Balough
October 27, 2016
(October 27, 2016) Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must now obtain affirmative consent if they want to use and share sensitive personally identifiable information of consumers under new rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC said the approved new rules “ensure broadband customers have meaningful choice, greater transparency and strong security protections for […]
Balough
October 25, 2016
(October 25, 2016) Need guidance when your business suffers a data breach? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released Data Breach Response: A Guide for Businesses both as a pamphlet and a video. It outlines the steps a business should take after a data breach. The booklet also includes a model notification letter to send when […]
Balough
October 19, 2016
(October 19, 2016) Cheryl Dancey Balough presented on “Copyright Law Basics” to members of the Chicago Bar Association on October 18, 2016 as part of a continuing legal education program coordinated by the CBA’s Intellectual Property Committee. She discussed the requirements for a copyrightable work, authorship and ownership options, rights that a copyright owner enjoys, some […]
Balough
October 12, 2016
(October 12, 2016) A multi-national tech support group of companies, which used deceptive pop-up ads to scare consumers into believing their computers were infected, has been temporarily shut down by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The companies, which generally operate under the name Global Access Technical Support, use pop-up ads sometimes with a loud alarm […]
Balough
October 11, 2016
(October 11, 2016) The intellectual property issues associated with autonomous vehicles provides a timely case study to assist business lawyers in advising their clients on use of the Internet of Things (IoT). In a presentation entitled “Autonomous Vehicles A Stalking Horse for Intellectual Property Rights in the Internet of Things,” Richard C. Balough explained how […]
Balough
October 7, 2016
(October 7, 2016) In its report of a new study on patent assertion entities (PAEs), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) carefully avoids the term patent troll while finding that “Litigation” PAEs account for 96 percent of patent infringement lawsuits but generate only about 20 percent of patent license revenues of those PAEs studied. The report, […]
Balough
August 29, 2016
(August 29, 2016) An appellate court found that Trader Joe’s may proceed with a trademark case in the United States against a Canadian citizen for trademark infringement in Canada. Michael Hallatt buys Trader Joe’s Company products in the United States, which he resells in a Canadian store he operates as Pirate Joe’s. Trader Joe’s, a […]
Balough
August 28, 2016
(August 28, 2016) Did the nephew of Col. Sanders just give away the family secret 11 herbs and spices used in the KFC recipe? That’s what the Chicago Tribune thinks. A reporter says 67-year-old Joe Ledington showed him a family scrapbook that included a copy of Claudia Sanders’ will. She was the colonel’s second wife. […]
Balough
August 14, 2016
(August 14, 2016) Culver may have had a cow over Steak n Shake’s copycat television commercial, but a federal judge found the original commercial lacked “the necessary modicum of creativity to give rise to copyright protection” required for a copyright infringement lawsuit. Culver Franchising System, Inc. developed a commercial with a white-aproned butcher touting the quality […]
Balough
July 26, 2016
(July 26, 2016) A karaoke track distributor’s attempt to claim trademark infringement for what really was copyright infringement hit a sour note with the Seventh Circuit. Phoenix Entertainment Partners, formerly Slep-Tone, distributes karaoke accompaniment tracks under the trademark Sound Choice to bars. Because of changing technology, the company allows its customers to transfer the tracks […]
