Technology Law Update

Claim Under District of Columbia Consumer Protection Statute May Proceed For Alleged Misrepresentations On Hotel’s Web Site

A guest whose final foreign hotel bill was higher than the price quoted on the U.S. based hotel company’s Web site due to certain procedures concerning currency exchange rates may proceed in federal district court with misappropriation claims under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection statute.  Shaw v. Marriott International, Inc., No. 1:05-cv-1138, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS (D. D.C. Feb. 22, 2007).

Expert’s Report In Trademark Litigation May In Part Rely On Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia

An export’s report in a trademark litigation concerning the transliteration of Russian names into English may, in part, rely on the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, despite reasonable concerns about the ability of anonymous users to alter Wikipedia entries. Alfa Corp. v. Oao Alfa Bank, No. 04-cv-8968, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12771 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2007).

Search Engines’ First Amendment Rights Preclude Injunction Over Refusal To Run Web Site Owner’s Advertisements

A claim based upon a search engine’s refusal to accept and place a Web site owner’s proposed ads in prominent places among search engine results and its removal of the owner’s Web sites from its search result rankings is precluded by the search engine’s First Amendment rights and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).  Langdon v. Google, Inc., No. 1:06-cv-319, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11902 (D. Del. Feb. 20, 2007).

Consequential Damage Exclusion In Software License Agreement Bars Copyright Infringement Claims

A consequential damage exclusion clause in a software license agreement limits a software company’s copyright infringement claims stemming from the customer’s alleged unlicensed use of the software following termination of the agreement.   Piper Jaffray & Co. v. SunGard Systems International, Inc., No. 04-2922, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11399 (D. Minn. Feb. 16, 2007).

Amended Trademark Dilution Act Applies Where Prospective Injunctive Relief Is Sought

The amended Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) applies to trademark infringement claims brought prior to the amendment of the Act, to the extent that the trademark owner is seeking prospective injunctive relief.   Starbucks Corp. v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee, Inc., No. 06-0435-cv, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 3372 (2d Cir. Feb. 15, 2007).

Plaintiff Likely To Succeed On ECPA Claim Against User Of Keystroke Surveillance Software In Domestic Relations Dispute, But Injunctive Relief Denied

A party whose communications were tracked by the installation of a keystroke logger and other surveillance software on a home computer is likely to succeed on the merits in her claim that the surveillance constituted an unlawful interception under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), 18 U.S.C. §2510 et. seq., but she is not entitled to an injunction against the use of the intercepted communications in a domestic relations case.  Potter v. Havlicek, No. 3:06-cv-211, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10677 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 14, 2007).

Victim Of Telephone Pretexting Has Cause Of Action Against Pretexters Under Federal Electronic Communications Statute And State Law

A victim of telephone pretexting may not bring a claim under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, 47 U.S.C. §222 et seq., against parties that obtained the victim’s telephone records without authorization.  McEwen v. Sourceresources, No. 4:06-cv-2530, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10156 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 13, 2007).

Web Sites Not Barred From Disseminating Leaked Documents From Well-Known Multidistrict Litigation

The continuance of an injunction against Web sites that published leaked documents stemming from a multidistrict litigation involving thousands of personal injury suits against a pharmaceutical company is not warranted where other Web sites may have subsequently published the same documents, and the contents of the documents have been widely discussed in the press.  Zyprexa Litigation, No. 07-cv-0504, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10329 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 13, 2007).

Social Networking Site Immune Under CDA Section 230 From Tort Liability Over Sexual Assault

A social networking site is entitled to immunity under Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act for allegedly failing to institute adequate safety measures to prevent sexual assaults of minors and for the failure to institute policies relating to age verification. Doe v. MySpace, No. 1:06-cv-00983-SS (W.D. Tex. Feb. 13, 2007).

Archiving of Web Site’s Contents May Breach Posted Terms of Use

A company that uses an automated Web crawler to archive the contents of a Web site multiple times may have formed a contract with the Web site owner via the site’s terms of use and then breached the contract when it then failed to pay the prescribed copying fees as outlined under the terms of that contract.    Internet Archive v. Shell, No. 1:06-cv-1726, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10239 (D. Colo. Feb. 13, 2007).