08 December

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A Miami, FL Jury Awarded $100 million in Bitcoin Dispute

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On Monday December 6, 2021, Craig Wright who claimed to be the inventor of bitcoin largely prevailed in a Florida jury trial. The issues in dispute included conversion, misappropriation, replevin, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of partnership and unjust enrichment. The complaint was filed in the Southern District of Florida on February 14, 2018. The trial began on November 1st. The plaintiff, Ira Kleinman, is the personal representative of the Estate of David Kleinman who was a computer forensic expert and may very well have been the co-inventor of bitcoin. In April 2013, a few months prior to bitcoin’s launch David...

04 November

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Cyber Security

Posted by COFFYLAW, LLC

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Last year was a year like no other in a variety of ways—none more significant than its effect on businesses large and small. The abrupt shift to remote work and the sudden pivot to cloud-based platforms meant then, as it does now, that cybersecurity has never been more important for day-to-day operations. The truth is businesses like yours are at risk—increasingly so—every day. There’s just no other way to say it, and the latest 2020 statistics compiled by Comparitech and Varonis back it up. I combed through many, but wanted to share a few that stood out—one above all the rest: “Since the pandemic began, the...

21 September

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Alice Corproration Pty. Ltd v. CLS Bank International, et al.

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In a unanimous decision issued on June 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the patent claims in Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd v. CLS Bank International, et al. (“Alice Corp”) are not patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. §101. The patents at issue comprise a chain of patents made up of a parent namely, 5,970,479 (‘479) and several CIPs (continuation-in-part). The family of patents is directed toward “Methods and Apparatus Relating to the Formulation and Trading of Risk Management Contracts.” Specifically, the patents disclose a scheme for mitigating “settlement risk,” in which a computer system is used as a third-party intermediary between...

21 September

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Artificial Intelligence (AI): An Over View

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Artificial intelligence (AI), a branch of Computer Science, is a constellation of technologies generally grouping two (2) main technical fields namely, symbolic learning (SL) and machine learning (ML). Artificial Advances in hardware enable AI implementation. Such advances will likely facilitate innovation and thereby expand the field of AI. AI attempts to mimic human intelligence. For example, a human navigates the outside world moving from place to place and all the while making decision by using sensory data like sounds recorded by the ears, image and symbols captured by the eyes, temperature sensed by the skin and smell perceived by the nose....

26 August

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Non-Compete and Executive Order on Promoting Competition in The American Economy

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I’ve had a few clients reach out with questions regarding the recent executive order President Biden signed addressing non-competes, and thought I’d reach out to provide some clarity. As always, I’m here to answer any questions you may have. While this recent order isn’t a nationwide ban per se, it seems the days of non-competes could still be numbered. Here’s what you need to know about the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy signed by President Biden in early July: The executive order laid out over 70 initiatives aimed at promoting competition and workers’ interests. One of those initiatives asked the Federal...

07 August

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Embedding Images Can Infringe Copyrights

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On December 7, 2020, in the Southern District Court of Manhattan, Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier filed a complaint against a host of defendants too numerous to list here accusing the defendants of “embedding and/or displaying Plaintiff Nicklen’s Video and, in four instances, Plaintiff Mittermeier’s photo. The case is styled: “Nicklen v. Sinclair Broadcast Group – 1:20-cv-10300.” The complaint was subsequently amended on December 10, 2020. “Paul Nicklen a resident and domiciled in Canada is an iconic, renowned Canadian photographer, filmmaker and marine biologist. Nicklen's work is regularly featured in National Geographic Magazine, the New York Times, and many other publications...

29 June

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Copyright Office Begins Period of Petitioning for Exemptions to Section 1201 of the DMCA

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“[T[he Copyright Office indicated that it continues to support changes that were outlined in the 2017 Section 1201 report… Given the Senate IP Subcommittee’s focus on DMCA modernization in recent months, it’s possible that proposed fixes to Section 1201 could gain new traction before the new round of Section 1201 temporary exemptions goes into effect.” On June 22, the U.S. Copyright Office published a request for petitions in the Federal Register, which officially kicked off the eighth triennial rulemaking process for temporary exemptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). While Section 1201 generally prohibits the circumvention of technological protection measures...

29 June

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How to name your business in the digital age?

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Before we answer that question, let’s explore some fundamental. What’s in a name? For starters, “naming” goes back to Biblical times when God brought the animals to Adam to name the animals. Gen 2:19. Some Biblical commentators posit that having the man name the animals is another way of giving him responsibility to rule, subdue, and care for the animals. It is more than folklore to name something, someone. It is a significant and important milestone. Even more so today with the advent of the Internet, which brings about domain names among other things. As for the name of your business,...

28 May

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DC Attorney General Launches Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

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On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, DC (District of Columbia) Attorney General Karl Racine launches antitrust suit against Amazon. The suit accuses the company of stifling competition through Market place pricing requirements involving its e-Commerce platform. Amazon, an e-commerce giant, is accused of suppressing competition by placing strict conditions on what third-party sellers (TPS) can do outside of the company’s platform. “Amazon’s policies have prevented competing platforms, including sellers’ own websites, from competing on price and gaining market share,” Racine said in a press call. “The loss of competition results in less innovation.” The lawsuit styled District of Columbia v. Amazon.com, Inc., is filed for...

12 August

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Other Barks & Bites for Friday, June 12: USPTO Provides Relief for Restoring Priority/ Benefit Rights; China Reducing Patent Pendency; CJEU Says Copyright Can Cover Functional Shapes; Tillis Questions Internet Archive on Copyright Concerns

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Bites (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into. Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention. This week in Other Barks & Bites: USPTO announces relief under the CARES Act for restoring priority/ benefit rights; the CJEU has ruled that “functional shapes” are eligible for copyright protection if they are original works; China’s IP agency releases its annual budget including details on reducing patent pendency times to nearly seven months shorter than the USPTO; the Second Circuit finds a commercial activity exception to the Welsh government’s sovereign immunity defense against copyright infringement; Google creates takedown form for search results leading to counterfeits; the...