House Introduces Bill to Reauthorize and Reform FISA Section 702 Posted on October 23, 2017 USA Liberty Act of 2017, H.R. 3989, 115th Cong. (2017). On October 6, 2017, Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and other members of the House Judiciary Committee introduced H. R. 3989 (“the USA Liberty Act of 2017”) to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) Amendments Act for six more years. The bill also makes substantive adjustments to...
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MEC Resources v. Apple: Delaware District Court Vacates Patent Infringement Case due to Court Congestion Posted on October 22, 2017 MEC Resources, LLC v. Apple, Inc., No. 17-223 (D. Del. Sep. 15, 2017), court memorandum hosted by Google Scholar.    Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Grp. Brands LLC, 137 S. Ct. 1219 (2017) in May of this year, patent infringement case filings in the District of Delaware have nearly doubled. Plaintiffs attempt to...
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DHS Expands Immigration Files to Collect and Store Social Media Information Posted on October 13, 2017 Notice of Modified Privacy Act System of Records, 82 Fed. Reg. 43,556 (Sep. 18, 2017)  On September 18, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a notice in the Federal Register redefining the scope of records (so-called “A-Files”) the agency keeps on immigrants, aliens, and naturalized citizens to include social media information and other public-facing data. The notice officially...
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Flash Digest – News In Brief Posted on October 10, 2017 FAA Restricts Drone Flights near U.S. Landmarks On September 28, 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) announced restrictions on drone flights around ten U.S. Landmarks in nine U.S. States, including such popular sites as the Statute of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and the Boston National Historical Park. The FAA cited requests from national security and law enforcement agencies as the reason...
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iLife v. Nintendo: Jury slaps Nintendo with $10.1M verdict for infringing patent despite IPR proceedings invalidating five other iLife patents Posted on October 09, 2017 iLife Technologies, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., No. 3:13-cv-4987-M, (D.N. Tex. 2017, Aug. 31, 2017) verdict hosted by ipwatchdog.com On August 31, 2017, a jury found Nintendo of America, Inc. (“Nintendo”) infringed upon a patent owned by iLife Technologies, Inc. (“iLife”), a medical technology firm located in Texas. The jury found that four games for Nintendo’s Wii U infringed upon...
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People of the State of California v. Equifax: San Francisco becomes the first city to sue Equifax over the massive data breach earlier this year. Posted on October 08, 2017 People of the State of Cal. v. Equifax, Inc., No. CGC-17-561529 (S.F. Super. Ct. filed Sept. 26, 2017) complaint hosted by consumerfinancemonitor.com On September 26, 2017, the City of San Francisco (“the City”) initiated a suit against Equifax in a state court stemming from a data breach that occurred earlier this year. The City claimed Equifax has acted unlawfully, unfairly, and/or...
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Senate Introduces Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act Posted on October 07, 2017 Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, S. 1693, 115th Cong. (2017). On August 1, 2017, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (“SESTA”). On September 19, 2017, The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on SESTA. The stated purpose of the bill is to amend the Communications Decency Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C...
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Adblocking Software Not Illegal “Aggressive Business Practice,” Says German Appellate Court Posted on October 06, 2017 OLG München, Aug. 17, 2017, U 2225/15 Kart, slip opinion hosted by gesetze-bayern.de. OLG München, Aug. 17, 2017, U 2184/15 Kart, slip opinion hosted by gesetze-bayern.de. OLG München, Aug. 17, 2017, U 1917/16 Kart; full-text not yet available. In three separate appeals cases this summer, the second-instance court in Munich, Germany ruled for Eyeo GmbH, the makers of the popular adblocking software, Adblock...
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Matal v. Tam: SCOTUS Rules Disparagement Clause in Lanham Act Unconstitutional Posted on October 05, 2017 Matal v. Tam 582 U. S. ____ (2017), hosted by IPWatchdog. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Federal Circuit, holding that the statutory ban on disparaging trademarks is a violation of free speech. Specifically, they ruled that the “disparagement clause” of the 1946 Lanham Act - the primary federal trademark statute in the US - unconstitutionally limited free speech and is...
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