Lawsuits brought by serial plaintiffs who claim that a retailer’s website is inaccessible to persons with visual and hearing impairments have become commonplace. Also, many such lawsuits have been resolved through settlements whereby the retailer makes a nuisance payment and some - but not all - of the changes demanded by the serial plaintiff in exchange for avoiding the litigation costs associated with taking the case through discovery and to trial. Serial plaintiffs and their law firms have become accustomed to quick settlements following the following of their complaints. / read more

In March 2018, the Beijing IP Court handed down a decision rejecting the claim brought by Beijing Sina Internet Information Services Co. Ltd. for copyright infringement in a case involving the unauthorised online broadcasting of public television signals for live Chinese Super League football matches by Beijing Tianying Jiuzhou Network Technology Co. Ltd. / read more

The Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) has issued a preliminary ruling on the appropriate jurisdiction for a claim arising out of online defamation, finding that a claimant can take legal action for all damage claimed, and for a takedown injunction, in the country where it has its centre of interests. / read more

The UK High Court has rejected a trade mark infringement claim brought by the well-known UK catalogue retailer Argos (‘Argos UK’), against a US based company which legitimately and coincidentally shared the Argos name (‘Argos US’) but which used Google’s AdSense programme to direct adverts to UK consumers who mistakenly ended up at Argos US’s website. / read more

At the very outset of this case concerning copyright protection in games, the US District Court struck out DaVinci’s claims against ZiKo that copying the method of play and rules of best-selling card game Bang! infringed its copyright. / read more

The UK Court of Appeal issued a landmark ruling in Vidal-Hall v. Google, finding that internet users are entitled to serve a claim on Google in the UK. The ruling will have far reaching implications for organisations processing personal data. / read more

The Court of Justice held that the operators of a right-wing message board were publishers of defamatory material concerning a left-wing blogger. However, the claim failed because defendants were entitled to rely on the defence of ‘fair comment.’ / read more

This judgment, in a case that relates to a claim under a lease for dilapidations, is nonetheless highly relevant for any parties wishing to rely upon exchanges of email correspondence to argue there is a binding contract which they may enforce. / read more

The High Court ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear a contractual claim brought by a company based in England against defendant consumers domiciled in Scotland. The claimant was held to have directed its commercial activities to Scotland via its website. / read more

In three unrelated class actions, Google Inc. is defending wiretap claims related to web tracking, email scanning, and Wi-Fi sniffing. These lawsuits will define digital privacy rights for at least a generation and will test Silicon Valley and its guiding spirit. / read more