Decisions of Note
Suit over Santa Song Filed in Wrong Court<br>$320M Affirmance in Millionaire Case
Features
Analysis of Appeals Courts' Views on File Sharer Damages
In 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued what was only the second federal appellate ruling on statutory damages against an infringing file sharer. The Eighth Circuit reinstated statutory damages of more than $220,000 against a woman who illegally file-shared two dozen songs, finding the damages to be constitutional.
Video Privacy Law and Online Services
The Video Privacy Protection Act has reemerged as consumer video rentals have migrated from brick-and-mortar video stores to online subscription services, or sites that allow digital streaming of TV shows and movies over the Internet. The VPPA, which generally prohibits video service providers from releasing personally identifiable information without written consent, has become a relevant concern for modern media providers because such services are now typically linked to social media sites that allow users to share viewing habits, something that was not possible 20 years ago.
Features
Factors in Assessing Statutory Damages for Digital Copyright Infringement
A recent federal district court award of $6.6 million in statutory damages to music publishers for the unlicensed use of song lyrics by the website LiveUniverse and its operator was hailed as the first of its type for owners of song lyrics, and thus a significant milestone for content owners in the digital era.
Features
Legal Issues Involving Obesity and the ADA
Three federal cases indicating growing acceptance of obesity as a condition covered by the ADA, combined with obesity rates among the nation's workforce at an all-time high, portend additional claims from plaintiffs demanding accommodations for their conditions ' and more suits against employers that fail to provide them.
Leave As a Reasonable Accommodation
The time has come for the minority of circuits to join the majority, and explicitly hold that non-indefinite unpaid leave is a reasonable accommodation under the ADAAA. As discussed in more detail below, cases prosecuted by women with difficult pregnancies would be particularly compelling impact cases to push the remaining circuits to explicitly accept non-indefinite leave as a reasonable accommodation.
What Employers Can Do to Decrease Risk of Litigation
At the risk of a declining workload in the future, here are nine practical suggestions for employers who want to decrease the risk of employment litigation.
Features
CA Workplace Religious Freedom Act
Employers often are faced with tricky legal dilemmas when employees ask to display religious symbols and take time off for religious observance. The most common religious request by retail employees is time off for a religious holiday, followed by requests to be excused from a dress code. Recent developments in both legislation and case law suggest that employers should only deny a religious accommodation when it would cause a quantifiable undue burden.
Features
When Discovery Clashes with Privacy Law
Businesses that want to use data analytics and comply with privacy rules have an additional burden when the data in question become or could become part of discoverable information in litigation. Then, businesses must make choices about how to handle PII data, which of it to produce and the justifications to support those decisions. Balancing these data-driven issues requires an understanding of the ever evolving landscape of each competing concern.
Features
Insurance Coverage for Data Breach Claims
This article examines insurance coverage for data breaches. Counsel may be surprised to learn that coverage for data breaches is not limited to specialty policies, and can often be found under standard CGL or property insurance policies. Any time a potential data breach occurs, it is essential for an insured to consider all forms of insurance that it carries and to provide prompt notice to its insurer(s) of any policy that even potentially could apply.
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