By Matthew Kalhofer Legal claims are currently being brought against the 2017 Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball (“MLB”) team. The 2017 Astros used video surveillance to engage in an unauthorized sign-stealing scheme involving the use of the opposing team’s pitches. The current legal claims involve “unfair business practices, negligence, and intentional interference with contractual and… Read More The 1919 Chicago White Sox & The 2017 Houston Astros: The Sign Stealing Mechanisms That Makes A Difference

This blog explores the popularity of the app TikTok and how its widespread use is leading to copyright infringement issues. Users that create video content with music soundtracks or movie scripts are violating United States copyright law. Most importantly, copyright owners are not gaining the recognition or royalty money that they deserve—leading to a minimally regulated video-sharing system that is continuously robbing artists.… Read More The TikTok Craze: A Video Sharing App Based on Copyright Infringement

The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted our global society and changed the way society functions. COVID-19 poses a serious threat to individuals’ ability to vote. With state primaries and the 2020 presidential election looming, states and lawmakers are frantically trying to solve the issue of voting access and voter security during a time of social distancing and quarantine restrictions. … Read More Privacy Risks vs. Public Health: How to Vote During A Pandemic

By Matthew Kalhofer Introduction: Several U.S. wireless carriers previously contracted to sell location-sharing data to data purchasing companies. This sparked an investigation into the legality of these data companies’ access and the use of such confidential information. The companies that have contracted to purchase this location-sharing data from wireless carriers are alleged to have been… Read More Necessitating Strict Regulation Of Access To Consumer Location Data

The law has generally viewed children under the age of eighteen as minors who are still developing and thus should have less agency in decisions made on their behalf. With the advent of genetic testing, parents are looking to use DNA analysis to predict their children’s medical and even social future. While there are benefits to having this knowledge, there are invariable questions that need to be asked as to whether society should allow this. Importantly, what are the legal and ethical issues that arise from having this knowledge thrust upon expectant parents, or developing children?… Read More Genomic Prediction: Creating a Better Future or a New Form of Eugenics?

By Bryan Rizza As previously described in a blog entry, hiQ technologies brought a suit against LinkedIn for anticompetitive practices and won an injunction at the trial level. LinkedIn appealed, and on September 9th, the 9th Circuit Court of appeals issued an opinion in HiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp, affirming the lower courts injunction… Read More Web Scraping Not Hacking- 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Automated Gathering of public data not a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie is changing the game. He is hoping to leverage his contract as collateral in the hopes of raising money and increasing his net worth. While different concerns have risen, this new way of investing may prove a real game changer. … Read More Investing in Your Favorite NBA Star: How One Player is Changing the Game

A look at how Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act sought to encourage internet freedom but has become a shield of immunity that protects internet platforms from illicit third-party content posted on their sites. … Read More Is it Internet Freedom or just Shielding Internet Companies from Liability?

This blog discusses how lawyers are becoming victims more frequently to phishing scams. Statistics are provided on the number of firms hacked, as well as what firms are doing to prevent future cyberattacks. I also offer my thoughts on what firms should be doing to protect client data.… Read More Something’s Phishy: Lawyers Becoming Major Targets for Hackers

A discussion surrounding the recent home security device hacks and the potential for security improvement by specific companies such as Ring and Nest. … Read More You’re Watching Them While They’re Watching You: The Risks of Using Home Security Devices

The spread of fake videos was the unintended consequence of advances in image editing technology. With such unprecedented growth, governments will need to act swiftly to ensure false information is not spread to confuse and manipulate the general public. … Read More Deepfakes and the Threat of Fake Videos

Beginning on January 1, 2020, the state of Michigan will introduce new changes to its discovery rules. As a result, the Michigan State Bar has undergone a major education initiative in anticipation of the coming changes. … Read More A Wave of Change: Michigan’s Civil Discovery Rules Will Get Their Biggest Change in 30+ Years

As YouTube has grown and content has expanded YouTube has had to take greater care of making sure the content available on its site was not subject to copyright claims so as to avoid facing legal consequences for violations of copyright law. As a result, YouTube has implemented many devices, namely, it’s Content ID Match System’ and ‘Manual Claiming Tool’ as a means to catch videos that pose a potential copyright violation. However, the use of these systems has begun to threaten content-creators’ profitability on their videos. This blog will address the changes YouTube plans to make in response to creators’ concerns for these minuscule copyright claims while also adhering to the intellectual rights of copyright holders. … Read More Content Creators and Copyright Claims—How YouTube is Seeking to Expand the ‘Fair Use’ Doctrine

Google’s “Project Nightingale” which is a partnership between Google and a Catholic health system, Ascension. The two companies are analyzing patient data and giving care providers new insights into patient care. However, the major question is whether the new partnership violates patients’ privacy rights according to HIPAA. … Read More Google Cloud Required to Follow Federal Law

There is a current debate between cell phone customers and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on whether or not phone companies can block robocalls or spam calls as they come in the consumers’ phones. The tension comes from the FCC and Congress wanting to crack down on these types of calls, and while some consumers are on board, they hesitate to say that the range of calls that would be blocked by the government is too broad and will ultimately give the government and the cell phone companies too much authority over what calls make it through to a consumer’s cell phone. … Read More “Caller Unknown”: The FCC and Phone Companies Work to Crack Down on Robocalls to Consumer’s Cell Phones, but Will Have Control Over What Calls Come Through to Your Cell Phone

By Sara Wilbraham In October 2019 a violent YouTube video depicting a superimposed Donald Trump went viral. The video depicts a violent outrage in a church where President Trump targets individuals with logos of media organizations and superimposed faces of various Trump adversaries, including Bernie Sanders, John McCain, Mitt Romney and “Black Lives Matter.” The… Read More Violent Politics: Is the Internet Doing Citizens a Disservice?

By Taylor Ferrara With the increase of technological devices, there will always be a risk that companies are collecting and accessing our private information. We’ve heard such stories involving cellphone companies, Facebook, Google and now Amazon. On October 7th, a technology-focused nonprofit group called the Fight For the Future published an open joint letter to… Read More Hello? Who’s there? Ahhh It Was the Ding-Dong Ditcher Again

In the past Facebook was sued due to privacy related violations. Now there is an alarming allegation coming out of the wood-work that Facebook failed to conduct minimal screening of third-party app developers. … Read More Payback is a Billion: Will Facebook’s Landmark $5 Billion Settlement Really Change Any-thing for Consumer Privacy?

By posting a recording of a phone call that he had with his agent and coach on his Instagram and YouTube accounts, Antonio Brown came under fire for potentially violating California’s wiretap statute. Antonio Brown’s situation brings up the broader issue of how the widespread use of social media platforms to record and post interactions between individuals has further complicated the already complex preexisting state wiretap statutes.… Read More Social Media and Wiretap Statutes: How a Seemingly Innocent Social Media Post May Not Be So Innocent

A discussion surrounding the environmental debate over the use of air guns for seismic mapping of the ocean. Through a review of previous Court decisions regarding the use of sonar, this blog discusses the more current issue of air gun use for eventual offshore drilling needs.… Read More Environmental Debate: When Will Environmental Concerns Outweigh Political Agendas