Cross-Border Data Transfers Just Became More Complicated: EU Court of Justice Strikes Down EU-U.S. Privacy Shield

By Leila Javanshir and David Rice on July 24, 2020 Posted in Data Security, International Updates

In an action with major ramifications for data transfers from the European Union (EU) to the United States (U.S.) the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on July 16 invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework (Privacy Shield), which provided a critical, lawful method for transferring personal data from the EU to the U.S. Entities relying on the Privacy Shield need to act quickly to rework the legal basis for those transfers. The CJEU somewhat limited the impact by finding that the Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) remain valid. As a result, transfers based on the SCCs may continue, subject to some additional guidance and caveats from the CJEU.

The CJEU’s finding resolved an appeal from the Irish High Court regarding a case known as Schrems II, initiated by Austrian privacy advocate, Max Schrems. The Irish High Court asked the CJEU for a preliminary ruling on the validity of the SCCs and Privacy Shield. Continue Reading

NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness Modernization Presses Forward

By Nicoleas Mayne, Max Forer and Dayton Campbell-Harris on July 20, 2020 Posted in NIL Bill

On June 12, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a name, image and likeness (“NIL”) bill into law, moving up the deadline for the NCAA to complete ongoing efforts to modernize its NIL rules. Unlike California’s Fair Pay to Play Act and Colorado’s NIL bill, which have both been previously signed with effective dates in 2023, the Florida NIL bill would allow student-athletes to profit off their NIL in Florida beginning July 1, 2021. More than 30 additional states have pending NIL legislation moving through the legislative process.

While the NCAA has dealt with a myriad of issues in 2020, NIL modernization efforts continue to press forward, and the Florida law sets a tighter timeline for either the NCAA or the federal government to put forward a national standard to avoid a state-by-state approach to NIL issues. While the specific form the NIL rule changes will take is not yet clear, it seems near certain that student-athletes will be allowed to profit off their NIL rights in the very near future.

California Is at It Again: The California Privacy Rights Act Makes November Ballot

By Leila Javanshir and David Rice on July 8, 2020 Posted in Data Privacy, Data Security

The Californians for Consumer Privacy group is continuing to push for increased rights regarding consumer data through the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), a measure that would expand the rights granted under the existing California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was effective on January 1 of this year. On June 24, the California Secretary of State confirmed that the CPRA initiative collected 900,000 signatures, which was enough to qualify for the November ballot.

The proposed CPRA would expand the privacy rights granted to California residents under the CCPA by:

Supreme Court Expands Rights to Register Domain Names as Trademarks

By Erich Merrill on July 2, 2020 Posted in Supreme Court, Trademarks

The United States Supreme Court issued a decision on June 30, 2020, holding that “Booking.com” can be registered as a trademark. The decision, United States Patent and Trademark Office, et al, vs. Booking.com B. V., reverses longstanding Trademark Office policy and should significantly expand the number of Internet domain names that can be registered as trademarks in the United States. Continue Reading

Miller Nash Prevails at United States Supreme Court

By Brian Esler on June 8, 2020 Posted in International Updates, Supreme Court

Two brothers in India formed a partnership to carry on the family business. Their partnership agreement contained a clause requiring the brothers to resolve all disputes “of any type whatsoever in respect of the partnership” by arbitration in India. Later, the brothers each also started separate companies. A dispute arose between the brothers regarding the rights to use certain trademarks. One brother (and his company) sued the other brother’s company (but not the other brother) in federal district court in Seattle, alleging violations of the federal Lanham Act governing trademark rights. The other brother’s company (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya, LLP) hired Brian Esler and the lawyers at Miller Nash to defend it. Continue Reading