California’s New Privacy Enforcement "Sweep"
You've Been Served: The Legal Effects of Games as a Service (GaaS)
Strong demand for web video bodes well for media investments
Key Points - In a 3-2 vote, the FCC moved to advance a proposal that would restore so-called "net neutrality" rules and allow the agency to regulate broadband internet access service as a utility. The vote marks the start...more
Online content piracy refers to the unauthorized distribution or reproduction of copyrighted material, such as movies, music, and software, over the internet. This is often done through file-sharing websites or peer-to-peer...more
Connecticut AG William Tong reached a settlement with internet service provider Frontier Communications and its subsidiaries and related entities (collectively, “Frontier”) to resolve allegations that Frontier violated the...more
On November 24, 2020, Dave Chappelle posted his “Unforgiven” stand-up set to Instagram and publicly called out Viacom and Comedy Central over the streaming rights and revenues from his early-2000s hit, “Chappelle’s Show.” As...more
One of the provisions included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act that President Trump signed into law on December 27, 2020 addresses the so-called “felony streaming” loophole in the Copyright Act and criminal code. ...more
Hogan Lovells and leading TMT consultancy Analysys Mason launched a white paper yesterday which argues for retaining a ‘three layer approach’ to video regulation in the face of ongoing changes to how video content is consumed...more
Over the years, the Internet has become the basic foundational infrastructure for the global movement of data of all kinds. With continued growth at a phenomenal rate, the Internet has moved from a quiet means of...more
The lawsuit between Swarmify and Cloudflare recently produced an Order in which U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup denied Swarmify’s motion for a preliminary injunction, and also offers a cautionary tale about what...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Eichenberger v. ESPN that allegations that the Video Privacy Protection Act was violated are sufficient to establish Article III standing, but that the definition of...more
On 6 July 2017, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) confirmed a decision of the Paris court of appeal dated 15 March 2016 (RG No. 040/2016) which held that Internet intermediaries must bear the costs for implementing...more
Reducing Cybersecurity Risks to Autonomous Vehicles - The Department of Transportation is revising autonomous vehicle guidelines it issued in September 2016. Recent comments by Secretary Elaine Chao suggest that the new...more
On April 24, 2017, the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation (Committee) voted unanimously to postpone for at least one year a bill that would temporarily ban California localities from taxing streaming video services. ...more
There is no end in sight regarding CJEU decisions on the meaning of “communication to the public“. On 26 April 2017, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled (C-527/15 – Filmspeler) that the sale of a multimedia player with...more
Many cities in California are considering the expansion of their Utility User Tax (UUT) to streaming video services. Such an expansion may be inconsistent with the cities’ existing ordinances, be invalid under Proposition 218...more
Welcome to Sheppard Mullin’s Weekly Web Wrap-Up, a quick list of the past week’s top news in the social media, gaming, and virtual goods and currencies industries curated by Social Media & Games Team. Here are some of the...more
Users of Facebook no doubt have seen at least some of their friends post the “copyright” update. In brief, the post states “I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details,” including photos,...more
Draft Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation has been released which seeks to level the playing field by ensuring that digital products and services provided to Australian consumers are subject to GST, whether provided by...more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently voted 3-2 to treat the internet like a public utility, embracing the concept of “net neutrality.” Has the FCC struck a blow for consumer rights? The jury is still out....more
After a decision denying class certification last week, claims by Hulu users that their personal information was improperly disclosed to Facebook are limited to the individual named plaintiffs (at least for now, as the...more
Radio stations that stream over the Internet typically have to pay performance royalties to the copyright owners of the songs that are being broadcast over the Internet. Last month, a group of radio broadcasters in Virginia...more
In This Issue: - Jerked Around? Did the FTC’s “Jerk.com” Complaint Just Turn API Terms Into Federal Law? - Which Way Is Aereo Pointing? The Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Public Performance Copyright Case - The...more
In a much anticipated decision in the class action In re Hulu Privacy Litigation, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has shed new light on the meaning of...more
The Issues Concerning the Legitimacy of the Regulations - At the end of a process started in 2010, after three public consultations on an equal number of proposals, on December 12, 2012 AGCOM (i.e. the Italian...more
It appears that a Circuit split is developing on the issue of whether Internet services that transmit network television programs are engaged in a transmission to the public in violation of the networks’ copyrights. The...more
Much of the glamour of technology today rests on the amazing things one can do on the Internet. The Federal Communications Commission plays a big role in deciding how affordable and accessible those wonders will be for...more