New Developments in the World of Section 230
June 2020 Monthly Minute | Effectively Protecting Your Data
Jones Day Presents: What is Smart Code and How Does it Relate to Smart Contracts?
PATIENT PRIVACY IN AN ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Are website terms of use enforceable?
Can a website copy terms of use or a privacy policy from a similar website?
IN THREE COURT DECISIONS IN THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, two themes emerged: reading the contract before you sign and understanding the law that applies. In the first case, a court needed to decide which of two contracts...more
A number of U.S. state and federal courts have recently considered whether the manner in which companies presented to their users a variety of electronic contracts (e.g., terms of service) was sufficient to form an...more
Takeaway: Technology advances. Business processes evolve. Internet transactions become increasingly ubiquitous. Contract formation, however, remains an old-fashioned concept. An internet consumer must, at a minimum, be...more
Booming internet usage means that virtually every company has a website and many companies use their website to enhance the user experience and collect information about their users. As a result, company websites have terms...more
On January 14, 2021, Southwest Airlines Co. (“Southwest”) filed a complaint in a Texas district court against an online travel site, Kiwi.com, Inc. (“Kiwi”), alleging, among other things, that Kiwi’s scraping of fare...more
The Ninth Circuit recently concluded that a consumer was not bound by updated terms merely because she accessed a website that contained new terms in a “browse-wrap” agreement on the website. The court also concluded that an...more
Takeaway: Technology advances. Business processes evolve. Internet transactions become increasingly ubiquitous. Contract formation, however, remains an old-fashioned concept. An Internet consumer must, at a minimum, be...more
As we have noted many times in prior articles, courts often refuse to enforce “browsewrap” agreements where terms are presented to users merely by including a link on a page or screen without requiring affirmative acceptance....more
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order denying Double Down Interactive, LLC, and International Game Technology’s (collectively, “Double Down”) motion to compel arbitration in a putative class action filed by...more
On December 20, 2019, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a Washington district court’s order denying Huuuge Inc.’s bid to arbitrate claims brought on behalf of a putative class of all smartphone users of its casino gaming...more
The Ninth Circuit recently denied a motion to compel arbitration after concluding that an arbitration agreement “buried” in difficult to access terms for a smartphone app did not put users on constructive notice that they...more
Courts continue to grapple with the enforceability of online agreements. While courts generally enforce clickwrap agreements—online agreements where users affirmatively show their acceptance after being presented with the...more
Two recent web scraping disputes highlight some important issues regarding whether a website owner may successfully allege a breach of contract action against a commercial party that has scraped website content contrary to...more
This month, an Illinois district court considered another in the series of web scraping disputes that have been working their way through our courts. In this dispute, CouponCabin, Inc. v. PriceTrace, LLC, No. 18-7525 (N.D....more
This past week, an Illinois district court dismissed, with leave to amend, claims relating to a competitor’s alleged scraping of sales listings from a company’s website for use on its own site. (Alan Ross Machinery Corp. v....more
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit issued a noteworthy ruling in a dispute between an enterprise software licensor and a third-party support provider. The case is particularly important as it addresses the common practice...more
The controversial consumer gripe site, RipoffReport.com, is at it again. The First Circuit recently affirmed a lower court’s ruling that RipoffReport.com was entitled to immunity under Section 230 of the Communications...more
With online retailers challenging brick and mortar stores, the importance of online transactions and the terms of the contracts they create has never been greater. In the context of arbitration, courts are increasingly being...more
BakerHostetler invites you to join us for a one hour complimentary seminar (followed by Q&A) offering practical considerations for managing risk and liability in online and other contracts. Our session will cover trending...more
In Nghiem v Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc., No. 16-00097 (C.D. Cal. July 5, 2016), the Central District of California held browsewrap terms to be unenforceable because the hyperlink to the terms was “sandwiched” between two...more
Our recent posts on successful legal challenges to the arbitration clauses in browsewrap and clickwrap agreements have a theme in common—even the most thorough and well-worded agreement can be rendered unenforceable by...more
Anyone who has purchased a product online or downloaded software for a computer, tablet or mobile device has likely encountered “browsewrap” and “clickwrap” agreements. Such agreements are the bread and butter of companies...more
The California Court of Appeal (2d App. Dist., Div. 3) recently joined the ever-evolving body of case law addressing the enforceability of so-called “browsewrap” arbitration agreements. In Long v. Provide Commerce, Inc., —...more
A California Court of Appeal has taken its first stance on the website design requirements necessary for an enforceable browsewrap agreement. On March 17, 2016 the Court of Appeal affirmed the California Superior Court of Los...more
Contract terms and purchaser assent to those terms, conditions, intended use and warning information provided with a purchased product are known fertile ground for defending product claims. In today’s virtual age,...more