Wednesday, February 28, 2007		ILR Home Page

Weekly Alert February 28, 2007 Latest News Intellectual Property Internet Commerce Freedom of Speech Telecommunications Privacy & Security Taxation Jurisdiction & Procedure Criminal Liability Latest Cases Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs Last Chance to Register for UGC Conference at Early Bird Rate Broadband Policy Summit III: Broadband Full Steam Ahead Subscription Information

Latest News INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISPs Did Not Infringe Patent That Connects Roaming Users to the Internet A district court properly found that eight Internet service providers did not infringe a patent on a system for connecting traveling users to the Internet, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Feb. 20. The appellate court also rejected a cross-appeal filed by the defendant service providers challenging the plaintiff's ownership interest in the patent as fraudulently obtained. The court reasoned that the issue of fraudulent ownership is better left for the state courts. MyMail, Ltd. v. America Online, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1233. Read more...

Other Intellectual Property news: Scalia, in Microsoft v. AT&T Arguments, Questions Parties' 'Gambling' on Result Microsoft Calls $1.5 Billion Jury Verdict 'Completely Unsupported,' May Appeal 'Making Available' Works Over P2P Is Infringement Search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE Web Site Owner Challenges Google's Web Site Traffic Monetizing System A creator and developer of web sites accuses Google, Inc. of using a system that monetizes web site traffic to enable Google to own "whatever is worth owning" on the Internet, and asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to order Google to permit competitors to use its system on a reasonable, non-discriminatory basis. Carl E. Person, an antitrust and civil rights attorney who also creates and develops web sites, alleges that Google has violated Sherman Act §2 by monopolizing, attempting to monopolize, and conspiring to monopolize the keyword-targeted Internet advertising market. Person v. Google, Inc. (Amended and Supplemental Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1210. Read more...

Other Internet Commerce news: Norwegian Group Seeks to Criminalize Spam, Enlist ISPs in Fight Against Unlawful Content Argentina Issues Criteria for Digital Signatures House Judiciary Antitrust Task Force to Check Sirius-XM Satellite Radio Merger Too Much DNS Regulation Said to Harm Competition, Provoke Worldwide Criticism Search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH Lycos Enjoys CDA Immunity to Libel Suit Arising from Online Message Board Postings Online services provider Lycos, Inc. has immunity, under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, to a lawsuit arising from alleged defamatory postings on Lycos's Raging Bull message boards, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held Feb. 23. The court rejected an argument, based on MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster Ltd., 545 US 913 (2005), that Lycos was not entitled to CDA immunity because it "induced" the defamatory remarks. Even if the CDA contained such an exception, the court said, the plaintiff failed to allege facts that would amount to inducement on Lycos's part. Universal Communication Systems, Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1247. Read more...

Other Freedom of Speech news: ICANN Board Once Again Set to Vote on Proposal for .xxx Adult Content Registry Search ILR's Freedom of Speech database

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Frontline Wireless Broadband Plan Emerges as Alternative to Cyren Call A small group with a big history in the communications industry emerged Feb. 26 with a plan to bid on a portion of spectrum in the 700 MHz band, so long as the Federal Communications Commission agrees to license it for a public safety broadband network. The new group, called Frontline Wireless LLC, is based in Greensboro, N.C., with offices in Washington. According to a statement, Frontline was organized for the purpose of building a nationwide public safety broadband network and is committed to providing innovative solutions for public safety and commercial users. Read more...

Other Telecommunications news: EC Adopts Rules to Speed Move to 'Ultra-Wideband' Throughout EU Hill Communications Agenda Includes Public Safety, USF Fund, Net Neutrality Search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY FTC Report Highlights COPPA Effectiveness, Notes Challenges to Protecting Kids Online The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act has been effective in protecting the privacy and security of young children in cyberspace without unduly burdening web site operators, according to a report submitted to Congress on Feb. 27 by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC's submission—Implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act: A Report to Congress—does not advocate revisions to COPPA. However, the report acknowledged that, since widespread age verification technology is not available, age falsification remains a risk on general audience web sites not intended for children's use. Read more...

Other Privacy & Security news: Ensuring VoIP Security, Satisfying CALEA: Service Provider Encryption Could Be Key Multidistrict Panel Consolidates More Lawsuits in Web of Claims Related to NSA Surveillance Group Releases E-Records Standard Approved by National Standards Institute Vetting Via Internet Is Free, Generally Legal, but Not Necessarily Smart Hiring Strategy Two Bills Would Amend California's Breach Law New Congress Sees Flurry of Old Data Privacy Measures EU Makes Little Progress in Talks with U.S. on Protections for Probes of Money Transfers DHS Lags in Completing Privacy Analysis, Encryption of Personal Information, IG Says Co-Chair of HHS Advisory Panel Quits, Says Inadequate Progress on Privacy Protections Canadian Privacy Commissioner Urges Breach Notification Duty Under PIPEDA Search ILR's Privacy & Security database

TAXATION Bush Budget Blueprint Would Require eBay, Other Auction Sites to Report Seller Tax Data Among the Bush administration's fiscal year 2008 budget proposals is one to expand broker information reporting so that auction houses such as eBay.com and Ubid are required to disclose the amount of money individual sellers make each year through the sale of new or used items, Treasury officials confirmed Feb. 26. The effort is designed to improve tax compliance and help reduce the tax gap, according to the Treasury Blue Book. The proposal is estimated to raise $20 million in fiscal year 2008. Read more...

Other Taxation news: SSUTA Legislation Fails in Idaho House Vote Amid Constitutional Worries, Other Concerns Search ILR's Taxation database

JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE Forensic Analysis of Hard Drive Permitted, but Court Imposes Safeguards to Limit Scope Analyzing a hard drive for relevant evidence is a trickier proposition than plucking relevant files from a file cabinet, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan observed Feb. 8. Identifying and removing relevant paper files from a file cabinet naturally limits from disclosure any irrelevant files. However, "the inspection of an opponent's computer may open up countless files to the searcher that are not relevant and that may be proprietary or privileged," cautioned Magistrate Judge Hugh W. Brenneman Jr. Thielen v. Buongiorno USA, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1235. Read more... Search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database

CRIMINAL LIABILITY Eighth Circuit Upholds Conviction, Sentence in Huge Data Theft from Acxiom Computers Circumstantial evidence of a bulk e-mail company owner's participation in a scheme to access and download more than 1 billion files from data repository giant Acxiom Corp. was sufficient to support his criminal convictions for aiding and abetting unauthorized access to protected computers and related offenses, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held Feb. 21. Writing for the court, Senior Judge C. Arlen Beam also ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Snipermail.com, Inc. owner Scott J. Levine above the range of punishment provided by the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. United States v. Levine, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1239. Read more...

Other Criminal Liability news: N.Y. Report Seeks to Ease Use of ISP Data Evidence Search ILR's Criminal Liability database

Latest Cases Eckert v. Microsoft Corp., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1243 [ED Mich] (CDA immunizes message board operator) Gianni Versace, S.p.A. v. Versace (Summary Order), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1113 [2d Cir] (District court's extraterritorial application of injunction banning sale of infringing goods over the Internet was not error) Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Byd:sign, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1105 [ED Tex] (Employees' unauthorized use of and access to employer's computer systems to start competing business may be actionable under CFAA) Langdon v. Google, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1249 [D Del] (CDA immunizes Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! from claims grounded upon their exercise of editorial discretion over Internet content) Mackelprang v. Fidelity National Title Agency of Nevada, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1111 [D Nev] (Court denies motion to compel production of all of plaintiff's MySpace.com private e-mail messages) Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp. (Oral Arguments), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1237 [US Sup Ct] (Justice Scalia, in Microsoft v. AT&T oral arguments, questions parties' 'gambling' on result) Motown Record Co. v. DePietro, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1251 [ED Pa] ('Making available' works over P2P is infringement) MyMail, Ltd. v. America Online, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1233 [Fed Cir] (ISPs did not infringe patent that connects roaming users to the Internet) North Dakota Attorney General Opinion 2007-O-01, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1245 [ND Att'y Gen] (N.D. Dep't of Transportation violated open records law by refusing to provide information because a computer program would have to be developed in order to remove fields of confidential information from the database) Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities; Internet-Based Captioned Telephone Service (Final Rule; Clarification), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1241 [FCC](Clarification that Internet Protocol captioned telephone relay service is a type of telecommunications relay service eligible for compensation from the Interstate TRS Fund when offered in compliance with the applicable TRS mandatory minimum standards) Thielen v. Buongiorno USA, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1235 [WD Mich] (Forensic analysis of hard drive permitted, but court imposes safeguards to limit scope) United States v. Levine, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1239 [8th Cir] (Court upholds conviction, sentence in huge data theft from Acxiom computers) Universal Communication Systems, Inc. v. Lycos, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1247 [1st Cir] (Lycos enjoys CDA immunity to libel suit arising from online message board postings) WIREdata, Inc. v. Village of Sussex, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1107 [Wis Ct App] (PDF failed to comply with open records law) Search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs Gallucci v. New Jersey On-Line, LLC (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1212 [NJ Super Ct] (Anonymous poster alleges that online news site unlawfully revealed his identity) Person v. Google, Inc. (Amended and Supplemental Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1210 [ND Cal] (Web site owner challenges Google's web site traffic monetizing system) Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc. (Amici Curiae Brief of Intellectual Property Law Faculty), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1214 [2d Cir] (Law professors argue that Google's sale of trademarked keywords does not constitute a "use in commerce") Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc. (Brief for Defendant-Appellee), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1216 [2d Cir] (Google argues that it does not engage in "trademark use" when it uses appellant's mark to trigger sponsored links for competitors) Search ILR's Pleadings database

Last Chance to Register for UGC Conference at Early Bird Rate The New, New Media Revolution: User Generated Content March 29, 2007 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET Early bird registration ends Feb. 28th Today marks your last chance to take advantage of our early bird registration. Invite your colleagues to take part in this informative audio event — and save $50! Join Wilson Sonsini's Gerry Stegmaier, MPAA's Fritz Attaway, DivX's Lee Milstein, Stanford's Colette Vogele, and Pike & Fischer's Tim Deal as they discuss legal challenges facing rights holders and users in the new, new media environment. Learn more

Broadband Policy Summit III: Broadband Full Steam Ahead June 7-8, 2007 - The Ritz Carlton, Arlington, VA Early bird registration ends April 17th Register now so you don't miss the opportunity to hear from our distinguished panel of speakers and leverage the changing role of the FCC and the new Democratic-controlled Congress to optimize your broadband business strategies and serve your clients. Hear from top policy-makers and industry leaders from Congress, the FCC, NTIA, state commissions, cable operators, telcos and law firms. Industry leaders from Yahoo!, Earthlink, Corning, Cox, TIA & Verizon are among those new panelists confirmed to join us at the Summit.

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