Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Cyber Tech & E-Commerce

December 06, 2024
Federal Circuit: No Infringement By Meta Of Data Storage Patent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New York federal judge did not err in granting summary judgment in a patent dispute between social media company Meta Platforms Inc. and a company that accused it of infringing patents related to methods of storing data chronologically, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said, affirming the judge’s holding that the evidence did not show that Meta’s product satisfied the patents’ claim limitations.
December 06, 2024
Epic, Apple File Status Report, Disagree On Privileged Documents In Antitrust Row

OAKLAND, Calif. — In an antitrust suit filed by Epic Games Inc. against Apple Inc. in a California federal court, the parties filed a status report regarding discovery, with Epic asserting “that Apple has engaged in gross overuse of privilege” and Apple claiming that Epic’s search terms are “too broad.” In the case, Epic has moved to enforce an injunction requiring Apple to permit app developers to inform users of methods of making in-app purchases (IAPs) outside of the company’s App Store.
December 05, 2024
$30M 23andMe Data Breach Settlement Gets Court’s Conditional Preliminary OK

SAN FRANCISCO — The California federal judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation involving claims against genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. for failing to protecting users’ data from hackers granted preliminary approval on Dec. 4 to a $30 million settlement of the claims on the condition that the plaintiffs amend their definition of the settlement class to exclude parties who are pursuing arbitration and despite “serious concerns” with the plaintiffs’ $7.5 million attorney fees request.
December 05, 2024
Judge Tosses CBD Gummies Suit Filed By Former Arkansas Governor Against Meta

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal judge dismissed a suit filed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee against Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook Inc., asserting that Meta violated Arkansas state and common law by allowing unidentified third parties to post advertisements on Facebook that falsely claimed that Huckabee endorsed their cannabidiol (CBD) gummies, finding, in part, that Huckabee failed to plead the element of scienter necessary under Arkansas law.
December 05, 2024
GAO: Crypto Options Seem To Be A Small Part Of The 401(k) Market

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a report released publicly Dec. 4 regarding crypto assets in 401(k)s, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted data and projection limitations, saying in part that “certain crypto assets continue to trade in markets that do not have investor protections or comprehensive oversight.”
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 03, 2024
Discovery Rulings Issued In FCA Suit Over Alleged Cyber-Distracted Anesthesiologists

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah federal magistrate judge granted in part motions to stay depositions filed by defendant anesthesiologists and their practices in a qui tam suit asserting that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) and a similar Nevada law by submitting for payment to government insurers claims for anesthesiology services when they were instead allegedly “immersed in the Internet” rather than providing care to their patients during surgery.
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
COMMENTARY: 2024 Key Insurance Decisions, Trends & Developments & A Look Ahead To 2025

By Scott M. Seaman, Pedro E. Hernandez and Lisa M. Roccanova
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.”