March 8, 2016 This week Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed into law the Fantasy Contests Act. The law represents first of its kind state regulation of fantasy sports contests and operators. Intended to put in place consumer protections and functional guidelines for operators, the law will exempt licensed fantasy sports contests from the State gambling […]
Virginia Blazes Trail in Fantasy Sports Regulation Read More »
March 3, 2016 In today’s technology-driven economy, it is almost impossible to operate a successful business without the assistance of a merchant processing company to facilitate customer and/or client payments. This is true whether payments are initiated at brick-and-mortar stores, on e-commerce websites or via mobile-based applications. Given merchant processors’ integral role both in sustaining
Is Your Merchant Processing Agreement Causing You Headaches? Read More »
February 1, 2016 Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a Minnesota federal district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor the National Football League (the “League” or “NFL”) regarding the rights of publicity of former NFL players with respect to certain League film projects. How far-reaching are the implications
Eighth Circuit: Non-Commercial Copyright Use Preempts Right of Publicity Read More »
February 29, 2016 “Spam” lawsuits are becoming an ever-increasing concern to companies in the email marketing space. The potential liability of such suits can reach levels that threaten to jeopardize the viability of the business itself. Statutory liability may be imposed in amounts of up to $100.00 per email under the federal CAN-SPAM Act, with
Have You Been Sued by Timothy Walton? Read More »
February 26, 2016 On February 22, 2016, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment to Voiceshot LLC (“Voiceshot”), dismissing a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) class action lawsuit filed against it. The Court concluded that Voiceshot, a company that offers web-based communication services that subscribers may access and
Voiceshot Found to be Common Carrier Immune from TCPA Liability Read More »
February 25, 2016 In the fall of 2015, Congress quietly slipped a provision into a budget bill that directed the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to adopt implementing regulations for a proposed exemption to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Last week, a draft rule was circulated to the full FCC which aims to protect certain
Is a Carve Out to the TCPA in the Works? Read More »
February 24, 2016 Earlier this month, payment processor Capital Payments, LLC n/k/a Bluefin Payment Systems LLC (“Bluefin”) agreed to pay $750,000 to settle a Federal Trade Commission (“Commission” or “FTC”) lawsuit involving alleged violations of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. How do telemarketing regulations affect payment processors and ISOs?
Telemarketing Payment Processor Settles FTC Lawsuit for $750K Read More »
February 11, 2016 Mobile App Operators Need to Obtain Consent and Ensure Proper Protections Are In Place One of the most useful features of mobile applications (or “mobile apps”), from both a consumer and mobile app operator standpoint, is the fact that mobile apps are, as the name implies, mobile. That is, the mobile apps
Mobile App Geolocation Tracking and Location-Based Services Read More »