Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

In late June 2025, Connecticut lawmakers passed a statute making significant amendments to the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (“CTDPA”). The amendments strengthen the CTDPA and make it applicable to almost every business that collects and/or processes consumer personal data. Here are a couple of the notable changes. More businesses covered by the CTDPA In the […]

Trademarks are marks, designs, words, phrases, logos, and other things that distinguish a company or business as the commercial source for some particular goods and/or services. Once established, trademarks are valuable business assets. For example, famous trademarks like APPLE and its famous apple-shaped mark are generally considered to be worth millions of dollars — if […]

Neural data is a form of biometric data and is yet another type of information that can be used to uniquely identify a person. However, neural data has the potential to disclose intimate aspects of an individual involving ongoing and changing emotional and mental states. Consumer privacy advocates have been (and are) seeking to have […]

Despite the “doom and gloom” from some prognosticators, direct-to-consumer (“D2C”) businesses are still operating, still thriving, and still making money. Yes, there have been some spectacular failures. But the reasons for the failure of an individual business are often company-specific and do not reflect industry trends. Thus, there is still an enormous amount of merger […]

As many are aware, cars, trucks, and vehicles manufactured over the last 20-30 years contain various devices that collect data on vehicle use. The primary device is a “vehicle black box” similar to the device used on airplanes for decades. The device collects data on speed, braking, whether a seat belt is being used, the […]

Online cybercriminal activity has been rampant for at least the last couple of decades. The media and news are full of stories and reports about hacking, ransoms, cybertheft, denial of service attacks, and other forms of online criminal behavior. At the federal level, lawmakers have enacted laws that criminalize such behavior and that require reporting […]

Social media influencers are online personalities with multitudes of followers on various social media platforms like YouTube, X, TikTok, Instagram, and more. Successful influencers are hired for marketing purposes in the hopes that the influencer’s endorsement or use of a product will result in brand awareness, loyalty, and increased sales/revenue. To use the fashionable marketing […]

The answer to this question is complex and nuanced. In the last decade or so, it has become fashionable to insist there is some stark dichotomy between what a trademark is and what a brand is. But the difference is not as stark as some marketers would like you to believe. The traditional definition of […]

The Circle R and the TM symbols both relate to trademarks and both can be physically placed on products, packaging, advertising materials, websites, etc. The Circle R symbol is an “R” enclosed in a circle (®). While both are trademark-related symbols, there are different eligibility requirements for use, meanings, and implications. Here is a quick […]

E-commerce businesses must comply with federal and State-level advertising laws and regulations. This is true of any business. But e-commerce businesses face special challenges because there is a whole array of potential methods of innocently, accidentally, or intentionally violating advertising laws. These include the potential to engage in false and deceptive advertising practices, such as […]