment, which includes requiring Google to divest web browser Chrome.

  • September 17, 2024

    23andMe Asks MDL Judge To Approve $30M Data Breach Settlement

    SAN FRANCISCO — Genetic data company 23andMe Inc. filed a brief urging the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to grant preliminary approval to a $30 million settlement to resolve claims in a multidistrict litigation brought by plaintiffs whose genetic data on 23andMe’s website was hacked and offered for sale online and asking the court to enjoin separate litigation and arbitrations brought against it for the breach that it says could “jeopardize . . . the Settlement.”

  • November 21, 2024

    Some 23andMe Users Seek Arbitration, Not Class Action, For Data Breach Claims

    SAN FRANCISCO — In a brief filed in California federal court, several users of 23andMe Inc.’s website defend their right to pursue arbitration against the company for the theft of their genetic information by hackers, arguing that their decision to arbitrate defeats any typicality of claims between them and class members in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) over the theft and makes preliminary approval of a settlement of the MDL inappropriate.

  • November 21, 2024

    Federal Circuit Agrees Patent Holder Didn’t Show Injuries From Twitter

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted a motion for summary affirmance from the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., agreeing with a Texas federal judge that a patent holder that inherited patents regarding online videos from a predecessor company failed to show how it as the current patent holder was harmed by Twitter; the finding doomed the patent holder’s request for a preliminary injunction that was filed nearly eight years after the suit was initially brought.

  • November 20, 2024

    Judge Denies Dismissal Of Public Nuisance Claims In Social Media Addiction MDL

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge largely denied dismissal of public nuisance claims under the laws of 19 states in a product liability multidistrict ligation over the purported addictive qualities for adolescents of several of the largest social media platforms, finding “that plaintiffs have successfully established unreasonable interference with the public’s right to health and safety.”

  • November 19, 2024

    DOJ Seeks To Participate In High Court Argument For Texas Age-Based Online Porn Law

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar on Nov. 18 filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court to participate in oral argument in a case in which Free Speech Coalition Inc. (FSC), a nonprofit adult industry trade association, along with adult entertainment industry petitioners, urge 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 19, 2024

    Judge Tosses Patent Suit Against Google Over Ineligible HVAC Claims

    OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Nov. 18 granted Google LLC’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement suit brought against it by a technology company over smart thermostat technology, holding that the company’s patent is directed at unpatentable abstract ideas.

  • November 18, 2024

    High Court Won’t Decide If Agency Can Waive Immunity Statewide In Google Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its Nov. 18 order list, the U.S. Supreme Court denied without comment a petition for certiorari in which the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCDPRT) insisted that the state’s attorney general could not waive sovereign immunity on behalf of other state agencies in discovery matters.

  • November 18, 2024

    Panel Reverses Dismissal Of State’s Data Breach UCL Claim, Citing Discovery Rule

    SAN DIEGO — A California appellate panel addressing a question of first impression on Nov. 15 reversed a trial court’s ruling in favor of Experian Data Corp. barring claims brought by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office accusing Experian of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by failing to protect more than 400,000 California customers whose data was hacked, writing that the state adequately alleged that its UCL claim accrued within the statute of limitations period.

  • November 18, 2024

    Judge Grants Apple’s Dismissal Motion In Suit Against Israeli Tech Companies

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted Apple Inc.’s voluntary motion for dismissal and motions to seal in Apple’s suit accusing Israeli technology companies NSO Group Technologies Ltd. and Q Cyber Technologies Ltd. (collectively, NSO) of violating federal and California law by allegedly developing malware to hack into Apple’s servers.

  • November 18, 2024

    Epic Urges Court To Deny Apple’s Bid For Relief From Injunction In Antitrust Row

    OAKLAND, Calif. — Epic Games Inc. filed a brief in California federal court in its antitrust suit against Apple Inc., urging the court to reject Apple’s motion to limit or vacate an injunction requiring it to permit app developers to inform users of methods of making in-app purchases (IAPs) outside of the App Store.

  • November 15, 2024

    Gamers Bring Class Suit Against Developers For Online Racing Game’s Shutdown

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two video game players filed a putative class action lawsuit in California federal court accusing developers of an online racing video game known as The Crew of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by shutting down servers to the game, thereby terminating players’ access to the game permanently, which they compare in their suit to a manufacturer coming “into your home” and removing a product you previously paid for.