Travel Blogger Denied Tax Writeoff For European Backpacking Trip (Forbes Cross-Post)
It sounds like every blogger’s dream: take a half-year vacation to travel the globe–and make the trip tax-deductible by blogging it! Unfortunately, you can’t cheat the tax man so easily, as one enterprising blogger discovered the hard way. The Case…
Ninth Circuit Rejects Video Privacy Protection Act Claims Against Sony
This lawsuit asserts Sony failed to purge Video Privacy Protection Act-covered information and made impermissible transfers to an affiliated entity. The district court dismissed, among other reasons, because it found the VPPA did not create a cause of action for…
Crowdsourcing Platform Isn’t Liable For Fraudulent Fundraiser–GiveForward v. Hodges (Forbes Cross-Post)
Inevitably, crowdsourcing platforms will enable fraudulent activities. When should the platform take legal responsibility for that fraud? A recent case suggests that crowdsourcing platforms have substantial legal protections for their users’ fraudulent campaigns. The Case This case involves an 8…
Recent FCC Order Helps Shopkick Defeat TCPA Claims
This is a TCPA lawsuit against Shopkick, a rewards-based app that lets shoppers accumulate and use in-store rewards. Plaintiff brought a putative class action, alleging that Shopkick caused invites to be sent to users’ contacts. Shopkick previously filed a motion…
Gmail Terms of Service Apply to reCAPTCHA During Account Formation–Rojas-Lozano v. Google
This lawsuit against Google alleges that Google unfairly benefits from deploying a CAPTCHA process when users sign up for free gmail accounts. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Google unnecessarily included a second image in the CAPTCHA, and it relies on users…
Jawbone Plaintiff Can Invoke California Choice of Law Provision in Service Agreement
This is a lawsuit against Jawbone, a fitness tracker app, alleging that Jawbone’s battery life was significantly shorter than promised, and that it failed to accurately track and measure movement, calorie expenditure, and sleep: [plaintiff] appeared inactive when he had…
Second Circuit Enforces Terms Hyperlinked In Confirmation Email–Starkey v. G Adventures
Plaintiff Starkey booked a trip online through G Adventures. She alleges a G Adventures employee assaulted her during the trip. She sued G Adventures in the Southern District of New York. That court dismissed her lawsuit based on a forum…
AARP Defeats Lawsuit for Sharing Information With Facebook and Adobe
Plaintiff sued AARP alleging that AARP violated its privacy policy (link to policy effective April 2015) by allowing Adobe and Facebook to collect PII about plaintiff. The court says there’s not a sufficient allegation of violation of AARP’s privacy policy…
9th Circuit Rejects VPPA Claims Against Netflix For Intra-Household Disclosures
Plaintiffs sued Netflix under the Video Privacy Protection Act for Netflix’s display of a subscriber’s queue and recommendation list on televisions connected to the subscriber’s account. In other words, if a household is sitting around in front of a television that accesses someone’s…
Is Amazon Liable For IP Violations By Its Marketplace Vendors? (Forbes Cross-Post)
Animal-shaped pillows are cute and fluffy, except when they spur litigation. Recently, the Milo & Gabby brand sued Amazon for IP infringement because merchants allegedly sold knockoffs of its “Cozy Companion Pillowcases.” Amazon has successfully avoided IP liability for its…