Wednesday, October 11, 2006		ILR Home Page

Weekly Alert October 11, 2006 Accessibility in Cyberspace - An Interactive Audio Conference Latest News Intellectual Property Internet Commerce Telecommunications Privacy & Security Taxation Jurisdiction & Procedure Latest Cases Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs New Electronic Discovery Report Subscription Information

Accessibility in Cyberspace - An Interactive Audio Conference Accessibility in Cyberspace: The ADA's Applicability Online November 3, 2006 2:00-3:30 pm EST A federal district court judge recently ruled that mega-retailer Target can be sued if its website is inaccessible to the blind. While this is not the first high-profile case interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the online context, it has the potential to affect websites nationwide. Join Pike & Fischer and our panel of legal and IT experts for an insightful audio conference to help you navigate issues arising from this controversial ruling. Learn More Register an unlimited number of participants from a single call-in location.

Latest News INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Attorneys' Fees Recoverable Under ACPA for In Rem Action Against Domain Name The Lanham Act supplies the authority for an award of attorneys' fees to the prevailing plaintiff in an in rem action against a domain name under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held Sept. 13. While ACPA does limit remedies for in rem actions to transfer or cancellation of the disputed domain name, the court acknowledged, Section 1125(d)(3) goes on to state that the transfer/cancellation remedy "shall be in addition to any other civil action or remedy otherwise applicable." Agri-Supply Co., Inc. v. Agrisupply.com, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2655. Read more...

Other Intellectual Property news: President Signs Trademark Dilution Revision, Copyright Royalty Corrections Legislation Microsoft Code Allegedly Stolen to Create DRM Bypass British Library: Fair Dealing, Other Copyright Exceptions Apply Equally to Digital Medium U.S. Will Oppose Russia Joining WTO Until Illegal Music Web Site Shut Down Search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE Legislative Language Directed at Regulators Could Simplify Online Gambling Compliance Language added to the final version of legislation prohibiting the use of credit cards for unlawful Internet gambling is expected to soften the compliance impact on banks, a financial services industry source said Oct. 5. The provision, added with support from the banking industry, directs federal regulators to exempt restricted transactions or payment systems from regulatory blocking requirements if regulators determine it is not practical to block the transactions. Read more...

Other Internet Commerce news: Four Companies Face $30,000 in Fines, Utah Alleges Child Spam Registry Breaches Japan, Canada Sign Agreement Pledging Anti-Spam Cooperation Google Calls New KinderStart Complaint 'Impenetrable' Lime Wire Says Labels Stifle Competition in Digital Music Popcorn.net Site Tagged with Badware Label in Wake of Federal, State Prosecutions Search ILR's Internet Commerce database

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Boucher Proposes New Compromise to Bells on Divisive Net Neutrality Issue Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce and Judiciary committees, said Oct. 6 that even if communications legislation (H.R. 5252) dies this year, the Bell companies will not be able to escape a compromise on the issue of net neutrality for long. Boucher is informally floating a compromise that would impose a nondiscrimination requirement on the Bell companies, but only until broadband speeds were significantly increased in the United States. "When that threshold is reached, market by market, the network neutrality provision is eliminated," Boucher suggested. Read more...

Other Telecommunications news: FTC Staff Reports on Municipal Involvement in Accessing Broadband Service to Internet Search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY Marine Had Reasonable Privacy Expectation in E-Mail Message on Defense Department Network A service member had an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail messages she transmitted over a government computer network, notwithstanding a log on message advising that her use of the government's network was subject to monitoring, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals held Sept. 27. In resolving this issue, the court attached significance to a number of factors: the defendant alone possessed the password to her e-mail account, the system administrator testified that service members had a privacy interest in their accounts, and the log on warning mentioned only "monitoring," not searching through e-mail messages for law enforcement purposes. United States v. Long, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2659. Read more...

Other Privacy & Security news: Sixth Circuit Stays Injunction Against NSA Call Data Surveillance During Appeal President Signs DHS Funding Bill with $87 Million for Cybersecurity New South Korean National ID Program Aimed at Privacy, Security of Internet Users FTC Settles First Phone Pretexting Lawsuit; Online Firm Took, Sold Call, Financial Data No Suspicion Needed to Check Car Tag Database Yahoo! Japan Plans Civil Damages Suit Against Indicted Phishing Ring Members Hackers Attempted Unauthorized Access of Commerce Department Computer Systems French Internet Rights Forum Issues Warning on Adware Distribution Search ILR's Privacy & Security database

TAXATION SLAC Calls on Business to Help Define Digital Products, MPU Rules Business interests were asked to tweak the definition of taxable digital products and suggest new rules governing multiple points of use at the Oct. 5 meeting of the State and Local Advisory Committee (SLAC) to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. Concluding a two-day meeting in Columbus, Ohio, SLAC approved six motions—including a definition for fur clothing—that will be sent on to the SSUTA Governing Board for consideration at its next meeting in December. Read more... Search ILR's Taxation database

JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE State Policy Against Forum Selection Clauses Does Not Preclude Enforcement of Arbitration A remedy term in eBay's user agreement that requires aggrieved users either to sue in the state of California or to agree to arbitration may be partially enforceable even if the requirement to litigate in California is not, a Montana state district court ruled Sept. 19. "One portion of the user agreement arbitration clause being unenforceable in Montana does not render the entirety of the clause or the agreement unenforceable," said Judge Wm. Nels Swandal. Ramler v. eBay, Inc., 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2657. Read more... Search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database

Latest Cases Agri-Supply Co., Inc. v. Agrisupply.com, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2655 [ED Va] (Attorneys' fees recoverable under ACPA for in rem action against domain name) Akhmetov v. Strategic Development Ltd., 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2649 [WIPO] (Surname alone not sufficiently distinctive; complainant unable to show consumer confusion) American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency (Order Granting Stay Pending Appeal), 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2801 [6th Cir] (Sixth Circuit stays injunction against NSA call data surveillance during appeal) Bell v. Acxiom Corp., 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2805 [ED Ark] (Alleged injuries from data privacy breach are speculative, warranting dismissal of action for lack of standing) Federal Trade Commission v. Integrity Security & Investigation Services, Inc. (Stipulated Final Order), 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2803 [ED Va] (FTC settles first phone pretexting lawsuit; online firm took, sold call, financial data) Ivey v. Ludeman, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2653 [D Minn] (Constitutional challenge to state ban on sexually explicit materials for civilly committed patients may proceed) New Hampshire, State of v. Goupil, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2651 [NH Sup Ct] (Comments posted by juror on blog not sufficient grounds for setting aside verdict) Ramler v. eBay, Inc., 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2657 [Mont Dist Ct] (State policy against forum selection clauses does not preclude enforcement of arbitration) United States v. Ellison, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2637 [6th Cir] (No suspicion needed to check car tag database) United States v. Jones, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2517 [D DC] (Seizure of text messages upheld) United States v. Long, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2659 [CMA] (Marine had reasonable privacy expectation in e-mail message on Defense Department network) Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. xc2, 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2515 [WIPO] (Domain name that uses the term "blows" as a suffix to complainant's mark could cause confusion as to whether the complainant owned or operated the web site) Search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs Arista Records LLC v. Lime Wire LLC (Defendants' Answer and Lime Wire's Counterclaims), 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2612 [SD NY] (Lime Wire claims the recording industry has conspired to eliminate competition in the online distribution of digital music by refusing to deal with peer-to-peer services other than industry-controlled iMesh) Ehrenfeld v. Salim A Bin Mahfouz (Brief of Amici Curiae Amazon.com, et al. in Support of Plaintiff-Appellant for Reversal of the District Court), 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2228 [2d Cir] (Amici argue that district court's refusal to exercise jurisdiction in case involving foreign libel judgment will allow the impermissible chilling of protected speech) KinderStart.com, LLC v. Google, Inc. (Defendant's Motion to Dismiss and/or Strike Second Amended Complaint), 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2622 [ND Cal] (Google claims KinderStart's amended complaint against Google over KinderStart's degraded page rank in search results ought to be dismissed for sloppy draftsmanship) Microsoft Corp. v. Does 1-10 (Complaint), 2006 ILRWeb (P&F) 2620 [WD Wash] (Microsoft code allegedly stolen to create DRM bypass) Search ILR's Pleadings database

New Electronic Discovery Report Evaluating the Electronic Discovery Capabilities of Outside Law Firms: A Model Request for Information and Analysis (150 pages) The greatest economic risk companies face with e-discovery is choosing the wrong law firm. Under the new FRCP, the amounts at stake aren't just legal fees or settlement costs; there's an additional price paid for loss of productivity and the disruption of core revenue activities when business is delayed in favor of searching for electronic records. Exhaustively researched to include all existing court rules, 350+ published court cases and published technology standards and business practices, Evaluating the Electronic Discovery Capabilities of Outside Law Firms provides corporate legal teams an invaluable tool for conducting the due diligence required to ensure they hire the best law firms for handling the job. For law firms, the study provides a critical roadmap to understanding client pressures and the vital importance of strong electronic discovery legal capabilities. Learn more

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