Facebook Gets Bad Ruling In Face-Scanning Privacy Case–In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation
The plaintiffs allege Facebook’s face-scanning functionality (that underlies its “tag suggestion” feature) violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Several lawsuits were originally filed in Illinois, but the parties agreed to transfer the cases to the Northern District of California,…
512 Safe Harbor Applies to Content Submitted By Independent Contractors–BWP v. Examiner
BWP owns the rights to various celebrity photos. Examiner.com is a “entertainment, news and lifestyle network” that relies on content submitted by independent contractors confusingly called “examiners.” The Examiner’s written agreement specifies that “the examiners” are contractors, not employees. The…
The New ‘Defend Trade Secrets Act’ Is The Biggest IP Development In Years (Forbes Cross-Post)
Last week, Congress passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (the DTSA), which President Obama will sign soon. The Defend Trade Secrets Act extends the current Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which criminalizes certain trade secret misappropriations, to allow civil lawsuits….
Proposed EU Regulation on Cross-Border Access to Copyrighted Content (Guest Blog Post)
by Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble When the European Commission issued its initial documents (here and here) in May 2015 regarding the Single Digital Market and geoblocking on the internet, the tone of the documents, and in particular their apparent vilification…
Evidentiary Failings Undermine Arbitration Clauses in Online Terms
Earlier this week, we posted about a Seventh Circuit case where an ambiguous user call-to-action undermined an online contract formation procecss. (See “Defective Call-to-Action Dooms Online Contract Formation–Sgouros v. TransUnion“.) Recently, a couple of trial courts issued rulings denying companies’…
Defective Call-to-Action Dooms Online Contract Formation–Sgouros v. TransUnion
Another terms of use case,* this one involving the sale of a credit package from TransUnion. TransUnion’s terms of use contained an arbitration clause and class action waiver. The district court ruled that the parties did not form a binding…
Homeowner’s Insurance Policy Doesn’t Apply To Cyberharassment Campaign Allegations–State Farm v. El-Moslimany
This is an insurance coverage dispute arising out of a defamation lawsuit. Sindi sued El-Moslimany in Massachusetts alleging that El-Moslimany engaged in a campaign to “embarrass, humiliate, and destroy” Sindi through perpetuating falsehoods. Sindi describes herself as a scientist, entrepreneur,…
Court Rejects “Browsewrap.” Is That Surprising?–Long v. ProFlowers
Plaintiff ordered “completed assembled” flowers from ProFlowers.com. Rather than being fully assembled flowers, he received a “do-it yourself kit in a box”. He brought a putative class action for unfair competition and CLRA violations. ProFlowers moved to arbitrate based on…
Facebook Isn’t Liable For Fake User Account Containing Non-Consensual Pornography–Caraccioli v. Facebook (Forbes Cross-Post)
Franco Caraccioli is a third-year law student in San Diego. For reasons not explained in the opinion, someone created a fake Facebook account named “Franco Caracciolijerkingman” and posted photos and videos of Caraccioli “sexually arousing or pleasuring himself.” (All facts…
PGA Can Turn Caddies Into ‘Human Billboards’–Hicks v. PGA Tour
As I’ve written before, marketers are in a never-ending quest to find and exploit new ways to capture consumer attention. With the rise of DVR ad-avoidance technologies, marketers keep finding more unskippable broadcast TV ad exposures like product placements. And…