Balough
April 8, 2019
(April 8, 2019) If you want to expand your business by giving away product and asking customers to post favorable reviews, don’t follow the UrthBox, Inc. marketing plan, or you will pay a hefty fine to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). UrthBox sells snack products via the web. Starting in 2016, the company offered a […]
Balough
March 29, 2019
(March 29, 2019) Just check one of four boxes on the Office Depot/OfficeMax PC Health Check Program and it will find malware on your computer, even though the result is not linked to any scan. Confused? The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) found this practice deceptive, too. To settle the case, the company and the program […]
Balough
March 28, 2019
(March 28, 2019) The European Union has modified its Digital Single Market directive on copyrights to make it easier for copyright holders to receive compensation when their works are used online in the member countries. The changes are in two areas: authors and performers whose work is posted online and press publishers. As to authors […]
Balough
March 23, 2019
(March 22, 2019) An oversized Junior Mints box half full may be a disappointment, but that’s not enough for a claim of actual damages in federal court. Paige Stemm bought a box of Junior Mints for about a dollar in a Walgreens store in Belleville, Illinois. When she opened the box, only slightly over half […]
Balough
March 21, 2019
(March 21, 2019) The question of damages in a copyright battle between Zillow and a professional photography company that takes pictures of houses for sale raises the important, but sometimes overlooked, question of whether to register images as a compilation or individually. The wrong decision could be costly. Zillow, the online real estate site, was […]
Balough
March 17, 2019
(March 17, 2019) Dum Dums spent $220,000 and 20 months to redesign its packaging in 2011, resulting in an increase in its share of the lollipop market. Its rival Charms Mini Pops took only five months and ignored its usual third-party consultant to come up with a package using elements of the Dum Dums’ package, […]
Balough
March 16, 2019
(March 16, 2019) A cop found getting the finger after issuing a ticket was offensive but he went too far when he pulled the car over again to change the ticket he just issued to a moving violation from a non-moving violation. Now the cop must face a trial for violating the driver’s civil rights. […]
Balough
February 18, 2019
(February 18, 2019) Only half of businesses providing Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices can detect when a device is breached, a new worldwide survey found. “Given the increase in the number of IoT-enabled devices, it’s extremely worrying to see that businesses still can’t detected if they have been breached,” according to the report prepared by […]
Balough
February 13, 2019
(February 12, 2019) Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Federal Trade Commission reports that romance scams generated more consumer losses in 2018 than any other consumer fraud. The FTC said in 2018 it received more than 21,000 reports of romance frauds totaling $143 million in losses to consumers, up sharply from losses of $33 […]
Balough
February 7, 2019
(February 7, 2019) If your business is a place of “public accommodation” and you have a website, a recent case should serve as a reminder that your website and app must be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Domino’s Pizza, LLC was sued by a blind customer who accessed various websites using screen-reading […]
