shutterstock_236620168On July 12, 2016, the Ninth Circuit filed its published opinion in Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc., et al., Case No. 13-17154 (“Power Ventures”).  Power Ventures is the latest in a series of decisions from the Ninth Circuit relating to the type of activities potentially giving rise to liability under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Continue Reading Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc.: Shotgun-Toting Borrowers of Jewelry From Bank Safe Deposit Boxes and the CFAA. Wait. What?

shutterstock_299582249On October 20, 2015, a Ninth Circuit panel consisting of Chief Judge Sidney Thomas and Judges M. Margaret McKeown and Stephen Reinhardt heard oral argument from the U.S. Department of Justice and counsel for David Nosal on Nosal’s criminal conviction arising under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).   In 2013, Nosal was found to have violated the CFAA by
Continue Reading Nosal Update: Ninth Circuit Hears Oral Arguments on Password Sharing and Scope of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

California -- brick wallIn United States v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc), the court held that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, prohibits unlawful access to a computer but not unauthorized use of computerized information.  Although that holding represents a minority position, two recent opinions — one in a Ninth Circuit criminal
Continue Reading California Federal Courts Reiterate: Unless Computer Hacked, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Permits Misuse Of Electronic Information

On January 8th, after years of litigation and numerous delays, Executive Recruiter David Nosal was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for his April 25, 2013 conviction on three counts under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), two counts under the Economic Espionage Act (“EEA”), and one count of conspiracy to violate the CFAA and
Continue Reading Nosal Update: Nosal Sentenced to One Year in Federal Prison

Does the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) prohibit hacking–improperly gaining entrance into a computer system–or simply prohibit improper use of a computer system? U.S. Courts of Appeal are divided. Now, district and appellate court judges in a single federal case pending in the Northern District of California, U.S. v. Nosal, have produced several divergent opinions
Continue Reading Recent California Federal Court Rulings Muddy the Interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

In a recent Northern District of California decision, Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong upheld the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Nosal, and at the same time, held that fraudulent conduct claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act are subject to the heightened pleading requirements of Rule 9 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Plaintiff is a computer technology
Continue Reading Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Claims Subject to Heightened Pleading Requirements

Last month we blogged about a district court for the Northern District of California that distinguished the Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Nosal decision and allowed an employer to bring a counterclaim under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) against a former employee for alleged violations of a verbal computer access restriction. (Weingand v. Harland Financial Solutions,
Continue Reading Update: California Federal District Court Reaffirms that Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Claims are Available for Violations of Employers’ “Access Restrictions” Despite Ninth Circuit’s Nosal Decision

On June 19, 2012, a district court for the Northern District of California distinguished the Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Nosal decision and allowed an employer to bring a claim under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) against a former employee for alleged violations of a verbal computer access restriction. (Weingand v. Harland Financial Solutions, 2012 U.S.
Continue Reading California Federal District Court Distinguishes Ninth Circuit’s Nosal Decision and Finds that Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Claims Are Available for Violations of Employers’ “Access” Restrictions

By Robert Milligan, Joshua Salinas, and Jeffrey Oh

In another decision that underscores the circuit split regarding the interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s (CFAA) language on authorized access, the Honorable Judge David Doty of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota has dismissedan employer’s claim that its former employees violated the

Continue Reading Minnesota District Court Dismisses Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Claim Brought Against Former Employee Based Upon Narrow Interpretation Of Act

By Robert Milligan and Jeffrey Oh

A recent California federal court decision has permitted an employer to pursue a former employee for alleged violations of the employer’s computer usage policies under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), while an en banc Ninth Circuit panel considers the validity of such claims. The Ninth Circuit’s decision in the United States v.
Continue Reading Waiting On Nosal…Combating Data Theft Under The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act In The Ninth Circuit