Written by Genevieve Javidzad On April 24, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued its much anticipated decision in Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., in which Epic alleged that Apple violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and California Unfair Competition laws. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s ruling on the merits but reversed and remanded for further consideration as to whether Apple was entitled to its fees. … Continue reading Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc.
Written by Bryse K. Thornwell In Free Holdings Inc. v. McCoy et al, No. 22-CV-881 (JLC) (S.D.N.Y., March 17, 2023), Magistrate Judge James L. Cott confronted an unclear issue regarding ownership of non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”), which are assets that have been tokenized via a blockchain. NFTs can be unique and quite valuable. The court in Free Holdings considered the issue whether initial registration of an … Continue reading What Am I Bidding for, the First NFT?
Written by Susan Kohn Ross and Stacey Chuvaieva On March 29, 2023, California’s Office of Administrative Law (“OAL”) approved the final text of the first part of the regulations issued by the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) , which will take effect immediately (“Regulations”). These final Regulations provide long awaited guidance on some new concepts contained in the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) which was approved by … Continue reading Final California Privacy Regulations Approved: Key Takeaways
Written by Tiana A. Bey In Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive, No. 20-CV-4160 (JGK), 2023 WL 2623787 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 24, 2023), Judge John G. Koeltl ruled that the “digital lending library” operated by Defendant Internet Archive (“IA”) infringed copyrights owned by the Plaintiffs in books that IA had reproduced and distributed to the public on the theory that it could run an “emergency … Continue reading Fair Use of “Foul Play”? SDNY Judge Says No!
Written by Jeremy Mittman and Thea Rogers On April 1st, the Los Angeles City Fair Work Week Ordinance (“FWWO”), an employee-friendly law affecting mid-size and large retail businesses, takes effect. The FWWO, which was passed by the Los Angeles City Council during the final days of 2022, is generally applicable to retailers (with over 300 employees globally) with nonexempt employees who work at least two … Continue reading The Fair Work Week Ordinance: What LA Retailers Need to Know
Written by Susan Kohn Ross On Friday, March 17, 2023, the Court of International Trade issued its decision in the pending 301 litigation. That decision can be found here. The judges agreed the actions by the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) were adequate and found the tariffs valid for the products on Lists 3 and 4. [Lists 1 and 2 were never challenged.] It is entirely … Continue reading 301 Judgment by CIT – Not Down for the Count – Yet!
Written by Jeremy Mittman, Jonathan Turner and Kyle DeCamp On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB) issued a decision in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023), that will impact employers in both unionized and non-unionized workplaces. The decision holds that employers violate the National Labor Relations Act (the NLRA) when they present employees with severance agreements that contain overly broad … Continue reading NLRB Calls Into Question Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Agreements with Employees
Written by Deeba Fahami and Frida P. Glucoft For the first time in almost 20 years, the State Department (“DOS”) will launch a pilot program later this year offering visa renewal options in the US for H-1B and L-1 workers who are currently required to travel abroad. Background The DOS is the agency who has exclusive authority to issue visas. Currently, visas may be issued … Continue reading Pilot Program for Stateside Visa Renewals
Reversing Itself, Ninth Circuit Invalidates California’s Ban on Mandatory Employment Arbitration Agreements Written by Stephen Rossi In 2018, California passed a controversial law called AB-51 (now Labor Code Section 432.6) that prohibited California employers from requiring arbitration agreements as a condition of employment – on pain of jail time and civil penalties. AB-51 was immediately challenged and preliminarily enjoined under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), … Continue reading Mandatory Arbitration Is Off The Ropes in California!
Written by Lauren Hazday and Alina Charniauskaya Mehta Introduction: To obtain H-1B status for the first time, an employer or prospective employer of a foreign worker is required to go through the annual randomized H-1B lottery often referred to as “H-1B cap.” The H-1B lottery is run to meet the annual quota of 85,000 (20,000 reserved for U.S. advanced-degree holders and 65,000 for holders of … Continue reading H-1B Cap Registration Period Will Run Between March 1 and March 17, 2023
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