By Keith Randall on Posted in Copyright,Internet,TechnologyOn August 3, 2012, Electronic Arts filed a copyright infringement complaint against Zynga, Inc. for infringing its copyrights in the Sims franchise, specifically for infringing on the game The Sims Social with Zynga’s The Ville. As the complaint details, The Sims Social launched in August 2011 on Facebook. The Sims Social allows players to create … Continue Reading
By Waller IP Team on Posted in Internet,News and AnnouncementsAn article by Laura P. Merritt entitled “Before Your Post: Best Practices for Providing Advice on Social Media Topics,” was published in the Fall 2012 issue of OYEZ!, the quarterly newsletter of the Nashville Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. The article can be accessed here… Continue Reading
By Heather J. Hubbard on Posted in Copyright,InternetLast week, I had the pleasure of spending time with some of my favorite copyright lawyers at the Copyright Society of the USA (CSUSA) annual meeting. On Tuesday morning, Jay Rosenthal of NMPA, Mitch Glazier of RIAA, professor Robert Brauneis and author Robert Levine discussed the politics of copyright. The following is a summary of … Continue Reading
By Justin F. McNaughton on Posted in Internet,PrivacyThe Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is not new, but it seems that many new startups have either not given it much thought or don’t know about it. As a refresher, COPPA applies to you if: (i) you operate a website directed to children under the age of 13; or (ii) your website has … Continue Reading
By Heather J. Hubbard on Posted in Internet,Privacy,TechnologyThe Healthcare Information and Management System Society (“HIMSS”) recently released its “Analytics Report: Security of Patient Data,” the third installment of the report in the last six years. Despite increased confidence in security safeguards, healthcare providers reported more breaches than in past years. In 2008, only 13% of respondents reported a security breach. In 2012, … Continue Reading
By Emily J. Zibart on Posted in Internet,TechnologyYesterday, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Apple and five major publishing companies (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster) regarding the defendants’ practices with regard to e-books. The DOJ Complaint, available here, alleges that the publishers and Apple conspired to set pricing for e-books in violation of Section 1 … Continue Reading
By Emily J. Zibart on Posted in Internet,Privacy,TechnologyYesterday, it was announced that the California Attorney General has reached an agreement with the “big six” of mobile app platforms (Amazon, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research in Motion) providing that the companies will require mobile apps that collect personal information to have written privacy policies. In announcing the agreement, the AG’s office cited … Continue Reading
By Heather J. Hubbard and Brian Clifford on Posted in InternetIt is now commonplace for employers to adopt social media policies pertaining to its employees. These policies can help avoid disputes after an employee departs and help set standards to protect a company’s public relations. For example, a federal district court in Pennsylvania is currently presented with a dispute between a company and its former … Continue Reading
By Keith Randall on Posted in Internet,PrivacyNetflix made headlines this week when it asked the U.S. Congress to change the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (VPPA) so that Netflix can offer a Facebook app to consumers in the United States. The app, introduced by Netflix outside the U.S. last year, gives Facebook users movie recommendations based on the viewing habits … Continue Reading
By Emily J. Zibart on Posted in Copyright,InternetWebsites including the English version of Wikipedia, Reddit and BoingBoing have gone dark for a period of twenty-four hours today, in protest of anti-piracy bills currently making their way through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. According to a statement posted by Wikipedia, the Stop Online Privacy Act (“SOPA,” as the House version … Continue Reading
By Emily J. Zibart on Posted in Copyright,InternetIt should come as no surprise that IP infringement is rampant on the internet—we regularly assist our clients with Internet-related legal issues. But even we were taken aback after recently coming across a website that, on first glance, appeared to be highly professional, but which in fact consisted of nothing more than large blocks of … Continue Reading
By Heather J. Hubbard on Posted in Internet,PrivacyAccording to The Wall Street Journal (article here) and The New York Times (article here), Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission are nearing a settlement related to privacy concerns that would require Facebook to obtain “express affirmative consent” before implementing “material retroactive changes” to user privacy settings, as well as submit to two decades of … Continue Reading
By Heather J. Hubbard on Posted in Copyright,Entertainment,Internet,TechnologySteve Jobs first announced the concept of iTunes Match in June, and its launch is expected any day now. For only $25 a year, you can subscribe to iTunes Match to have access to all of your music, not just music purchased from iTunes. It will pull songs from CDs uploaded to your computer, songs … Continue Reading
By Emily J. Zibart on Posted in Internet,TrademarkAs may readers may be aware, the new .XXX top level domain (TLD) is set to launch this December. It is intended that this top level domain will be used exclusively by responsible members of the adult entertainment industry. Many trademark owners are rightfully concerned regarding the prospects of typo-squatting and trademark infringement in this … Continue Reading
By Heather J. Hubbard on Posted in Advertising,InternetThe FTC has been busy in 2011 with a flurry of investigations and settlements for online privacy violations. Below is a summary of two of the more publicized investigations and settlements. Glitch in Opt-Out Program. Chitika, an online advertising company, claims to have promptly corrected a “glitch” in their opt-out program that removed users from … Continue Reading
