Weekly
Alert
May 23, 2007
Who's Who in Internet
Law?
Latest News
· Intellectual Property
· Internet Commerce
·
Freedom of
Speech
· Telecommunications
· Privacy & Security
·
Taxation
· Criminal Liability
Latest Cases
Latest Pleadings,
Motions, & Briefs
Latest Research from Pike
& Fischer
Events &
Conferences
Subscription Information
Who's Who in Internet Law?
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Latest News
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
Ninth
Circuit Vacates Injunction Barring Google Thumbnails of Nude
Photos
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit May 16 vacated a preliminary injunction that barred Google,
Inc. from displaying thumbnail versions of photographs found on an
adult-oriented web site, reasoning that the web site operator is unlikely
to prevail in overcoming Google's fair use defense. At issue was
Google's use of copyrighted photographs of nude models featured by Perfect
10, Inc. in its adult magazine and subscription web site. Perfect 10
generates it revenue from the sale of its magazine, subscriptions to its
web site, and licensing of reduced-size images for download to cell
phones. Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb
(P&F) 1821. Read
more ...
Other
Intellectual Property news:
· Policy
Group Advocates for Tech-Neutral, Competitive Sound Recording Royalty
Rates
· IT,
Consumer Groups Share Concerns Over Latest Draft of WIPO Broadcasters'
Treaty
· Software
Piracy Rates Decline with New Regulations, Report Says
· Berman
Announces Copyright Objectives at Launch of New Copyright Coalition
· WIPO
Chair Outlines Changes in Proposed Global Broadcast Treaty
·
Online
Resale Did Not Violate Author's Copyright
· Magician's
Take-Down Notice Challenged as Abusive
· Attorneys'
Fees Unwarranted When Alleged Domain Name Infringement Not in Bad
Faith
Search ILR's Intellectual
Property database
INTERNET COMMERCE
New
York Legislature Extends Consumer Protections to Online
Sales
The New York State Assembly gave
final legislative approval to a bill May 15 that would extend certain
consumer protections for purchases made by mail-order and telephone to
purchases made online (S. 4964). The bill, which requires approval
by Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), would extend to online retailers a number of
existing requirements for shipping and delivery, advertising, and
refunds. "With more and more people making purchases online, they
need assurances that the merchandise they buy arrives at their door and in
a reasonable amount of time," state Sen. Charles J. Fuschillo (R), the
chief sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection
Committee, said in a statement. Read
more ...
Other Internet
Commerce news:
· ICANN
Seeks Public Input on New Domain Name Application Process
·
EC
Approves Universal Buy of BMG Music but Independent Recording Artists May
Sue
· Internet-Based
Sales Rise 3.0 Percent to New Record High in First Quarter
·
New
Jersey Senate Advances Bills Barring Text Message Spam, Spoofed Sender
Data
· Public-Private
Initiative in France Will Track, Analyze, Crack Down on Spam
· Trade
Agency Worried Over Possible Rise in Malicious Spam Messages, Official
Says
· ALI
Discusses Limited-Scope, Even-Handed Treatment of Software Contracting
Principles
· Irish
Data Protection Commissioner's Report Cites 2006 Rise in E-Mail Spam
Complaints
Search ILR's Internet
Commerce database
FREEDOM OF
SPEECH
Roommates
Site Not Entitled to Immunity from Users' Answers to Profile-Building
Questions
An online roommate matching
service is not eligible for Communications Decency Act immunity from a
state-law claim arising from user messages posted in response to
structured, profile-building questions about roommate preferences, a
fractured U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held May
15. A majority of the court reasoned that defendant
Roommates.com's involvement in the creation and distribution of roommate
preference information submitted by its users—typically in response to
questions intended to facilitate the creation of a profile of each user
and the user's preferences in a roommate—was so extensive that
Roommates.com was responsible, at least in part, for the creation of the
information. Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v.
Roommates.com, LLC, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1819. Read
more ...
Search ILR's Freedom of
Speech database
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Economists
Bolster Frontline Plan as Company Prepares to File at
FCC
A pair of economists recommended
rules May 22 for the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction by the Federal
Communications Commission that would bolster a proposal put forward by
Frontline Wireless to build a nationwide public safety network.
Andrzej Skrzypacz and Robert Wilson from Stanford University were
commissioned by Frontline to prepare a report on the spectrum auction. The
full report will be released May 23 and will be included in the company's
filing at the FCC. Frontline first submitted its proposal to the FCC
in February. Essentially the company is seeking to build a
nationwide broadband network that would give first priority to public
safety. Read
more ...
Other
Telecommunications news:
· Changes
to RUS Broadband Program Too Little, Too Late, Sen. Roberts Says
· Rep.
Markey Gets Mixed Feedback on Draft Broadband Data Collection Bill
· EU
Official Describes Roles of State Aid, Competition Policy in Broadband
Access
· Supreme
Court Requires Plausible Grounds to Infer Accord to Avoid Motion to
Dismiss
· Senators
Introduce Reform Bill for RUS Broadband Loan Program
Search ILR's
Telecommunications database
PRIVACY & SECURITY
Privacy
Advocates Urge FCC to Wait on Auto-Location Rules
Concerned that the Federal Communications Commission may
act soon to adopt rules requiring automatic location information from
mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) devices, the Center for
Democracy and Technology (CDT) May 17 urged the agency to wait. The
commission in May 2005 adopted initial rules requiring all interconnected
VoIP providers to offer their customers enhanced 911 (E-911) service as a
standard feature of service. At that time, the commission sought
comment on whether mobile VoIP devices should automatically send out
location information for E-911 tracking. Read
more ...
Other Privacy
& Security news:
· Colleges,
Universities Must Monitor, Protect Online Privacy, or Zealous Regulators
Will
· Data
Security Markup Unlikely Until Summer, Says Chairman of House Financial
Services
· Maryland
Enacts Data Breach Notice Law; Four Other States May Still Follow in
2007
Search ILR's Privacy
& Security database
TAXATION
Indiana
Enacts New Law Updating Compliance with Streamlined Sales and Use Tax
Agreement
Indiana May 3 enacted
legislation (S.B. 502) that updates definitions and exemption certificate
provisions to maintain compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax
Agreement. The legislation repeals the multiple points of use
definition to comply with the streamlined agreement, and adds various
telecommunications related definitions. Moreover, the measure adds
prepaid wireless calling services, ancillary services, and Internet access
service to the sourcing provisions. Read
more ...
Other
Taxation news:
·
SSUTA
Panel Reviews, Does Not Finalize Digital Product Definitions, Delivery
Charges
· Tennessee
Senate Votes to Exempt Online Sales of Farm Products from State Sales
Tax
· SSUTA
Finance Panel Considers Reducing Membership Dues of
States
Search ILR's Taxation
database
CRIMINAL LIABILITY
House
Approves Legislation to Punish 'Spyware' Activities
The House May 22 approved legislation to establish criminal
penalties for individuals who install a "spyware" program on a computer
without the owner's permission. The "Internet Spyware Prevention
Act" (H.R. 1525), approved by voice vote with no amendments, would make it
a criminal offense to intentionally access a computer without
authorization and cause a "program or code" to be copied onto the computer
to further another federal criminal offense, obtain or transmit personal
information, or impair the security protections of a computer. Read
more ...
Search ILR's Criminal
Liability database
Latest Cases
· Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1829 [US Sup Ct] (Supreme Court requires plausible
grounds to infer accord to avoid motion to dismiss)
·
Clark v. Amazon.com (Findings and Recommendations), 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1823 [ED Cal] (Online resale did not violate author's
copyright)
· Del Junco v. Hufnagel, 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1827 [Cal Ct App] (Defamatory statements in
counterfeit web site are not protected by the public affairs exemption in
Cal. Civil Code §3344, subdivision (d))
· E-Pass
Technologies, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1815 [Fed Cir] (PDAs did not infringe patent relating
to the storage of information from various sources on one electronic
multi-function card)
· Fair Housing Council of San
Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC, 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1819 [9th Cir] (Online questionnaire renders roommate
matching service an "information content provider," ineligible for CDA
immunity)
· Green v. Fornario, 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1825 [3d Cir] (Lanham Act and cybersquatting case not
"exceptional" enough to merit an award of attorneys' fees)
·
Lockheed Martin Corp. v. UK Skunkworks Ltd., 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1693 [Nominet UK] (Defense contractor fails to wrest
control of domain name from seller of drug paraphernalia)
·
Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. Gateway, Inc., 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1691 [SD Cal] (Lucent has standing to sue Microsoft
for patent infringement in its own name without joining AT&T)
· Mullins v. Department of Commerce, 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1833 [Fed Cir] (No violation of fundamental fairness
when government employer "googled" employee's name and discovered prior
removal from federal service)
· Odom v. Microsoft
Corp., 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1831 [9th Cir] (RICO claims against Microsoft and
Best Buy improperly dismissed)
· Perfect 10, Inc. v.
Amazon.com, Inc., 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1821 [9th Cir] (Ninth Circuit vacates injunction
barring Google thumbnails of nude photos)
Search ILR's Cases
database
Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs
· Alexa
Internet v. Hornbaker (Complaint), 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1420 [ND Cal] (Web navigation business files
cybersquatting, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and other
claims against operator of alexaholic.com)
· Doe v. Geller (Complaint), 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1818 [ND Cal] (Copyright holder allegedly misused
DMCA to take down critic's YouTube video)
· Doe, aka "LASHWR45" on Yahoo! v. H.B. Fuller Co.
(Amici Curiae Brief in Support of Appellant), 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1814 [Cal Ct App] (EFF files amicus brief asking
court to use heightened discovery standards before allowing the disclosure
of an online critic's identity)
· Grisman v. YouTube, Inc. (Class Action
Complaint), 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1812 [ND Cal] (Musicians file class action for
copyright infringement against YouTube)
· Hepting v. AT&T Corp. (Amici Curiae Brief of
Electronic Privacy Information Center, et al.), 2007
ILRWeb (P&F) 1816 [9th Cir] (EPIC, CDT, and others urge Ninth
Circuit to hear warrantless surveillance case)
Search ILR's Pleadings
database
Latest Research from Pike
& Fischer
The White Space Opportunity: Spectrum as a Public Asset and
the Impact on Incumbents
The FCC is
in the final stages of deciding if and how to authorize use of the TV
broadcast "white space," which it could make available by early
2009. In this first-of-its-kind paradigm, we propose a detailed
white space policy designed to maximize the amount of spectrum made
available for "community" broadband networks. We highlight the
federal government's historic opportunity to directly and fully serve the
public interest. And as a final exercise, we consider the potential
impact that our proposed free public networks would have on incumbents'
revenues.
Cable
Commercial-Services Strategies
The nation's top cable
operators are launching a long-anticipated push to develop and deploy a
commercial services portfolio focused on the small and mid-sized business
(SMB) segment. In attacking this multibillion dollar opportunity, cable
companies have fundamental decisions to make regarding technology
solutions, the types of customers to target, the channel partners they
will leverage in reaching those customers, and service portfolios to
market through those channels. This 30+ page report provides an overview
of the commercial services strategies of the leading operators, analyzes
their existing and emerging capabilities, and details the critical success
factors for the cable industry in targeting the SMB opportunity. Learn
more.
