Inflation Reduction Act
TVEyes Inc. Crosses the Boundary of Fair Use Defense in Copyright Infringement Case Against Fox News Network, LLC
Plaintiff Fox News Network, LLC (“Fox”) brought a copyright infringement action against Defendant TVEyes, Inc. (“TVEyes”) for the copying and redistribution of Fox’s copyrighted content to consumers. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held...
Recent Developments in the Private Funds Industry
1. SEC's OCIE Announces 2018 Examination Priorities 2. Tax Reform: Impact on Funds 3. New DOJ Approach to Remote Data Storage — Go Get It!
A Cyber Incident Moves Pretty Fast, If You Aren't Ready To Respond, You Might Blow It
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expanded its warnings to public companies that generic disclosures identifying cybersecurity risk factors may be insufficient. Rather, the SEC seems to expect companies to conduct careful inward assessments that identify unique strengths and weaknesses...
CLOUD Act Aims for Clear Skies: Bipartisan CLOUD Act Seeks to Clarify Law Enforcement Access to Overseas Data
In October 2017, the Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice’s petition to review the Second Circuit’s decision that limits the reach of warrants issued under the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”). 1 Specifically, the Court will determine whether the SCA...
Surprise – EU Data Privacy Laws Could Impact You, Too!
On May 25, 2018, the European Union’s data privacy regime is getting an upgrade and like many operating system upgrades, the EU’s new approach (the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR) is designed to improve individual protections. It will also...
Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud – New DOJ Approach To Remote Data Storage
Last month, the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division (“CCIPS”) issued new guidance advising prosecutors seeking enterprise customer data stored “in the cloud” to attempt to collect responsive information from the enterprise first, instead of...
Reminder: Re-Register Your DMCA Agent Designations Before End of Year or Risk Losing Safe Harbor Protections!
U.S. Copyright Office Goes Paperless for DMCA registered agents; All paper registrations invalid as of December 31, 2017. As you’re making your end of year lists and checking them twice, better make sure you’ve registered your company’s DMCA designated agent...
Scandalous and Immoral Trademarks Awarded First Amendment Protection
On December 15, the Federal Circuit held that the prohibition on the registration of scandalous and immoral trademarks is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment. In re Brunetti , No. 2015-1109, 2017 WL 6391161 (Fed. Cir. 2017). This decision...
Hurricane Harvey Relief for Employees
Following Hurricane Harvey and its resulting destruction, many employees are in need of financial assistance and/or early access to retirement funds. We will highlight how employers can make direct financial assistance payments to their affected employees on either a taxable...
Pennsylvania District Court Agrees That Google Must Give Up Foreign Server Data
On August 17, 2017, a Pennsylvania district court upheld a magistrate judge’s order that Google comply with warrants issued pursuant to the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”) and produce to the FBI data that was stored, in part, on servers abroad...
Can Foreign Partners Now Exit Partnerships Tax Free?
In Grecian Magnesite Mining v. Commissioner 1 (“ Grecian Magnesite ”) the Tax Court held that a non-U.S. partner's gain from the redemption of its partnership interest was neither U.S. source income nor income effectively connected with a U.S. trade...
Supreme Court to Slants: “Rock On!” Trademark Ban on Offensive Trademarks Held Unconstitutional
On June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court unanimously held that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §1052(a)), the provision of federal trademark law barring registration of disparaging trademarks, violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause when applied to...
Data Breach Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss
In an April 13, 2017 decision in Walters v. Kimpton Hotel , 1 a California federal judge rejected the bid of hotel chain Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group, LLC to dismiss a proposed class action arising from a data breach...
Supreme Court Clarifies Copyright Protection for Artistic Features in Clothing
On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court held that a two- or three-dimensional work of art on a useful article, such as clothing, is protectable under copyright law if: (1) the work of art can be perceived as separate from...
Tech Rally – Industry Giants Back Google's Play to Protect Data
On March 10, 2017, Google Inc. filed its objection to a Pennsylvania magistrate judge's order to comply with search warrants and turn over personal user data partially stored on foreign servers abroad. A number of technology companies, including Yahoo!, Microsoft...