Facebook filed one suit and faced another last week. A pair of lawyers filed a class action suit against the social media giant Thursday in the Los Angeles Superior Court for allegedly misappropriating the names and photographs of minors for profit. Facebook places ads on teenagers’ pages that can be tagged with “Like,” making their friends more likely to click on the ad, said Los Angeles attorney John Torjesen. It’s using a teen’s information to commercially endorse a product without first obtaining parental consent, said attorney Anthony Stuart: “We believe it is a clear case of exploitation of children for the sake of profits.” The suit is without merit and will be opposed vigorously, said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes. In another case, Facebook on Wednesday sued the makers of Teachbook, a social networking site for teachers, in federal court, alleging copyright infringement. Facebook is a well-known brand name with the word “book” in its title, said Noyes, and users could confuse the two companies. “The Teachbook folks are free to create a similar service for teachers or whomever they like, and we wish them well in that endeavor,” Noyes said. “What they are not free to do is trade on our name, create confusion, or dilute our brand while doing so.” The suit is like “bombing mosquitoes,” said Teachbook managing partner Greg Shrader. Teachbook is a two-person operation that hasn’t even launched yet, Shrader said: “They will try to bully us around. They expect us to roll over. We're not inclined to do that.”
During the July 28, 2010 meeting of the COAC Importer Security Filing Subcommittee, CBP officials and Subcommittee members discussed various issues, highlights of which include:
The State Department has issued a final rule, effective August 27, 2010, which amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations so that the export license exemption provided by 22 CFR 125.4 allows the hand carrying or “taking” of technical data regardless of its media or format, by a U.S. person who is an employee of a U.S. corporation or a U.S. Government agency to a U.S. person employed by that U.S. corporation or to a U.S. Government agency outside the U.S.
Chimei Innolux is stepping up its legal battle with Sony, accusing the CE manufacturer of “widespread infringement” of display-related patents. The infringement extends through Sony’s Bravia TV line and beyond to its PlayStation 3 videogames console, Chi Mei said in a complaint in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del. Chimei said it also lodged a complaint with the International Trade Commission seeking to bar importation to the U.S. of Sony products infringing its patents, the company said. Sony officials weren’t available to comment. Chimei filed a separate case against Sony in U.S. District Court, Fayetteville, Ark., alleging that its LCD TVs, digital cameras and digital photo frames infringe another set of patents.
The International Trade Administration is revoking the antidumping duty order on polychloroprene rubber from Japan, pursuant to the final results of its five-year sunset review.
On August 5, 2010, Senator Hagan (D) introduced S. 3741, a bill to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with authority to more aggressively enforce trade laws relating to textile or apparel articles1, and for other purposes.
In a partial rehearing of its January 2010 decision, U.S. v. Tip Top Pants, Inc., the Court of International Trade again ruled that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had committed a procedural violation by failing to issue a written statement to Tip Top on its mitigation petition as required by 19 USC 1592 (b)(2) and 19 CFR 171.21.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice seeking comments on its recent request for consultations with Guatemala under the DR-CAFTA labor chapter to address concerns about Guatemala’s failure to enforce its labor laws.
Working with the FTC, Indiana officials have been pursuing violations of state phone privacy laws by companies and individuals selling medical discount plans using unwanted faxes or outlaw robocalls, Attorney General Greg Zoeller said last week. Since 2009, Indiana has filed six lawsuits as part of a nationwide FTC sweep involving 23 states and resulting in more than 50 actions against such operations, he said. His office received nearly 1,500 complaints of unwanted faxes or robocalls pitching medical plans during the nearly two-year period, Zoeller said. The suits allege deceptive practices or representations as well as violations of insurance laws. Some of Indiana’s actions have led to settlements. California-based Association for Lifestyle Reform and Claims & Benefit Management settled in June, paying $65,000 in civil penalties. In May, Texas-based Association Healthcare Management, doing business as Family Care, paid $30,000. Brett Scott, Phillip Jones and Nicholas Wall, of California and Wyoming, agreed in June to pay $40,000, of which they have made good on $12,000. Zoeller’s said cases are pending in Indiana against Direct Health Partners, also known as Health Solutions, based in Nevada and Texas and operated by Harold Roy Judson Lief; against Smart Data Solutions, American Trade Association and Serve America Assurance, Ltd., based in California and Tennessee; and California-based Gary Lord, also known as Gary Davis.
The International Trade Commission has instituted a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain flat panel digital televisions and components thereof, pursuant to a complaint.