Two Consumer Class Actions Settle for (Mostly) Nominal Amounts Per Plaintiff
Two recent false advertising class action settlements illustrate some of the myriad ways to structure settlements, and also reflect the real risks of these lawsuits when early-stage efforts to dismiss...
View ArticleUPDATE: D.C. Circuit Clarifies Standard for Required Factual Disclosures
The D.C. Circuit issued its en banc opinion in American Meat Institute v. U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Court agreed with the panel's decision and specifically held that the test for assessing...
View ArticleWill NY’s BitLicense Stifle an Industry (or Just Relocate it)?
The New York Department of Financial Services riveted the attention of the virtual currency world (and just about everyone else involved with digital financial services), with its July 17 proposal to...
View ArticleDOE’s Biomass Conference Draws 500+
This week, DOE hosted its seventh annual biomass conference. This year's conference focused on "Growing the Future Bioeconomy." Over 500 attendees from throughout the country and around the world...
View ArticleFRANCE: A French Court orders a Swiss company selling French game tickets...
On April 10, 2014, the Court of First Instance of Paris found that VIAGOGO, a Swiss company operating a website selling sports tickets on the Internet, had no right to sell tickets for a French soccer...
View ArticleStatus Updates - August 2014
Long arm of the law. A federal judge in Manhattan has upheld a magistrate judge’s ruling that Microsoft must turn over customer emails that are held in a Microsoft data center in Ireland. The key issue...
View ArticleAmendments to the PRC Copyright Law ....the practical implications for rights...
On June 6, 2014, the fourth draft version of the new PRC Copyright Law (New Law) was published for public comment, having first been published in 2010. The period for public comment ended on July 5,...
View ArticleRFID logo and privacy assessment test
The approval of technical standards introducing an RFID logo and a process for their data protection impact assessment required to comply with the EU Recommendation on RFIDs are expected to boost their...
View ArticleThe EU's Right to be Forgotten: Overly Burdensome?
In May earlier this year, the European Union's top court held in favor of an individual who requested that Google remove the search results associated with his name. In this particular case, a Spanish...
View ArticleClicking “I Agree” Renders Mandatory Arbitration Provision Enforceable
Day in and day out, Internet users sign various forms of agreements for a variety of reasons, from joining a dating site, to participating in an online auction, to uploading media to a storage locker....
View ArticleTech Companies, the Congo and Dodd-Frank
The fourth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act has prompted renewed discussion over the effectiveness of the legislation. Legislators continue their debate over the Financial Stability Oversight...
View ArticlePrometheus Labs., Inc. v. Roxane Labs., Inc. (D.N.J.)
Lotronex was initially launched in 2000, but was subsequently removed from the market in light of serious side effects attributed to the drug. It was re-launched in 2002 with a new label. At the time,...
View ArticleU.S. and EU Release New Export Restrictions on Exports of Equipment and...
U.S. and EU Release New Export Restrictions on Exports of Equipment and Technology to Russia Exploration Projects - In a sweeping expansion of export restrictions against Russia in response to their...
View ArticleAereo and Napster: Lessons in Licensing
As is increasingly reported, there is a battle raging in today’s marketplace between companies with new technology platforms and content creators from the entertainment community. On the one hand, are...
View ArticleSDNY Judge Orders Microsoft to Produce Emails Stored Abroad
Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York affirmed Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV’s opinion and ordered that the U.S. Department of Justice...
View ArticleGuidance Helps Medical Device Companies Determine Substantial Equivalence
When is a medical device substantially equivalent to another device? Like so much else, it depends. On July 15, 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance that aims to...
View ArticleWhat a Tangled Web We Weave, When First We Practice to Deceive: Second...
On July 29, the Second Circuit clarified its view that, in a two-player market, willfully deceptive advertising – even non-comparative advertising – creates a legal presumption of consumer confusion...
View ArticleDuke, Hershey, and Winston: Who gets to trademark a famous name?
Common sense tells you that you can always use your own name. But under trademark law, that’s not always true. Three recent cases illustrate this conundrum, which plays a major role in many Internet...
View ArticleFDA Issues Updated Draft Guidance on Reporting Drug Samples
The guidance calls for 2014 reporting by April 1, 2015. When signed into law in March 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) put a renewed focus on transparency. While section 6002, the Physician Payment...
View ArticleWhat You Need to Know About Backoff Malware: the New Threat Targeting Retailers
The phrase “back off” is an implied threat typically reserved for bumper stickers and mud flaps, but if you are a retailer that permits the use of remote desktop applications in your business, the name...
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