Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
Jury Awards $222,000 to Record Companies in Online File-Sharing Infringement Lawsuit 
 
A jury sitting Oct. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota found a woman who shared digital versions of recordings online liable for copyright infringement, and awarded $222,000 to the plaintiff record companies.  The jury awarded the plaintiffs $9,250 for each of the 24 copyrighted works it concluded defendant had infringed using the Kazaa file-sharing system.  Read more …

Other Intellectual Property news:
 
•  Licenses Not Granting Right to Make Derivatives Irrelevant to Trade Secret Claim
•  Watermark Signals Are Not Patentable Subject Matter Under Any §101 Category
•  IP Owners Say ICANN Should Remove Add-Grace Period for Domain Registrations
•  Vonage Settles Patent Litigation with Sprint
•  Attribution-Only License on Web Photo Will Not Permit Exploitative Uses, Complaint Says
•  Rewrite of Utah Trademark Protection Law Reportedly Removes Private Civil Enforcement
•  Violation of Open Source License Yielded Contract, Not Copyright, Claim
 
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INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Illinois’s New Wine Shipment Law Criticized by Online Retailers, Out-of-State Vineyards 
 
Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) Oct. 3 signed legislation permitting small wineries to ship limited quantities of their products directly to Illinois consumers, calling the bill a boon for the state’s “vibrant and growing wine industry.”  Blagojevich signed House Bill 429, which amends the Illinois Liquor Control Act. His action drew immediate fire from larger wineries in Illinois, out-of-state wine retailers, and Internet-based wine sellers, who complained the new law is actually designed to enhance economic control for a handful of powerful liquor distributors.  Read more …
 
Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
•  Actual Knowledge of Inadvertent Sending Makes Review of Metadata Improper in D.C.
•  SEC Moves Against Three Issuers in Bid to Halt E-Mail Securities Spam
•  Class Certified in Target Accessibility Suit; State Anti-Bias Laws Apply to Web Site Too
 
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FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
No Liability for Search Engine When Result Omitted Line Breaks, Created New Meaning 
 
A search engine that does not include an original source’s line breaks in its query results enjoys immunity from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act when the result may be construed with a new meaning, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held Sept. 26.  The court refused to hold an Internet search engine liable for material it produced in response to a user’s query when nothing but the spacing differed from the original source.  Murawski v. Pataki, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2663.  Read more …
 
Other Freedom of Speech news: 
 
•  Justices Let Stand Ruling That Net-Connected Firm Was CDA ‘Computer Services’ Provider
 
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
Google Urges FCC to Reject Verizon’s Vision of Auction Rules 
 
Google filed a letter Oct. 1 with the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency not to adopt Verizon’s “interpretation” of the open access conditions contained in the rules that will govern the upcoming auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz band.  Verizon is opposed to the open access conditions that will apply to a large, 22 MHz block of spectrum known as the C Block, that will be auctioned in January 2008.  Read more …
 
Other Telecommunications news: 
 
•  FCC Releases Audit Information from Universal Service Fund Review
•  Sen. Smith Pushes Four Bills to Spur Broadband Growth in U.S.
•  Text Messaging, High-Speed Data Fees Targeted for Revision by EU Commissioner
 
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PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
New Jersey Subpoena Seeks Details on Sex Offenders’ Facebook Profiles 
 
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram (D) announced Oct. 2 that her office issued a subpoena to Facebook.com requesting all available information about any Facebook user identified as a convicted New Jersey sex offender, including the names and addresses provided during registration.  The subpoena, which was issued Oct. 1 and has a return date of Oct. 12, also asked Facebook about its policies related to Internet safety and policies concerning minors’ use of the site.  Read more …
 
Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
•  Article 29 Working Party to Discuss SWIFT, Search Engines, SOX Issues at Next Meeting
•  DHS IG Asked to Investigate Conduct of Agency IT Contractor Following Hacking
•  Warrantless Surveillance Under FISA Deemed Violation of Fourth Amendment
•  House Democrats Unveil Wiretap Bill Without Telecom Immunity Language
 
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TAXATION
 
Washington Legislative Panel Reviewing Taxation of Digital Products 
 
A Washington joint legislative committee is beginning to study the taxation of electronically delivered products, as mandated by a proviso in the 2007-08 operating budget (H.B. 1128).  The committee, which held its first meeting Oct. 2, will consider issues such as what digital goods are, whether some constitute services, and when intangible goods are taxable, the committee chair, Rep. Ross Hunter said Oct. 3.  Read more …

Other Taxation news: 
 
•  Temporary Extensions of Internet Tax Ban Create Uncertainty, Hurting Firms, Panel Told
•  House Republicans Urge Action on R&D Credit, Internet Moratorium
 
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Latest Cases 
 
•  D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Opinion 341 (Review and Use of Metadata in Electronic Documents), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2673 [DC Bar] (Actual knowledge of inadvertent sending makes review of metadata improper in D.C.)
•  Emke v. Compana, L.L.C., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2685 [ND Tex] (Plaintiff has stated a conversion claim under California law, which has specifically held that domain names, though intangible property, may be the basis for a conversion claim)
•  General Universal Systems, Inc. v. HAL, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2675 [5th Cir] (Licenses not granting right to make derivatives irrelevant to trade secret claim)
•  Jacobsen v. Katzer, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2487 [ND Cal] (Violation of open source license yielded contract, not copyright, claim)
•  LaFace Records, LLC v. Does 1-5, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2689 [WD Mich] (Court grants record companies leave to take immediate discovery to learn the identities of students alleged to have illegally distributed or downloaded copyrighted sound recordings at Northern Michigan University)
•  Mayfield v. United States, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2657 [D Ore] (Warrantless surveillance under FISA deemed violation of Fourth Amendment)
•  Murawski v. Pataki, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2663 [SD NY] (No liability for search engine when result omitted line breaks, created new meaning)
•  National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corp., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2801 [ND Cal] (Class certified in Target accessibility suit; state anti-bias laws apply to web site too)
•  Nuijten, In re, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2687 [Fed Cir] (Watermark signals are not patentable subject matter under any §101 category)
•  S&L Vitamins, Inc. v. Australian Gold, Inc., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2691 [ED NY] (Purchasing keywords and use of marks in metadata not a “use in commerce” for Lanham Act purposes)
•  Smith v. Café Asia, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2803 [D DC] (While FRCP 6 does not support motion to compel inspection and production of images stored on plaintiff’s cell phone, plaintiff is ordered to preserve the images and to permit inspection by one attorney designated by defendant)
•  Southwest Airlines Co. v. BoardFirst, L.L.C., 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2693 [ND Tex] (Browsewrap agreement enforceable; injunction an appropriate remedy)
•  United States v. Ferguson, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2677 [D DC] (Government’s reliance on Stored Communications Act was objectively reasonable; content of e-mails will not be suppressed)
•  United States v. Kilbride, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2679 [D Ariz] (Ruling on objections to the draft presentence report in CAN-SPAM Act case)
•  United States v. Kilbride, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2681 [D Ariz] (Application of sentencing guidelines to CAN-SPAM Act conviction)
•  Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. v. Ideal World Direct, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2683 [SD NY] (In case alleging contributory copyright infringement against three web site operators, the court lacks jurisdiction over two defendants)
 
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Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
•  Chang v. Virgin Mobile USA, LLC (Plaintiffs’ Original Petition), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2614 [Tex Dist Ct] (Attribution-only license on web photo will not permit exploitative uses, complaint says)
•  Smith v. Apple, Inc. (Class Action Complaint), 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2800 [Cal Super Ct] (Class action lawsuit alleges that Apple’s agreement with AT&T as the exclusive provider of cell phone service for the iPhone violates antitrust laws and regulations promulgated under the DMCA)
 
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Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Video-on-Demand Usage: Projections & Implications - New
Service providers are now eager to develop new business models for on-demand services. Comcast, for example, has had talks with some Hollywood studios about the possibility of delivering movies on demand on the same day they are released in theaters. Some executives project that multichannel video will eventually become all on-demand. This Market Intelligence Brief provides some current statistics on VOD usage, outlines the VOD strategies of the top multichannel video providers, and projects the growth of video-on-demand consumption over the next five years – and what that will mean in terms of revenue opportunities.  We conclude that VOD will represent substantially less than half of all TV viewing per household on a monthly basis by 2012.

Market Intelligence Brief: Location-based Services for the Mobile Market
The integration of GPS navigation services with social networking applications, rich media, and user-generated content will create a host of easily monetized location-based services (LBS). But the top five U.S. wireless carriers have yet to implement a comprehensive and value-added LBS strategy. Nevertheless, our forecasts suggest that by 1Q 08, the market will witness the widespread use of applications that allow users to locate points of interest based upon customized profiles, as well as track and interact with other like-minded users. This market brief will analyze the current LBS strategies of the top five US mobile carriers, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint-Nextel, T-Mobile, and Alltel; as well as emerging LBS technologies, Mobile Web 2.0 integration, and industry standards. Lastly, this brief will examine prospective LBS service models and provide relevant competitive, revenue, and market analysis.

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Events & Conferences 
 
Legal Risk Management in the Web 2.0 World - DVDs Recordings Available
Over 120 business and legal professionals joined Pike & Fischer for this inaugural and groundbreaking legal forum where the growing array of legal risks associated with social networking, user-generated content (UGC) and other applications in the burgeoning Web 2.0 world were discussed and debated at length.   Attendees learned more about existing and potential Web 2.0 liabilities and how best to manage the risks of their organizations and those of their clients.  
Missed the event?  Order a DVD recording of select panels and keynotes.
Learn more    Order Now

Net Neutrality: Still on the Front Burner - Audio Recording 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

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