Web 2.0 Forum is Next Week!

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Our program includes top-shelf Keynote speakers from the MPAA, AOL, and Facebook who will share their opinions, insights and expertise about the opportunities and associated legal risks arising from video distribution, social networking, user-generated content, and other Web 2.0 applications.

View the entire program with all confirmed speakers - which includes industry experts and senior executives from Microsoft, Harvard Law School, NBC Universal, The Copyright Alliance, Wiley Rein, Xanga.com, ITAA, Dow Lohnes, Hogan & Hartson, Proskauer Rose, Covington & Burling, The Verticom Group, Blue Beacon Capital, Gannett, and many, many more.

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Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
Google, American Blind Settlement Leaves AdWords Controversy Unsettled 
 
A federal judge Sept. 5 dismissed litigation between Google, Inc. and American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc. over the use of keywords in advertisements placed on search results.  U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, for the Northern District of California, signed the stipulation dismissing the preemptive lawsuit Google filed and American Blind's counterclaims over the search site's AdWords advertising program.  Google, Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc. (Stipulation of Dismissal of Action With Prejudice; Order), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2605.  Read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news:
 
·  House-Passed Patent Reform Bill Pleases Tech Firms, Dissatisfies Others
·  Online Video Sharing Site Sues Recording Firm for Declaration of Non-Infringement
·  Court Sets 'Substantially Similar' Threshold at 70% in Web-Based Infringement Dispute
 
Search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Domain Names Subject to Levy Where Registry or Registrar Is Located 
 
Where a creditor sought the appointment of a receiver to aid in the turnover of domain names owned by a judgment debtor, a federal district court in California had to decide whether the location of the domain name registrar or the location of the registry was the appropriate place to levy upon the domain names.  The answer, according to a Sept. 10 decision of the Northern District of California, is both.  Office Depot, Inc. v. Zuccarini, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2617.  Read more ...
 
Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  Compensation Talks in WTO Gambling Case Could Extend Beyond Sept. 22, U.S. Says
·  FTC Initiates Review of Rule on Mail Order Merchandise
·  California Attorney Has Duty to Surrender Client Property Stored in Electronic Form
·  ICANN Policy Arm Moves Forward on gTLDs, Vows Continued Review of Whois Procedures
 
Search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
Malware Blocker Allowing User Control of Filter Options Qualifies for CDA Immunity 
 
A malware-blocking software program that allows users to control filter settings enjoys immunity from liability under the Communications Decency Act, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held Aug. 28.  The filtering program, the court said, met all requirements for so-called "good samaritan blocking" under the 1996 Communications Decency Act, 47 USC §230, and was not liable for harm felt by applications that were filtered out.  Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2477.  Read more ...
 
Other Freedom of Speech news: 
 
·  National Security Letter Process Violates Free Speech, Separation of Powers Doctrines
·  Fallout from Police Officer's Online Sex Business Justified Termination, Ninth Circuit Rules
·  Dating Web Site Was Not CDA 'Provider' of False Answers to User Profile Questions
 
Search ILR's Freedom of Speech database 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
DOJ Urges FCC to Exercise Caution Before Adopting 'Net Neutrality' Rules 
 
Free market competition that is "unfettered by unnecessary governmental regulatory restraints, is the best way to foster innovation and development of the Internet," according to an ex parte filing from the Justice Department's Antitrust Division submitted to the Federal Communications Commission Sept. 6.  The department urged the FCC to "be highly skeptical" of regulations that would govern the transmission of traffic across the Internet—also called "net neutrality" rules.  In re Broadband Industry Practices (Ex Parte Filing United States Department of Justice), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2602.  Read more ...
 
Other Telecommunications news: 
 
·  Federal-State Joint USF Board Decides Tentatively to Support Inclusion of Broadband
·  USF Joint Board Statement Gets Mixed Reaction from Carriers
·  European Commission to Establish Electronic Communications Market Authority
·  Broadcasters Argue 'White Spaces' Devices Will Cause Harmful Interference
 
Search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
Some NSA Spying Files May Be Withheld; Court Orders Better Justification on Others 
 
Some documents concerning the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program were properly withheld from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, but the federal government must supply more detailed justifications for denying many other documents sought by public interest groups, a federal court ruled Sept. 5.  The decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted partial summary judgment to the Justice Department.  Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Department of Justice, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2613.  Read more ...
 
Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  House Judiciary Chair Renews Call for Warrantless Surveillance Details
·  French Court Upholds Data Retention Rule, Reimbursement Fees for ISP, Telecom Logs
·  Luxembourg Updates Data Protection Law, Personal Data Use Notice, Approval Eased
·  California Lawmakers Send to Governor Bill to Hold Merchants Liable for Breaches
·  Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Admits Leak of Personal Data of 7,000 Onto Internet
 
Search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
New French Copyright Tax Rules Published for Devices; Application from Oct. 1 
 
France published Sept. 9 new rules for the application of controversial copyright protection taxes to a range of hybrid digital recording devices—including Universal Serial Bus memory keys, flash memory cards, and external computer hard drives—that were previously outside the realm of the tax system.  The new rules, approved by the French government commission that oversees the copyright protection tax last June, will go into effect Oct. 1.  Read more ...

Search ILR's Taxation database

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
Indictment Alleges File-Sharing Programs Were Used to Illegally Search Tax Returns 
 
A Seattle resident was indicted and arrested Sept. 5 on four criminal counts linked to using "peer-to-peer" computer file-sharing programs to search other computers for electronically stored federal income tax returns, credit information, and student financial aid applications, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington said Sept. 6.  United States v. Kopiloff (Indictment), CR 07-0309 JLR.  Read more ...
 
Other Criminal Liability news: 
 
·  Illinois Enacts Child Exploitation Crime Law with First in the Nation IP Address Registry
·  Nevada Man Agrees to Plead Guilty in Phony Domain Name Infringement Scam
 
Search ILR's Criminal Liability database 

Latest Cases 
 
·  BensBargains.net, LLC v. XPBargains.com, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2453 [SD Cal] (Court sets 'substantially similar' threshold at 70% in web-based infringement dispute)
·  California State Bar Ethics Opinion No. 2007-174, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2491 [Cal State Bar] (California attorney has duty to surrender client property stored in electronic form)
·  Dible v. City of Chandler, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2607 [9th Cir] (Police officer's First Amendment rights were not violated when he was terminated for running a web site featuring sexually explicit photographs and videos of his wife)
·  Doe v. Gonzales, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2611 [SD NY] (National security letter process violates free speech, separation of powers doctrines)
·  Doe v. SexSearch.com, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2461 [ND Ohio] (Dating web site was not CDA 'provider' of false answers to user profile questions)
·  Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Department of Justice, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2613 [D DC] (Some NSA spying files may be withheld; court orders better justification on others)
·  Golan v. Gonzales, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2603 [10th Cir] (Eldred forecloses challenge to CTEA; URAA provision, which removes works from the public domain, demands First Amendment scrutiny)
·  Google, Inc. v. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory, Inc. (Stipulation of Dismissal of Action With Prejudice; Order), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2605 [ND Cal] (Google, American Blind settlement leaves AdWords controversy unsettled)
·  Interscope Records v. Rodriguez, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2497 [SD Cal] (RIAA complaint against alleged P2P file-sharer fails to sufficiently plead a claim upon which relief can be granted)
·  Jacobsen v. Katzer, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2487 [ND Cal] (Alleged violation of open source license does not create liability for copyright infringement)
·  Office Depot, Inc. v. Zuccarini, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2617 [ND Cal] (Domain names subject to levy where registry or registrar is located)
·  Paul Frank Industries, Inc. v. Sunich, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2489 [CD Cal] (Designer, who left company bearing his name, is precluded from using personal name in a manner that would be confusingly similar to the company's use of its trademark)
·  Red Bull GmbH v. Snyder, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2483 [WIPO] (Phrase "better than" is not a pejorative akin to "sucks," so domain name that appends "better than" before complainant's trademark is confusingly similar)
·  Roth for Congress, In re, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2609 [FEC] (An individual's unpaid use of equipment and services for blogging, creating, or hosting a web site for the purpose of influencing a federal election are not expenditures subject to the restrictions of campaign finance law)
·  United States v. Herndon, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2495 [6th Cir] (Probation officer engaged in a lawful inspection of defendant's computer, pursuant to his authority under the terms of probation, which included a prohibition on home Internet access)
·  United States v. Kilbride, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2493 [D Ariz] (Motion for judgment of acquittal in CAN-SPAM case denied)
·  United States v. Schaefer, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2615 [10th Cir] (Defendant's use of the Internet, standing alone, was not sufficient to establish that the child-pornography images at issue moved across state lines)
·  Yield Dynamics, Inc. v. TEA Systems Corp., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2485 [Cal Ct App] (Plaintiff failed to establish that eight routines in computer source code possessed the independent value necessary to constitute a trade secret)
·  Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2477 [WD Wash] (Malware blocker allowing user control of filter options qualifies for CDA immunity)
 
Search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Broadband Industry Practices, In re (Ex Parte Filing United States Department of Justice), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2602 [FCC] (DOJ urges FCC to exercise caution before adopting 'net neutrality' rules)
·  DivX, Inc. v. UMG Recordings, Inc. (Complaint for Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2604 [SD Cal] (Operator of video hosting service seeks declaration of non-infringement)
·  Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, Inc. v. D'Avella (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2422 [NJ Super Ct] (Grocery store chain sues two former employees who created allegedly disparaging video and posted it on YouTube)
·  National Security Archive v. Executive Office of the President (Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2600 [D DC] (National Security Archive seeks order requiring White House to recover and restore e-mails that were improperly deleted from servers)
·  Perfect 10, Inc. v. CC Bill LLC (Petition for a Writ of Certiorari), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2424 [US Sup Ct] (Online publisher challenges 9th Circuit decision that CDA immunizes providers from state intellectual property law claims)
 
Search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Competitive Analysis: U.S. Mobile Broadband Services Strategies 2007
A number of emerging mobile applications will be significant drivers of revenue growth in the wireless services market. Many of these applications – particularly those that rely on mobile broadband technology -- will redefine the competitive position and strength of key players in the market. This analysis discusses the content, services, and applications employed and planned by the key players in the U.S. wireless market, and assesses the strengths, weaknesses, and potential for success of each. The reort also includes predictions on the competitive dynamics that will result from the emergence of mobile broadband services. AT&T, Sprint Nextel, Verizon, T-Mobile, Alltel, and others are covered. 

Fiber Optic Telecommunications Networks: Construction Contracts
This second volume of James Booth's treatise on fiber optic telecommunications networks will assist owners and contractors in preparing clear and viable contracts for the construction of elements of telecommunications systems. The author discusses the important elements of a construction contract from both the owner's perspective and the contractor's perspective, and offers alternate clauses to suit the varying needs of individual owners and contractors. The key elements of fiber optic construction agreements--from achieving clarity in describing the work to be performed to providing fairness and security in the termination clause--are covered in clear, easy to adopt text and incisive explanatory comments. 

View all Market Research Reports & Briefs

Events & Conferences 
 
Net Neutrality: Still on the Front Burner - Summit Audio Recording Now Available
It's not too late to catch the debate that took center stage at Pike & Fischer's Broadband Policy Summit.  Purchase this 75-minute audio recording and listen in as our panel of experts engage in a lively debate of the pros and cons of net neutrality and whether or not legislation is likely to pass in the 110th Congress.   You'll hear the very latest insights and opinions from top organizations in the thick of the net neutrality debate -- including Jim Cicconi of AT&T; Gigi Sohn, President of Public Knowledge; Mike McCurry, Partner, Public Strategies and Paul E. Misener of Amazon.com.  
Learn More   Order Now

View all Events & Conferences

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