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Technology
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May 10, 2013
App Designers Lifted Data Transfer Patents, Suits Say
“Smurfs' Village” developer Capcom USA Inc. and other game makers were sued in Texas federal court Thursday, becoming the latest targets of frequent patent litigator Lodsys Group LLC over allegations that their app games violate two data communication patents.
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May 10, 2013
Lawmaker Wants App Makers To Ask For Data Mining Consent
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., introduced legislation Thursday designed to boost privacy on mobile devices by requiring app developers to get consent from consumers before collecting data and to securely maintain the data they collect.
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May 10, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: Yahoo, Carlyle, Dish
Yahoo is considering making a bid for Hulu as part of a broader attempt to claw back some of its cachet on the Web and boost its bottom line, while Dish has nailed down financing help for its $25.5 billion Sprint buyout bid that has met with skepticism from the wireless carrier's board.
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May 9, 2013
Do-Not-Track Moves Forward, But Deadline Doubts Linger
A working group tasked with establishing an online tracking standard concluded its final in-person meeting Wednesday with a pledge to complete the mechanism by July, but several participants remained skeptical that the group could overcome a long-standing lack of consensus to meet its goal.
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May 9, 2013
Quinn Predicts Damages In Clearwire-Sprint Trial
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's John Quinn thinks he has a rarity: a merger lawsuit with real damages at the end of the road.
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May 9, 2013
Delta Dodges Calif. Privacy Suit Over Smartphone App
A California state judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit accusing Delta Air Lines Inc. of violating a state privacy policy with its smartphone application, dealing a major blow to California's attorney general in the first test of California's Online Privacy Protection Act.
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May 9, 2013
Texas Firms Face Steep Cuts In 'Nightmare' Tech Case
A Texas federal judge on Thursday told Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC, Dykema Gossett PLLC and Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP they should be prepared to face steep cuts in legal fees from a court-ordered receivership against the principal of bankrupt domain name registrar Ondova Ltd.
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May 9, 2013
LCD Makers Say Standing Issues Remain In Price-Fixing Row
Several liquid crystal display makers accused of fixing prices told a California federal judge Wednesday that it remained unclear whether several retailers seeking millions in damages in the multidistrict litigation over the plot had the right to pursue their claims under federal law.
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May 9, 2013
LCD Cases May Give Drug Cos. Gold Ticket Out Of State Court
Drug companies could soon have a new way to remove state law claims brought by attorneys general to federal court — generally perceived to be more business-friendly than state court — if the Supreme Court rules in an LCD makers' antitrust brawl that such claims qualify as class actions.
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May 9, 2013
Google Must Give Apple Contested Docs In Samsung IP Suit
A California federal judge on Thursday ordered Google Inc. to reveal how it produced documents related to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. smartphones and tablets that allegedly infringe Apple's patents, despite Google's objection that it doesn't have to comply because it isn't a party in the case.
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May 9, 2013
Bipartisan Bill Would Legalize Cellphone Unlocking
Legislation introduced Thursday by a bipartisan group House lawmakers would make it permanently legal for smartphone and tablet users to unlock their mobile devices, resolving a controversial component of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that currently bans the practice.
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May 9, 2013
IntraLinks Can't Dodge Shareholder Suit Over FDIC Contract
A New York federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss a consolidated shareholder class action alleging top executives at cloud computing company IntraLinks Holdings Inc. misled investors about the probable loss of a contract with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
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May 9, 2013
Samsung Loses Bid To Nix Ericsson IP Misconduct Defense
A U.S. International Trade Commission judge on Monday allowed Ericsson Inc. to argue that 4G LTE patents it is accused of infringing by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. are invalid for inequitable conduct, rejecting Samsung's argument that the accusation is too vague.
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May 9, 2013
UEL Values WBL At $1B In Sweetened Last-Ditch Buyout Bid
Property company United Engineers Ltd. on Thursday raised its takeover offer for conglomerate WBL Corp. Ltd. to roughly 1.25 billion Singapore dollars (US$1 billion), an increase over an already sweetened bid that it said will be its final stab at winning over the car distributor.
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May 9, 2013
FBI Tracking Device Use OK'd, To Privacy Groups' Dismay
A man accused of an online tax fraud scheme lost an Arizona federal court bid on Wednesday to suppress electronic evidence gathered by the FBI’s so-called Stingray technology, in a ruling that civil liberties advocates fear may set a precedent for government misuse of electronic surveillance.
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May 9, 2013
8 Cybercrooks Charged In Global $45M ATM Heist
Federal authorities on Thursday charged eight alleged cybercriminals in New York with money laundering and fraud for allegedly helping steal $45 million by hacking into global financial institutions, stealing prepaid debit card data and making fraudulent ATM withdrawals.
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May 9, 2013
House Reps. Float Companion Bill To Senate ECPA Reforms
House Republicans on Wednesday introduced companion legislation to a bill recently advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee aimed at reforming the U.S.' outdated electronic privacy law by requiring the government to obtain a warrant before accessing email communications.
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May 9, 2013
WilmerHale Leads $241M Carlyle Sell-Off Of SS&C Shares
The Carlyle Group, whose funds are currently SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc.'s largest shareholder, is getting ready to sell off about $241 million worth of shares — or about half of its holdings in the financial software company, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing.
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May 9, 2013
Rambus Loses $250M Of Hynix Win For Destroying Evidence
A California federal judge on Wednesday hit Rambus Inc. with $250 million in sanctions for egregious evidence destruction in its long-running patent case against Hynix Semiconductor Inc., drastically reducing the $397 million judgment Rambus won in 2009.
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May 9, 2013
Apple, LG Dodge Retrial Bid In Video Patent Fight
A California federal judge on Tuesday denied an Alcatel-Lucent SA subsidiary's bid for a new trial against Apple Inc. and LG Electronics Inc., ruling substantial evidence supported a jury's verdict that the iPhone and other mobile devices didn't infringe its video compression technology.
Expert Analysis
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FTC Path Deal And Mobile Guide: A Warning To App Industry
On Feb. 1, the Federal Trade Commission announced an $800,000 settlement with Path Inc., the developer of a mobile social networking app, over privacy violations, and released two documents providing privacy guidance for the mobile app industry. Taken together, this case and these recommendations demonstrate that the FTC is prepared to investigate privacy concerns raised about any part of the mobile app ecosystem, say attorneys with Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
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What You Should Know About The New Trade Secrets Laws
Although two new trade secret laws — the Trade Secret Clarification Act and the Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act — significantly increase the risks faced by an employee or other person who takes an organization’s trade secrets, neither the government nor the organization will succeed in protecting those secrets unless the organization takes appropriate measures to protect them before they are stolen, say attorneys with Dechert LLP.
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A Gambling Case Software Developers Should Watch Closely
The Supreme Court of New York recently conducted a hearing in a criminal case in which a software developer is accused of aiding and abetting illegal gambling. The strength of the district attorney's case remains to be seen, but prosecution of a software developer for crimes committed by its users sets a dangerous precedent and starts the country down a slippery slope of prosecuting people for others' acts, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.
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Top 10 Social Media Law Developments Of 2012
2012 was a momentous year for social media law. We’ve combed through the court decisions, the legislative initiatives, the regulatory actions and the corporate trends to identify what we believe to be the 10 most significant social media law developments of the past year, say John Delaney and Jesse Soslow of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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Data Mining: What Financial Services Firms Need To Know
As a general rule, the use of mined data does not violate legal requirements. However, the fast-growing data-mining industry is raising concern among federal regulators and policy makers. A hedge fund or other financial services firm that uses data-mined information should establish controls and surveillance to address potential insider trading, privacy and other risks, say Henry Massey and Megan Tlusty of Day Pitney LLP.
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Sussing Out The 2nd Circ. WorldCom Reversal
In some sense, the recent WorldCom decision represents just the latest manifestation of the hard-line approach the Second Circuit has traditionally adopted with regard to dates and deadlines. Nonetheless, the decision serves as a stark warning for anyone who would hope to rely on the indulgences ostensibly provided by Rule 4(a) to ameliorate the harshest consequences of even innocent attorney error, say Steven Wilamowsky and Amelia Joiner of Bingham McCutchen LLP.
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Antitrust Agencies Will Remain Focused On Patent Conduct
If recent events are any indication, in 2013 we will see more policing of patent conduct by the U.S. and European antitrust agencies. In particular, the agencies have concluded that under certain circumstances it may be a violation of the competition laws for a holder of standard essential patents to seek an injunction against alleged infringers of those SEPs, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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A Closer Look At Sony's UK Data Breach Penalty
On Jan. 24, the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office served Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited with a monetary penalty of £250,000 following a well-publicized security breach that afflicted the Sony PlayStation Network Platform. It is the third-largest fine levied by the ICO, but in the context of the size of Sony and the costs to Sony of the breach internationally, the size of the fine might be seen to be relatively modest, says Renzo Marchini of Dechert LLP.
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What The Proposed Apps Act Would Mean For App Developers
Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., recently unveiled a discussion draft of the Application Privacy, Protection and Security Act of 2013, which would impose considerable compliance obligations upon app developers. While the act has not yet been formally proposed as legislation, given the focus that has recently been placed on apps, it appears to be a prudent time to examine the key elements of the proposed law, says Jacqueline Klosek of Goodwin Procter LLP.
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ITC Focuses On The Facts, Not The Hype
It has been a surprise to see articles and publications claiming that the U.S. International Trade Commission is being flooded and overrun by nonpracticing entities. Contrary to the claims of critics, the facts suggest that the ITC is, in fact, a tougher forum for NPEs to succeed in than district courts. The ITC is administering the trade laws fairly and expeditiously, and staying true to its mission, says Deanna Tanner Okun, a partner with Adduci Mastriani & Schaumberg LLP and former chairman of the ITC.