Balough
December 14, 2013
A plaintiff must show that his computer was actually damaged in order to properly allege a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a federal judge found. The issue arose in a case where a former employee was accused of unauthorized copying and emailing of computer files so that he could use the […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Agreeing with the trial court’s finding that the Q-Ray Ionized Bracelet’s “promotion has been thoroughly dishonest,” the Seventh Circuit has upheld a $16 million judgment and injunction against the promoter. The court agreed that the Federal Trade Commission provided sufficient evidence to require the company to disgorge the $16 million in profits that the Defendants […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A website that ranks attorneys is publishing only protected opinions, not facts, a Washington federal district court found. Two attorneys who were ranked by Avvo, Inc. claimed they were damaged by the website’s rating and that the ranking violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act. They also alleged that because of the ranking, clients may not […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Richard C. Balough testified as an expert on a proposed cyberstalking ordinance before two City of Chicago Council committees on January 8. Mr. Balough was asked to provide a legal perspective to the City’s proposed cyberstalking ordinance before the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development and Committee on Finance. The ordinance would criminalize cyberstalking […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
The Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) has selected Richard C. Balough to present two panel discussions at an upcoming Intellectual Property Law for Business Lawyers seminar on November 29, 2007. Mr. Balough will discuss copyrights during the morning session and will discuss hiring key employees and what to do when they leave during […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn quoted Richard C. Balough in a column discussing whether a principal who was caught on tape having sex in his office has any privacy rights. The column by Zorn pointed out that in Illinois there is no criminal statute against taking videos in an office when no audio is also […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Newly licensed Illinois attorneys will learn about privacy laws from Richard C. Balough as part of the Chicago Bar Association’s program “New Lawyer Tool Kit: Basic Skills for the New Attorney.” Mr. Balough’s presentation is part of a two-day, 15-hour program required by the Illinois MCLE Board and the Illinois Professionalism Commission under the new Minimum […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A trademark owner who seeks statutory damages for counterfeit goods cannot also recover attorney’s fees, the Ninth Circuit said. Under the trademark law, a trademark owner who sues in a case involving counterfeit goods may elect to recover either three times the actual damages or statutory damages. The court found that the statute allows for […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Telling a future employer why your former employer fired you does not create a claim for compelled self-defamation. The plaintiff in the case, an attorney, argued that she was compelled to tell future employers that her previous employer had told her she was fired because she mishandled cases, violated the attorney code of ethics, and […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Freelancers who failed to register their works cannot be awarded damages in a proposed class action settlement, a federal appeals court ruled. The Second Circuit affirmed the long-standing rule that before an author can recover damages for copyright infringement, the work must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. As a result, the court threw […]
