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Google Glass licensed, not owned by users
These past two months have seen an uptick in legal wrangling over the ownership of digital goods. Specifically, there has been all out war over the First Sale doctrine which allows purchasers of...
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Viacom loses to YouTube… again
Exactly one year ago the 2nd Circuit reversed YouTube’s sound defeat of Viacom by sending the case back to the District Court with instructions that the court should reconsider whether Viacom has...
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California Judge lashes out at copyright infringement trolls, sanctions law firm
Lately, certain plaintiffs seem hell bent on using copyright law, and our court system, as a revenue stream to make money on otherwise worthless intellectual property. What is even worse is when such...
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Unlocking Technology Act of 2013 introduced to address smartphone jailbreaking
In reaction to the Library of Congress’s recent decision to make smartphone jailbreaking illegal, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) has introduced a new law which would confirm that, under the Digital...
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BigLaw flunk computer skills test
Four years ago, when my partners and I decided to re-launch Handal & Morofsky, our decision arose in very large part from our disgust with the gross inefficiency we experienced at the “BigLaw”...
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Oprah loses trademark infringement appeal in Own Your Power lawsuit
Last week the Second Circuit overturned a lower court’s trademark ruling which had previously found Oprah Winfrey and her affiliate companies innocent of trademark infringement. Instead, the Second...
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The privacy implication of the “Internet of Things” and good business practices
The future has arrived early. The ability of consumer devices, such as cars, appliances, smartphones and medical devices, to communicate with each other and with people is the next big thing. The...
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BMI goes after bars and restaurants for copyright infringement from playing...
This is that time of year when Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) go after small restaurants and bars for unpaid music licensing fees. BMI, a PRO, recently filed suit against 13 small businesses...
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Pandora v. Performing Rights Organization: A Quest for Fair Competition
Pandora, the popular music streaming service, just bought itself a South Dakota local radio station. This is a significant and shrewd legal move for Pandora, meant to enable the company to access a...
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Fox is unlikely to prevail in its new motion against Aereo
Last month Fox Television Stations (among a host of other studios) lost its bid to prevent startup company Aereo from rebroadcasting content to users on the basis of alleged copyright infringement. Yet...
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ICANN approves new anti-piracy rules
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently approved new procedures allowing for the suspension of website domain names facilitating or promoting piracy, copyright or...
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Software Best Practices: How to protect against copyright claims of former...
The recently decided Antonick v. Electronic Arts Inc. illustrates the importance of drafting a vigilant copyright clause when high-tech companies hire or contract with web, software or videogame...
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Proposed law to legalize unlocking of smartphones moves a step forward
The debate over whether it should be legal for consumers to unlock smartphones so that they could function on any network has highlighted a major conflict of interest between smartphone users and...
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USPTO’s latest advisory is a must read for intellectual property innovators
The USPTO released Green Paper report last week, which comprehensively reviewed and recommended new legal treatment of digital copyright issues. Although the Green Paper is not law, its importance...
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When suing over trade secrets, make sure they are real secrets or get fined...
This week the California Court of Appeal ruled against All American Semiconductor, LLC in its theft of trade secrets lawsuit against APX Technology Corp, affirming an award of $200,000 against the...
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Ruling: Accessing trade secrets is not the same as misappropriating trade...
Continuing with our trade secrets litigation topic this week, a Michigan District Court ruling points out another important aspect of a trade secrets misappropriation claim: The fact that a defendant...
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FOX secures an injunction against Aereo-like TV streaming service in Washington
In what seems to be some pretty blatant forum shopping, FOX and other major broadcasters have secured an injunction against FilmOn in Washington, D.C. Recall how last April FOX lost its Second Circuit...
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Hollywood rips into Google Anti-Piracy Plan
Last week Google published its How Google Fights Piracy Report where it set out a list of ways in which Google has, over the past few years, adapted its products (such as YouTube) to help fight piracy...
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Vimeo Copyright Infringement: The importance of employee policies
The latest ruling in the copyright infringement lawsuit by Capitol Records against video streaming provider Vimeo highlights how digital media companies can get in trouble when they do not have clear...
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Analyzing the LinkedIn privacy class action
This weekend LinkedIn was hit with a high profile class action lawsuit alleging invasion of privacy, violation of the Stored Communications Act and Wiretap Act (a.k.a. “hacking”), and right of...
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