Wednesday, March 28, 2007		ILR Home Page

Weekly Alert March 28, 2007 Join Our New Directory of Internet Lawyers! Latest News Intellectual Property Internet Commerce Freedom of Speech Telecommunications Privacy & Security Taxation Latest Cases Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs Latest Research from Pike & Fischer Last Chance to Register! UGC: The New, New Media Revolution Subscription Information

Join Our New Directory of Internet Lawyers! Pike & Fischer is pleased to announce the launch of a new feature on ILR: The Internet Law Attorney Directory! We've created this Directory to assist site visitors who frequently submit legal questions to ILR editors. Since Pike & Fischer cannot offer legal advice, we will refer inquiring parties to this exclusive listing of Internet law practitioners. It's also a great place to start networking with your colleagues! Our Directory displays basic contact information with an optional link to your online biography. Care to join the Directory? ILR subscribers are entitled to one complimentary premium listing per account. Additional listings and listings by non-subscribers can be purchased for $49.99 (or $69.99 for a premium boldfaced listing). Use this form to submit your complimentary or paid listing today!

Latest News INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Cable TV Operator's Video Recording Service Infringed Reproduction, Performance Rights A cable television operator's digital video recording service, which would store television programming on a remote server for re-transmission at the viewer's request, infringes the copyright owner's exclusive rights to reproduce and publicly perform its television programming, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held March 22. With this view of the law in mind, the court enjoined defendant Cablevision Systems Corp.'s planned deployment of its "Remote-Storage DVR System," a product for customers who do not have a digital video recording device in their homes. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Cablevision Systems Corp., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1449. Read more...

Other Intellectual Property news: Vonage 'Confident' in Appeal of Ruling That It Infringed Verizon Patents Congress, Not Royalty Board or Courts, Will Address Webcasters' Needs, Report Says NBC Universal, News Corp. Will Launch Internet Network for TV, Film Content Peters Urges Congress to Take Some Action on Section 115 Compulsory License Reform Judiciary's Issa Urges Electronics Makers to Fight for Fair Use of Digital Media ITC Will Review Whether Microsoft Patents Are Infringed by Alcatel Imports Search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE Federal Court Refuses to Grant Injunction Against Utah Child Protection E-Mail Registry An adult content coalition has legal standing to challenge Utah's child protection e-mail registry but did not establish that the state law was preempted by the federal CAN-SPAM Act or violated the Constitution, and therefore failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success in its challenge to the state law, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah ruled March 23. The decision by Judge Dale A. Kimball denied a request by the Free Speech Coalition, Inc., an adult entertainment and adults-only products and services trade association, for a preliminary injunction against operation of the child do-not-e-mail registry law, and also rejected a motion by defendants—three state officials and a spam registry service—to dismiss the matter. Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Shurtleff, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1455. Read more...

Other Internet Commerce news: EC Opens Challenge Against Nations Prohibiting Private Betting Operations Bankruptcy Petition Software Vendor Engaged in Unauthorized Practice of Law FTC Urges State Bar to Reject Changes in Computer-Accessed Communications Rule EC Grants Microsoft Three Extra Weeks to Give Competitors Data Under 2004 Ruling ICANN Task Force Comes Out in Support of Privacy-Enhancing 'Proxy Registrations' Plaintiff in Google Page Rank Challenge Hit with Rule 11 Sanctions for Baseless Suit Search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH Child Online Protection Act Enjoined; Federal Court Says Law Is Overbroad The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania March 22 permanently enjoined the Justice Department from enforcing a federal law designed to protect children using the Internet from web sites displaying sexual content. Judge Lowell A. Reed Jr. ruled that the Child Online Protection Act (47 USC §231) violated the First and Fifth amendments to the Constitution because it is overbroad, vague, and that the government failed to demonstrate that the law was the least restrictive means of protecting the compelling state interest in protecting children. American Civil Liberties Union v. Gonzales, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1447. Read more... Search ILR's Freedom of Speech database

TELECOMMUNICATIONS Appeals Court Backs FCC Ruling Finding VoIP an Interstate Service The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit March 21 upheld a Federal Communications Commission decision finding that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service is interstate in nature and thus subject to federal jurisdiction. In 2003, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ordered Vonage, a New Jersey-based VoIP provider, to comply with state regulations governing telephone service. In response, Vonage filed a petition with the FCC requesting that it be declared an information service provider exempt from telecommunications regulation. Minnesota Public Utilities Commission v. Federal Communications Commission, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1445. Read more...

Other Telecommunications news: Exclusive ILR telecommunications overview, The FCC and the New Millennium: Regulating the Internet in an Era of Deregulation, newly updated by Andrew D. Lipman, William B. Wilhelm, Jr., and Jonathan S. Frankel, all of Bingham McCutchen LLP FCC Declares Wireless Broadband an 'Information' Service Like Cable, DSL FCC Launches Notice of Inquiry Into Industry Broadband Practices Search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY New Jersey Senate Approves Bill Regulating Online Dating Services The New Jersey Senate March 13 voted unanimously to approve legislation (S. 1977) that would require online dating services to disclose prominently on their sign-up pages whether they conduct criminal history background screenings on their members. The proposed Internet Dating Safety Act is part of a three-bill package sponsored by Senate President Richard J. Codey (D) and Sen. John Girgenti (D), and is aimed at cracking down on online predators. Read more...

Other Privacy & Security news: Emerging Topic of 'E-Data' Commands Attention at Risk Management Conference Senate Democrats Argue Case for Reviewing PATRIOT Act Data Collection DHS Attention to Privacy Still Falls Short as It Builds Security Programs, GAO Finds All Federal Agencies Must Use Common Security Configurations, OMB Says in Memo Law Enforcement, Policy Advocates Debate Value of Age Verification on Social Web Sites Symantec Reports on Rising Internet Threats; Bot Infections, Attacks on Government Up ISP Sued for Alleged Misuse of Customer's Image Pennsylvania Spyware Bill Introduced with Criminal, Civil Penalties for Violations Search ILR's Privacy & Security database

TAXATION Telecom Industry Raises Concerns with Multistate Tax Panel's Proposed Rule A draft of model regulations for apportioning income from the sale of telecommunications and related services proposed by a subcommittee of the Multistate Tax Commission relies on a Federal Communications Commission table, the data of which is old and based upon estimates, and fails to take into account foreign revenues, an AT&T executive told the subcommittee March 20. Speaking at the winter meeting of the MTC's Income and Franchise Tax Uniformity Subcommittee, AT&T's Deborah Bierbaum said many telecommunication and service companies, whose wide-ranging opinions of the draft regulations were solicited before her appearance at the subcommittee meeting, in general questioned the need for "singling out" their industry. Read more...

Other Taxation news: Washington Lawmakers Complete Work on Legislation Adopting Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement French Royalty Collection Group Proposes Web Advertising Tax to Aid Film Producers Search ILR's Taxation database

Latest Cases American Civil Liberties Union v. Gonzales, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1447 [ED Pa] (Child Online Protection Act enjoined; federal court says law is overbroad) Diehl v. Crook (Dismissal Order), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1461 [ND Cal] (Defendant agrees to withdraw his DMCA complaints, take a copyright law course, and apologize for interfering with the free speech rights of his targets) Diehl v. Crook (Stipulation of Dismissal Without Prejudice), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1463 [ND Cal] (Online journalist dismisses case alleging misuse of the DMCA to block an article critical of him) eSpeed, Inc. v. BrokerTec USA, L.L.C., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1457 [Fed Cir] (Patent relating to automated methods and systems for trading financial instruments is unenforceable due to inequitable conduct) Frankfort Digital Services, Ltd. v. Kistler (In re Reynoso), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1295 [9th Cir] (Seller of web-based software that prepares bankruptcy petitions acted as a "bankruptcy petition preparer" within the meaning of 11 USC §110 and violated the requirements thereof) Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Shurtleff, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1455 [D Utah] (Federal court refuses to grant injunction against Utah child protection e-mail registry) Kinderstart.com, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1441 [ND Cal] (Challenge to Google page rank dismissed) Kinderstart.com, LLC v. Google, Inc. (Sanctions Order), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1443 [ND Cal] (Plaintiff in Google page rank challenge hit with Rule 11 sanctions for baseless suit) Korb v. MaxMedia, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1453 [ED Mich] (Resolution of ownership rights to domain name cannot be resolved on motion for summary judgment) Minnesota Public Utilities Commission v. Federal Communications Commission, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1445 [8th Cir] (Appeals court backs FCC ruling finding VoIP an interstate service) New Jersey, State of v. Taffaro, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1451 [NJ App Div] (Contempt conviction stemming from CraigsList posting) Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Cablevision Systems Corp., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1449 [SD NY] (Cable TV operator's video recording service infringed reproduction, performance rights) United States v. Locke, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1459 [5th Cir] (Probation condition denying access to the Internet did not impose a greater deprivation of First Amendment rights than was reasonably necessary) Search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs MoveOn.org Civic Action v. Viacom International, Inc. (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1406 [ND Cal] (Lawsuit seeking declaratory judgment that video satirizing "The Colbert Report" was wrongfully removed from YouTube because it does not infringe Viacom's copyright) Stovall v. Yahoo! Inc. (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1220 [ND Ohio] (ISP sued for alleged misuse of customer's image) Search ILR's Pleadings database

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer User-Generated Video on the Web: A Taxonomy and Market Outlook March 2007 The proliferation of user-generated online video has had a significant impact on Internet marketing methods, business models and copyright law. This report provides a snapshot of the current players in the user-generated video market and examines them on the basis of their respective content type, ownership and business model. We examine how various social media Web sites are differentiating their content and features. The analysis supports Pike & Fischer's conclusion that the market for user-generated content is approaching the glut stage and will undergo significant consolidation within the next three years. Order now

Last Chance to Register! UGC: The New, New Media Revolution The New, New Media Revolution: User Generated Content March 29, 2007 - 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET Last chance to register for tomorrow's interactive audioconference on User Generated Content! Invite your colleagues to take part in this informative audio event. 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

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