Balough
May 11, 2016
(May 11, 2016) Illinois office holders have absolute immunity to defame citizens who criticize their official duties, but the reverse is not true. The Seventh Circuit reversed the trial court and granted summary judgment for Cook County Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, who had been sued for defamation and retaliation for filing a complaint against an […]
Balough
May 10, 2016
(May 10, 2016) Smart device manufactures must explain to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) how they decide when to make security updates to address vulnerabilities in their devices. The FTC wants to more fully understand the policies, procedures, and practices for providing security updates for consumers for their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. The […]
Balough
April 3, 2016
(April 3, 2016) For the first time, under a proposed Enforcement Guidance Bulletin, automobile makers will need to take into account cybersecurity vulnerabilities for their vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a request for public comments (RPC) in which it outlined the factors it would take into account to determine if cybersecurity […]
Balough
March 19, 2016
(March 19, 2016) Some developers have included in their mobile apps the ability to turn on a phone’s microphone to listen for codes from television programs and advertisements to generate logs of the user’s viewing habits, all without the knowledge of the phone’s user. While the developer of the “Silverpush” technology stated that the app […]
Balough
March 3, 2016
(March 3, 2016) What do fishing tackle and butter have in common? Nothing, so there is no trademark infringement by either for using the same Land O’Lakes mark. In affirming the dismissal of competing trademark infringement claims, Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner said, “In this unusual case two firms sued each other though neither has […]
Balough
February 23, 2016
(February 23, 2016) The maker of ASUS home routers deceived customers when it claimed the devices could protect consumers’ local networks from attack. Instead, the company failed to employ reasonable security practices causing “substantial injury” to consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found. ASUSTeK Computer, Inc., has agreed to an FTC consent order that requires […]
Balough
February 18, 2016
(February 18, 2016) It was not a Hollywood movie but a real life ransomware attack that shut down the enterprise-wide hospital information system of an acute care facility for 10 days. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center said it paid 40 Bitcoins or about $17,000 in ransom to obtain a decryption key to unlock its information system. […]
Balough
February 15, 2016
(February 15, 2016) A driverless car does not have a human behind the wheel, which creates a problem for complying with various federal safety standards designed for vehicles with human drivers. The self-driving vehicles (SDV) being developed by Google, Inc. lack, among other things, steering wheels, accelerators, and brake pedals because the cars are controlled […]
Balough
February 15, 2016
(February 15, 2016) Richard C. Balough spoke at the Internet of Things (IoT) 2016 National Institute in Washington, D.C. The panel will discuss “IoT Intellectual Property Rights: How to Avoid Getting It Wrong.” Mr. Balough spoke on “Autonomous Vehicles Offer a Ride into the Internet of Things.” The two-day institute is designed to offer attendees an […]
Balough
February 5, 2016
(February 5, 2016) Users who downloaded a browser extension game were the ones who got played, according to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action. General Workings, Inc., d/b/a Vulcun purchased the Running Fred online extension game from its founders and replaced the game with its own extension, called Weekly Android Apps. An extension is a […]
