Join Our New Directory of Internet Lawyers!

Pike & Fischer is pleased to announce the launch of 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
 
Utah Prohibits Search Keyword Advertising Triggered by 'Electronic Registration Mark' 
 
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) signed legislation March 19 establishing a new type of electronic trademark that would prohibit a mark owner's competitor from using the mark to trigger keyword-based online advertising.  Senate Bill 236 provides that entities may not use a registered electronic mark to cause "the delivery or display" of an advertisement for a business, good or service of the same class as the holder of the registered mark or if the ad is likely to "cause confusion" between the business, good or service of the registered mark and the one being advertised.  Read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news: 
 
·  Agence France-Presse, Google Settle Copyright Infringement Dispute
·  Good Faith Interpretation of DVD CSS License Good Enough to Allow Continued Use
·  Stanford Launches Copyright Database Allowing Online Searches of Renewal Records
·  German Court Holds That Google's Use of Thumbnail Images Is Not Infringing
·  No Fair Use Defense When Photo Licensed for Advertising Used Also as Self-Promotion
·  FAA Gives Arbitrator Power to Decide Whether Copyright Issue Is Arbitrable
·  China Accedes to WIPO Internet Treaties; Hong Kong, Macao Excluded
 
Search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Advertiser's Alleged False Claims About Spyware, Click Fraud Support Investor Suit 
 
Allegations that an Internet advertising broker knew or should have known that a large percentage of the clicks made to clients' ads were spyware-derived was enough to satisfy a securities fraud claim brought by investors, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida held March 15.  The court denied the defendant corporation's motion to dismiss claims that it perpetrated securities fraud against its investors. The court relied, in part, on the plaintiffs' showing that the defendants had used proceeds from illegitimate and dishonest user clicks in calculating its corporate value and stock prices. In re Miva, Inc. Securities Litigation, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1497.  Read more ...
 
Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  Standing to Raise CFAA Violations Does Not Hinge on Ownership of Computer
·  Microsoft Says Software Licensing Fees Are 'Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory'
·  Anti-Spam Bill, Providing for Fines and Damages, Receives Royal Assent
 
Search ILR's Internet Commerce database

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
 
Federal Circuit Blocks Injunction to Bar Vonage from Seeking New Customers 
 
Vonage Holdings Corp. will be able to continue signing up customers for its Voice over Internet Protocol telephone service after a federal appeals court issued a temporary stay of a lower court injunction April 6. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit acted on a Vonage emergency appeal of an injunction granted earlier that same day in a patent infringement case. The injunction would bar Vonage Holdings Corp. from signing up new customers to its Internet telephone service, but would not affect current subscribers. Read more ...
 
Other Telecommunications news: 
 
·  Federal Circuit Sets April 24 to Hear Arguments in Vonage Patent Dispute
·  Local Government Groups File Suit Challenging FCC Video Franchise Rules
·  Consumer Coalition Pitches Proposal for Open Access Spectrum Requirement
·  Publication of Regulatory Code for VoIP Providers Draws 'Over-Regulation' Complaint
 
Search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
New York Expands Common Law Conversion to Cover Deletions, Thefts of Electronic Data 
 
The common law tort of conversion applies to deletions and misappropriations of documents and data stored on electronic media, the New York Court of Appeals held March 22. Expanding the common law's conversion doctrine beyond its roots in tangible objects, the court held that the tort of conversion "must keep pace with the contemporary realities of widespread computer use." Thyroff v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1499.  Read more ...
 
Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  FTC Renews Support for Legislation to Raise Penalties in Data Privacy Cases
·  New Network Threats Need New Internet Governing Body, Cyberlaw Expert Suggests
·  FTC Privacy Official Reviews Agency Position on Data Breaches
·  Arkansas Creates Fund for Collecting Spyware Fines
·  ICANN Creates Internet Whois Privacy Working Group
 
Search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Streamlined Tax System Could Lose Some Members but Gain Others as States Take Their Case to Congress 
 
Eighteen months after the Streamlined Sales Tax system officially launched, on Oct. 1, 2005, the program aimed at easing collection burdens on Internet and mail-order retailers has arrived at a crossroads. Progress has been steady, with 21 states and more than 1,000 retailers signed on, and $55 million in new revenue collected as of Dec. 31, 2006, not including revenue from a group of major Internet sellers who volunteered before the system's launch. At the same time however, several of the system's founding members—Utah, Tennessee, and Ohio—have been unable to bring their laws into full compliance. Read more ...

Search ILR's Taxation database 

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
U.K. Parliament Committee Weighs Public Response to Cybercrime Problem 
 
Further regulation of Internet service providers should not be seen as "a panacea to the problem of personal Internet security," a parliamentary inquiry was told March 14 by the United Kingdom's Internet Service Providers Association. The group contended that strict and stringent regulation would constitute "a barrier to developing information security systems and standards." Read more ...

Search ILR's Criminal Liability database 

Latest Cases 
 
·  Bosley Medical Institute v. Kremer, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1509 [SD Cal] (Motion to dismiss trademark action against gripe site operator denied; summary judgment on cybersquatting claim denied)
·  Chapman v. Merchandise Mart Properties, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1513 [D Vt] (Blogger claiming trademark rights in the name of her weblog is denied a temporary restraining order against a furniture seller using the same name)
·  CollegeNet, Inc. v. XAP Corp., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1503 [D Ore] (Unfair competition claim against provider of online college admission application services is not barred by laches where plaintiff suspected that defendant was selling students' personal information more than two years before filing the claim)
·  Copland v. United Kingdom, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1605 [ECHR] (Monitoring employee's telephone, e-mail, and Internet usage violated The European Convention on Human Rights)
·  DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Kaleidescape, Inc. (Transcript of March 29, 2007 Proceedings), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1511 [Cal Super Ct] (Home entertainment service is in compliance with the DVD Copy Control Association's license to the Content Scramble System)
·  Garland-Sash v. Lewis, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1501 [SD NY] (Standing to raise CFAA violations does not hinge on ownership of computer)
·  German Decision re Google's Use of Thumbnail Images, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1505 [Landgericht Erfurt (Germany)] (German court holds that Google's use of thumbnail images is not infringing)
·  Hollis v. Joseph, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1609 [Pa Ct Com Pleas] (Court lacks jurisdiction over operator of DontDateHimGirl.com web site)
·  Miva, Inc. Securities Litigation, In re, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1497 [MD Fla] (Advertiser's alleged false claims about spyware, click fraud support investor suit)
·  Packeteer, Inc. v. Valencia Systems, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1437 [ND Cal] (Federal Arbitration Act gives arbitrator power to decide whether copyright issue is arbitrable)
·  Straus v. DVC Worldwide, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1507 [SD Tex] (No fair use defense when photo licensed for advertising used also as self-promotion)
·  Thyroff v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1499 [NY Ct App] (New York expands common law conversion to cover deletions, thefts of electronic data)
·  United States v. Barrows, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1601 [10th Cir] (No reasonable expectation of privacy in personal computer brought to work)
·  United States v. Griffin, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1607 [8th Cir] (Use of a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to download images of child pornography warranted imposition of five-level enhancement)
·  United States v. Heckenkamp, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1603 [9th Cir] (Remote search of computer files on a hard drive by a network administrator was justified under the "special needs" exception to the Fourth Amendment)
 
Search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  A.V. v. iParadigms, LLC (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1414 [ED Va] (High school students sue Internet-based plagiarism detection service for copyright infringement)
·  Dorr v. Yahoo! Inc. (Class Action Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1418 [ND Cal] (Class action against Yahoo! for placing ads on e-mails sent from premium accounts)
·  Oracle Corp. v. SAP AG (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1416 [ND Cal] (Oracle alleges that SAP is engaged in systematic, illegal access to Oracle's computerized customer support systems and has copied thousands of Oracle software products and other proprietary and confidential materials onto its own servers)
 
Search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Verizon vs. Vonage:  What It Means for Residential VoIP Service
On March 8th, a federal jury found that Vonage Holdings infringed on three Verizon patents, fueling speculation that the company could have to shut down its VoIP service.  This report analyzes the impact that this case will have on Vonage as well as other independent VoIP providers, and explains why the jury verdict will generate increased adoption of cable phone service. 

User-Generated Video on the Web: A Taxonomy and Market Outlook
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.

View all Market Research Reports & Briefs

Events & Conferences 
 
Broadband Policy Summit III:  Early-Bird Discount Ends Next Week - April 17!
June 7-8, 2007 - The Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City - Arlington, VA
Learn firsthand from top industry experts and regulators what's hot on the legislative and regulatory agendas, how this affects broadband business practices, and what you need to do to position your organization for strategic success.  Hear from top policy-makers and industry leaders from Congress, the FCC, NTIA, state commissions, cable operators, telcos and law firms. 
Download Brochure   Register Now 

Legal Risk Management in the Web 2.0 World
September 18, 2007 - AED Conference Center - Washington, DC
Gain the latest insights and guidance on dealing with the growing array of legal risks associated with social networking, user-generated content and other applications in the Web 2.0 world.  Prepare yourself by learning about existing and potential liabilities, and how you can manage your risk.  Join Pike & Fischer's team of attorney-experts and Broadband Advisory Services analysts and your fellow telecom and law colleagues for this unprecedented event.  Take advantage of our early bird rate and secure your registration today.
Learn More  Register Now

The New, New Media Revolution: User Generated Content
If you missed our audio conference on User Generated Content, you haven't missed out completely. CD-ROM recordings of the event are now available. Order one today!

View all Events & Conferences

Subscription Information

In order to receive your own copy of Internet Law & Regulation's Weekly Alert, please fill out the Weekly Alert sign-up form. Also, invite colleagues to request a trial to ILR. For additional information, contact customercare@pf.com. 

To unsubscribe, do not reply to this message. Instead, please use the unsubscribe feature at the bottom of this email.