Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that California’s social media content reporting law violates free speech and is, therefore, unconstitutional. X Corp v Bonta, Case No. 24-271 (9th Cir. 2024). See the news report here. In 2023, the California State Assembly passed a law — Assembly Bill 587 — that required social media […]

Generally, a buyer of an e-commerce business wants to buy the target company free and clear of any liabilities that the target might have (other than those that the buyer is expressly and voluntarily willing to assume). The term “liabilities” includes any debt or legal liability that most people would think of, including mortgage debt […]

Trademarks are logos, phrases, words, marks, designs, and other things that are placed on products, websites, advertising, etc., that identify a commercial source for goods or services. Current marketing lingo speaks in terms of “branding,” and, in essence, branding is all about trademarking. In turn, trademarking begins with getting the trademark registered either at the […]

Copyrights entitle the owners to exclusive use of their original works of authorship. That right means that others cannot use — either whole or in part — the original work. This means that the work cannot be used, copied, displayed, performed, etc., without permission. Just as importantly, no works derivative of the original can be […]

There is a great deal of litigation pending, starting with respect to AI-generated images and texts and whether such images and texts infringe upon copyrights held by original creators and holders of those copyrights. The most-watched case is pending in the federal court in the Northern District of California, and it is called Andersen v. […]

Trademarking is an essential component of modern branding strategies. Put another way, “branding” is about trademarking. One key aspect of branding is the consistent use of a brand/trademark across social media platforms (like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, personal websites, and more). Influencers spend enormous effort using a unique brand name or concept across multiple platforms. […]

When a level of success has been achieved by eSports celebrities and talent, attention must turn to protecting personal and family assets. One possibility is creating and maintaining what is called a “Loan-Out Company.” In various forms, these have long been used by celebrities in the movie, music, and sports industries. In this article, the […]

A federal court in Texas has issued a decision holding that the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Rule banning the use of employee non-compete agreements is unlawful. See Ryan, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (U.S. Dist. ND Texas 2024). The court held that the FTC’s Rule was invalid nationwide and was not limited to the parties […]

Many Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) businesses have automatic renewal provisions in their contracts. There are obvious advantages to these provisions, such as reliable cash flow and avoiding the employee, managerial, administrative, and other costs associated with repeated contract renewal negotiations. However, SaaS businesses must be aware of State and federal automatic renewal statutes and their requirements. The […]

Many States have recently enacted consumer data protection statutes. Indeed, at this point, almost half of the U.S. States now have such a statute. In reviewing the most recently enacted statutes, one trend that can be seen is the increasing focus on defining the word “consent” to exclude any sort of agreement/consent obtained “through the […]