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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently reversed the dismissal of a Lanham Act claim brought by a prominent personal injury law firm (Adler) against a lawyer referral service who was purchasing Google keyword ads for the plaintiff’s trademarks. Jim S. Adler, P.C. v. McNeil Consultants, L.L.C., No. 20-10936, U.S. App. LEXIS …

Generic Ads May Infringe When Purchasing Competitor Trademark Keyword Ads Read More »

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has rejected the argument that embedding a link to a video does not “display” that video within the meaning of the Copyright Act. Nicklen v. Sinclair Broad. Grp., Inc., No. 20-CV-10300 (JSR), 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142768 (S.D.N.Y. July 30, 2021). In ruling on …

Court Rejects “Embedded Link” Copyright Infringement Loophole Read More »

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that a Commercial General Liability insurance policy required the insurer to defend Houston-based Landry’s Inc. in a $25 million data breach case brought by its credit card processor. Landry’s, Inc. v. Ins. Co. of the State of Pa., No. 19-20430, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS …

Fifth Circuit Holds Insurer Must Provide Defense in $25M Data Breach Case Read More »

Walmart has a certain reputation regarding the manner in which it deals with its suppliers and service providers. Therefore, no one was particularly surprised when the facts came out at trial about a fixed fee agreement and Walmart’s almost instantaneous demands that additional work be done outside the scope of the contract for no additional …

Eighth Circuit Affirms Trade Secret Misappropriation Verdict Against Walmart Read More »

In a somewhat baffling case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently remanded a copyright case back to the district court due to an undeveloped record relating to whether the plaintiff was entitled to a $3.6 million statutory damages award based on the infringement thirty-three separate illustrations. Sullivan v. Flora, Inc., 936 …

Defense Waives $3.4 Million Defense in Copyright Case Read More »

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that actual copyright registration, as opposed to merely filing an application for registration, is a prerequisite to bringing a copyright infringement claim in federal court. Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, No. 17-571, 2019 U.S. LEXIS 1730 (Mar. 4, 2019). In the Fourth …

U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Copyright Application Insufficient to File Infringement Lawsuit Read More »

What do Beyonce’s Company, Playboy, Tesla, and Williams-Sonoma have in common? They have all been recently sued by visually impaired plaintiffs in New York federal court for websites that allegedly violate the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state statutes. The allegations focus on features, which are allegedly missing from the defendants’ websites, that assist …

Beyonce, Playboy, and Tesla Sued By Blind Users For Non-Compliant Websites Under The ADA Read More »

You heard that correctly. Mondelez International recently filed a complaint in Illinois alleging that Zurich American Insurance Company denied coverage for a malicious cyber incident pursuant to a war exclusion that was previously only used in times of hostile conflicts. Complaint, Mondelez Int’l, Inc. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 2018-L-011008 (Cook County, Illinois Oct. …

True Story – My Insurance Carrier Applied a “War Exclusion” to Deny My Cyber Claim Read More »

Insurance companies continue to assert coverage exclusions incorporated into their cyber insurance policies in an attempt to avoid providing coverage to their insureds. The latest example to be adjudicated is the “False Pretense Exclusion” that appears in insurance policies issued or underwritten by Sentinel Insurance Company. Rainforest Chocolate, LLC v. Sentinel Ins. Co., 2018 VT …

Cyber Insurance Carrier Unable to Avoid Coverage by Claiming “False Pretense Exclusion” Read More »

I received an e-mail late last Friday afternoon. It was the end of the week and the end of the day, and truth be told, I was trying to get out of the office for the weekend. The e-mail came from a firm client, was sent with “High Importance,” and included the following text: “I …

Is That Really Your Client E-mailing You? Read More »