Balough
December 22, 2013
A video clip from a policeman’s deposition may remain on YouTube because the city failed to justify why it should be taken down. The City of Collinsville, Illinois, sought a protective order to remove the video clip, which shows a portion of one of its policemen’s video deposition. The City argued that the video was […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Websites will no longer be able to collect geolocation information or display photos or videos of children under 13 without parental consent under new rules adopted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The new rules amended the original rules adopted in 2000, which implemented the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The amendments expand the […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
A statute that prohibits a person amplifying sound that could be heard more than 25 feet from a vehicle while at the same time allowing such amplification for business or political purposes is an unconstitutional restraint on the freedom of expression and thus invalid. The Florida Supreme Court found the statute was an “unreasonable restriction […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
The marital communications privilege does not cover emails sent by a husband to his wife using his workplace computer. A federal appeals court affirmed the conviction of a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates for bribery and extortion for securing state funding for Old Dominion University in exchange for employment by the university. […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Mobile apps for children continue to leave parents in the dark as to what information is being collected and what is being done with that information, according to a new study by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The study, “Mobile Apps for Kids Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade,” is a follow-up to a February […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
An online advertising company has agreed to stop gathering sensitive data from millions of consumers and will cease its secret “history sniffing” activities, which revealed the websites users had visited in the past. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that Epic Marketplace, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Epic Media Group, LLC, gathered data from customers […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Dunkin’ Donuts may claim it has the “Best Coffee in America” but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) found the phrase was mere “puffery” and had not acquired a secondary meaning sufficient to be registered on the principal register. In 2007, Dunkin’ Donuts registered the phrase “Best Coffee in America” for restaurant services, snack […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
A Colorado federal judge ordered that a person suing her former employer must provide all of her cell phone messages, social media passwords, and passwords to access any of her email accounts or blogs for the judge’s in camera review. The former employee, along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sued The Original Honeybaked Ham Company of […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Facial recognition applications now link faces with other databases, allowing companies to identify anonymous individuals and obtain their personal information without the consumer ever knowing, thus raising privacy concerns. In an effort to give companies guidance and protect consumer privacy, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a pamphlet with Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
No more buts about it. The faceoff between North Face and South Butt is over—again. The North Face Apparel Corp. had sued The South Butt, LLC, and several individuals for trademark infringement for offering products with the names South Butt and Butt Face. The original case was settled via a consent decree. The lawsuit was revived […]
