QR Code on Envelope Violates Privacy Afforded to Debtors

(August 15, 2019) Can a QR code be too revealing and invade a person’s privacy? If it contains the account number of a consumer and it appears on a debt collection envelope, then it may be an illegal invasion of privacy. The Third Circuit affirmed a trial court’s finding that if a debt collector puts […]
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Gatorade’s Use of Sport Fuel Is Fair Use, Appellate Court Affirms

(August 12, 2019) If a competitor uses your trademark to describe its own product, then you might not have an action for infringement of the mark. Trademarks are protected because they are an indicator of the source of the product. If a registered mark is used descriptively and not as a trademark by a competitor, […]
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Appellate Court Affirms Damage Award Decrease in VARA Copyright Claim

(July 23, 2019) A trial court properly reduced the damages awarded to an artist whose works were destroyed by his landlord because the jury award double counted the value of the missing artwork. Christian Narkiewicz-Laine leased space from the defendants but was not current on his rent, so defendants cleaned out the space throwing away […]
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Rejection of FUCT Registration Violates First Amendment, Supreme Court Says

(June 24, 2019)  The Supreme Court struck down the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) ban against registering marks that are “immoral” or “scandalous” because the restriction violates the First Amendment. The court found the USPTO erred in denying a trademark for FUCT for clothing. Under the Lanham Act, the USPTO may not register marks […]
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Court Tosses Airline Employees Challenge on Fingerprints Under Biometrics Law

(June 20, 2019) A challenge by Southwest and United employees, under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), to the requirement that they sign in using their fingerprints must be heard by an administrative agency, not the courts, the Seventh Circuit declared. The appellate court said it was up to the National Railway Adjustment Board […]
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Balough Inks Chapter on Best Cloud Privacy Practices

(June 14, 2019) Richard C. Balough has co-written the chapter on “Best Practices for Cloud Privacy” in Cloud 3.0, Drafting and Negotiating Cloud Computing Agreements, a new book published by the American Bar Association. The chapter provides an overview of general best practices for satisfying U.S. privacy and security obligations using effective cloud agreements. The […]
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Can’t Erase the Fact that Chalking Violates the Fourth Amendment

(April 23, 2019) Using a sophisticated GPS tracking device to track a car and chalking a tire to determine how long it has been parked are the same—unlawful searches under the Fourth Amendment, according to a federal appeals court. The Sixth Circuit found that the practice of chalking tires to determine how long a car […]
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