Three GOP presidential candidates got slapped with a patent infringement suit yesterday (read it below) by a California partnership that holds a patent with social media implications for the candidates' Facebook pages. EveryMD, a California partnership, contends that one of its patents that enables individual Facebook members like Defendants Santorum,…
Articles Posted in social-networking
Continental Appliances, Inc., a California manufacturer of a gas wall heater sold at Lowe's, sued the unknown poster of a YouTube video on Friday for claiming that its product creates "an imminent danger of fire and serious injury" because of "uncertain fuel settings." (see below) The lawsuit appears likely to…
The U.S. Magistrate Judge overseeing Paul Ceglia's ownership claim case against Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook ordered Ceglia to pay nearly $76,000 in attorneys' fees to Facebook's and Zuckerberg's lawyers for having to repeatedly go to court to compel Cegila to comply with the judge's earlier orders. That is in addition…
The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that it warned six (6) mobile app "marketers" that their background screening products may violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act if the makers of the products had reason to believe the reports generated by these products were being used for employment screening, housing, credit,…
Facebook is readying its initial public offering (IPO) by preparing an S-1 registration statement for filing with the S.E.C. next week, and is said to be anticipating a $75 - $100 billion valuation for the social networking giant. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, unnamed sources maintain…
Facebook and Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed lawsuits today (see below) accusing affiliate marketer Adscend Media, LLC along with company co-founders Jeremy Bash and Fehzan Ali of engaging in 'likejacking' a/k/a 'clickjacking' to deceive and trick users into giving out their personal information. "Likejacking" describes the sleazy practice…
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued an eagerly awaited determination today in the ongoing Apple iOS v. Android OS patent war, giving a win for Motorola Mobility, whose $12.5 billion acquisition by Google is pending. ITC Administrative Law Judge Theodore R. Essex's initial determination was that Motorola's Droids smartphones do…
A Freedom of Information Act ('FOIA') lawsuit (below) by the Electronic Privacy Information Center ('EPIC') reveals that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security paid contractors to monitor Facebook, Twitter other social networks, blogs, and comments on news media websites. The documents (below) disclose that the federal government paid at least…
On the Internet, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to be rich and famous. Popularity can help! Take Snooki for example. The MTV star extended the reach of her intellectual property by licensing rights to her name, images, and more in a "Snookify Me" app for the iPhone…
Another New York trial court judge recently denied a defense discovery request for access to plaintiffs' Facebook profiles. New York State Supreme Court Justice Philip G. Minardo, sitting on Staten Island, ruled in Temperino v. Turner Construction Co., et al. that "[t]he mere claim that plaintiffs were members of FACEBOOK,…