Newsletters

07.14.21

Third, Fifth Circuits Weigh In on Standing—With Different Results

Two different federal appellate panels recently reached diverging conclusions on the question of whether a single phone call or a single text provides a sufficient injury in fact for an individual to establish standing to sue under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.  


07.14.21

Plaintiff’s Agency Claims Insufficient, Resulting in Dismissal

Granting dismissal of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act suit against a health insurance company, a Tennessee federal court determined that the company was neither directly nor vicariously liable for the calls received by the plaintiff.


07.14.21

Applying Facebook, Court Tosses Suit Over ATDS Allegations

Applying the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Facebook v. Duguid, a North Carolina federal court dismissed a Telephone Consumer Protection Act suit, finding that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently allege the defendant used an automatic telephone dialing system.


07.14.21

Amendments to Florida Statutes Impose More Stringent Requirements for Telemarketing Activity

On June 29, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS for SB 1120 into law, which amends and significantly expands Florida’s existing telemarketing laws.


07.14.21

New York Passes Health and Essential Rights Act

As reported in a previous Alert, on May 5, 2021, New York State passed the Health and Essential Rights Act, requiring, among other things, that New York employers adopt airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plans within 30 days after the New York State Department of Labor’s ...


07.08.21

Colorado’s Consumer Data Protection Act Has Passed: What’s in It?

On June 8, 2021, the Colorado Senate passed SB21-190, the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), as amended by the Colorado House of Representatives.


07.06.21

User Identification Module Held Means-Plus-Function Element, Lacked Structure/Algorithm and Invalid

In Rain Computing, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Am., Inc., the Federal Circuit held that the claimed language “user identification module” was a means-plus-function element with no corresponding structure disclosed in the specification and was therefore invalid for being indefinite.


06.24.21

Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Policies Still Apply

As employers continue to hone their reopening plans, it is important not to lose sight of ongoing workforce training obligations applicable to in-office and remote employees alike.


06.22.21

Google’s Copying of APIs Held Transformative and Fair Use

In Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc., the Supreme Court, in a 6–2 decision written by Justice Breyer, held that Google’s copying of Oracle’s Java application programming interface naming convention was a fair use as a matter of law.


06.17.21

It’s Official—Vaccinated California Workers Can Go Mask-Free at the Office

As California announced its official statewide reopening on June 15, 2021, employers remained in the dark awaiting an official announcement from Cal/OSHA on new face-covering guidance.