A New Era of Cybersquatting? — Trademark Webinar Next Week

Taking Trademarks to the Top Domain: Opportunities and Risks in the New gTLD Space
February 5, 2009 | 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EST
This webinar, co-sponsored by Pike & Fischer and the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, will address ICANN's forthcoming roll-out of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Join ABA Committee Chair Anthony Biller, along with Yahoo!'s J. Scott Evans, NeuStar's Jeff Neuman, Expedia's Tamara Reznik, and Covington & Burling's Kristina Rosette, as they assess the opportunities and risks for trademark owners in these new namespaces.  Register your entire staff for one low price to secure actionable insight and take-away recommendations. Learn more. Reduced rates available for ILR subscribers.
 

Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
British ISPs Urge Education, Copyright Law Remedies Before Regulation of P2P Sharing

Consumer education and better use of existing legal remedies for copyright infringement are the best solutions to illicit peer-to-peer file-sharing, U.K. Internet service providers told the British government in comments published Jan. 15.  The ISPs asked the government to avoid legislative or regulatory responses to unauthorized file-sharing over peer-to-peer networks.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news: 
 
·  Viacom Contractor Must Produce Documents About YouTube Crawler Software Investigation
·  Internet News Aggregator Infringement Case Settles
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Kentucky Appeals Court Rules Internet Domain Names Are Not 'Gambling Devices'

Internet domain names associated with websites facilitating illegal gambling activities are not gambling "devices" within the meaning of Kentucky's anti-gambling law, the Kentucky Court of Appeals held Jan. 20.  Because the domain names—141 in all—did not qualify as unlawful gambling devices, a state trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to order them seized under the commonwealth's anti-gambling law, Judge Michelle M. Keller ruled.  Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, Inc. v. Wingate, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1035.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  Defective Software Purchaser's 'Time Bomb' Theory Satisfies CFAA Pleading Requirements
·  Irish Court Rules DPC Has No Duty to Seek Informal Resolution Prior to Filing Spam Suit
·  CFAA Does Not Cover Employees' Misuse of Data They Have Authorization to Access
·  Class Alleges Illegal Netflix, Wal-Mart DVD Agreement
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
Outdated Whois Data Linked to Criticized Marketing Effort May Yield False Light Claim

A company that launched a web marketing campaign through a site it registered to a former employee may have to defend itself against false light invasion of privacy claims, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, ruled Dec. 23.  Judge Robert G. Dowd, Jr. ruled that parties who place others before the public in a false light in Missouri may be held liable for damages, the first decision to recognize the tort as distinct from defamation in the state.  Meyerkord v. Zipatoni Co., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3293.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Freedom of Speech news: 
 
·  Supreme Court Lets Stand Third Circuit's Ruling That COPA Violates First Amendment
·  Defamation Dispute Over Negative Yelp Post Settles
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Freedom of Speech database 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
Copps to Take Leadership of FCC Until Permanent Chairman Is Named

President Obama has designated Michael Copps, a senior Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, to serve as the agency's acting chairman, according to a statement released Jan. 22 by the commission.  Obama has yet to officially name a permanent chairman for the FCC.  He is expected to nominate Julius Genachowski, who was a senior member of his transition team.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Telecommunications news: 
 
·  FCC Operating Without a Chairman as Obama Administration Stays Silent
·  House Panel Alters Broadband Provisions in Stimulus Package
·  Adelstein Praises Academic Book, Says FCC Now Safe for New Ideas
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
WhiteHouse.gov Privacy Policy Excludes Video Services from Persistent Cookie Ban

The White House counsel's office Jan. 20 issued a waiver permitting services hosting videos visible on the WhiteHouse.gov site to set a persistent cookie when visitors access video footage.  The new policy is designed to advance the new administration's technology agenda, which aims to utilize cutting-edge technologies to enhance transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in government.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  HHS Issues Two Technical Rules to Facilitate E-Records Transition
·  U.K. Privacy Office Orders Government Department to Encrypt Portable Devices
·  Napolitano Issues Cybersecurity Directive; Sets Official Obama Cybersecurity Agenda
·  Hacked Internet Job Site Monster.com Says Passwords, IDs Compromised, Not SSNs
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Expedia, Other OTCs Sue Florida County to Block Assessments on Unpaid Hotel Taxes

In something of a turnabout, major online reservation companies like Travelocity.com LP, Orbitz LLC, and Expedia, Inc. Jan. 12 sued a Florida county to block assessments for unpaid tourist development taxes, a county official said Jan. 23.  Until now, in the long-running dispute between dozens of municipalities around the country and the online travel companies (OTCs) over what constitutes full payment of hotel occupancy taxes, it has been the cities and counties that have sued to recover what they claim is the systematic underpayment of the taxes by the OTCs.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Taxation news: 
 
·  Missouri Finds Web-Hosted Exemption Certificate Services Exempt from Sales Tax
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database

JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE 
 
Accessing Flickr Photo, Agreeing to Terms Not Purposeful Availment of Poster's Forum

Although an Australian company interacted with an American website and server and electronically contracted with a Texas photographer when it downloaded a Flickr photo, those contacts are not, on their own, enough to establish jurisdiction over the company in Texas in a dispute over the photo's later use in an Australian advertising campaign, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held Jan. 16.  Chang v. Virgin Mobile USA, LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1049.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Jurisdiction & Procedure news: 
 
·  AOL Forum Selection Clause Selecting Virginia Violates California Public Policy
·  Tribal Court Has No Jurisdiction Over Philip Morris Trademark Infringement Charge
·  Contract with Google Analytics Insufficient to Generate Jurisdiction in Unrelated Matter
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
Government Enforcing Recalled Product Rule with Online Searches, Content Filtering Tools

Last fall, Congress, with little fanfare, made it a crime to sell online products that have been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  The new law's recalled product provisions, which became effective immediately upon passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) (Pub. L. No. 110-314) last year, directly affect online sales venues such as eBay and craigslist, where millions of used items are bought and sold.  Subscribers read more ...

Subscribers may search ILR's Criminal Liability database 

Latest Cases 
 
·  American Airlines, Inc. v. Yahoo! Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1053 [ND Tex] (Forum selection clause does not pertain to claims brought by American Airlines against Yahoo)
·  Chang v. Virgin Mobile USA, LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1049 [ND Tex] (Accessing Flickr photo, agreeing to terms not purposeful availment of poster's forum)
·  Doe 1 v. AOL LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1031 [9th Cir] (AOL forum selection clause selecting Virginia violates California public policy) 
·  Enhanced Disclosure and New Prospectus Delivery Option for Registered Open-End Management Investment Companies (Final Rule), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1061 [SEC] (SEC adopts rule amendments, among others, that permit mutual fund prospectuses to be posted on a website)
·  Gatehouse Media Massachusetts I, Inc. v. New York Times Co. (Settlement Order of Dismissal), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1057 [D Mass] (Internet news aggregator infringement case settles)
·  Health Insurance Reform; Modifications to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Electronic Transaction Standards (Final Rule), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1037 [HHS] (Technical rule updates technical standards for electronic health care transactions under HIPAA)
·  HIPAA Administrative Simplification: Modifications to Medical Data Code Set Standards To Adopt ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS (Final Rule), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1039 [HHS] (Technical rule adopts expanded health care coding system, the "International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision" (ICD-10))
·  Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, Inc. v. Wingate, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1035 [Ky Ct App] (Internet domain names associated with websites facilitating illegal gambling activities are not gambling "devices" within the meaning of Kentucky's anti-gambling law)
·  Kalow & Springnut, LLP v. Commence Corp., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1041 [D NJ] (Allegations that software company sold software knowing it would fail on a certain date, causing data loss and requiring costly upgrades, sets out an actionable CFAA violation)
·  Life Alert Emergency Response, Inc. v. Lifealert Security, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3275 [CD Cal] (Contract with Google Analytics insufficient to generate jurisdiction in unrelated matter)
·  Mechanical and Digital Phonorecord Delivery Rate Determination Proceeding (Final Rule), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1063 [Copyright Royalty Board] (Copyright Royalty Judges announce final determination of the rates and terms for the use of musical works in physical phonorecords, permanent downloads, and ringtones; and adopt as final regulations the rates and terms for the use of musical works in limited downloads, interactive streaming, and incidental digital phonorecord deliveries)
·  Meyerkord v. Zipatoni Co., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3293 [Mo Ct App] (Missouri recognizes false light invasion of privacy where employer listed former employee as domain name registrant)
·  Missouri Department of Revenue Letter Ruling No. 5302 (Web-Hosted Exemption Certificates and Online Tax Return Preparation), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3291 [Mo Dep't Rev] (Missouri finds web-hosted exemption certificate services exempt from sales tax)
·  Philbrick v. eNom, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1047 [D NH] (Without inherent distinctiveness or secondary meaning, plaintiffs' mark not protected under ACPA, Lanham Act)
·  Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. King Mountain Tobacco Co., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1045 [9th Cir] (Tribal court has no jurisdiction over Philip Morris trademark infringement charge)
·  Pinero v. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1055 [ED La] (Mere violation of privacy policy promise didn't amount to contract breach, fraud)
·  Realm Communications Ltd. v. Data Protection Commissioner, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1043 [Ireland High Ct] (Irish court rules DPC has no duty to seek informal resolution prior to filing spam suit)
·  US Bioservices Corp. v. Lugo, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1051 [D Kan] (CFAA does not cover employees' misuse of data they have authorization to access)
·  Viacom International, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1059 [ND Cal] (Company hired by Viacom to identify copyrighted clips on YouTube must produce documents responsive to YouTube's subpoena)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc. (First Amended Complaint), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1010 [ND Cal] (Facebook brings CFAA, DMCA, CAN-SPAM, other claims against aggregator)
·  ICM Registry, LLC v. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Claimant's Memorial on the Merits), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1012 [Int'l Ctr Disp Res] (Registry states in a 522-page memo that ICANN violated its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, as well as relevant principles of international law and local law when it rejected ICM's application for the .xxx TLD)
·  Resnick v. Walmart.com USA LLC (Class Action Complaint), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1014 [ND Cal] (Complaint alleges Wal-Mart and Netflix's agreement to divide the markets for DVD sales and online DVD rentals violates the Sherman Act)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Broadband Competition Outlook 2009 – New!
The cable industry and telephone companies are facing some unsettling prospects in terms of customer growth and revenue increases – all the result of the economic downturn. Consumers are spending less as their job security becomes more tenuous and their discretionary income plummets. This stands to put a damper on spending for communications products and services in 2009. In this report, we offer more details on these trends and provide our forecasts on customer growth for new multichannel video services, high-speed Internet, IP telephony, and the features and applications that ride on those technologies. Among our projections is a forecast of 5.7 million new broadband households - down 12% from 2008 levels.  Learn More  Order Now

High-speed Internet Packaging and Pricing Strategies: 5th Edition - New!
Cable operators have continued keeping broadband prices relatively stable while steadily increasing data rates, and are using short-term discounting and entry-level tiers to attract price-sensitive customers and compete with generally lower DSL prices. But Verizon's FiOS service, which operates over a fiber-to-the-home network, is delivering the most speed for the dollar on both the downstream and upstream, according to our annual analysis of high-speed Internet pricing and promotions. This report includes in-depth examinations of the broadband pricing, bundling and marketing strategies of the top service providers, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision, Charter, Bright House, Qwest, AT&T and Verizon. The report ranks each provider by maximum speeds provided and by price points, and includes 20 tables and charts of data and analysis.  Learn More  Order Now

Events & Conferences 
 

Broadband Policy Summit V
Early Bird Discount—Save $100 -- Expires May 18, 2009
Sheraton Crystal City, Arlington, VA, June 18-19, 2009
As the Obama administration prepares to take the reins in Washington, a new age in telecommunications law and policy begins. Broadband Policy Summit V, Washington's preeminent broadband communications policy forum, promises more than ever to be the place to learn how to position your company and clients to thrive in this new broadband environment.  Learn More  Register Now


Global IP Exchange 2009
On February 22, 2009, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel from across the country will be gathering in Austin, Texas at the Barton Creek Resort, to meet, share information and receive expert advice from the world's leading minds in Intellectual Property. The third annual Global IP Exchange will present three days of engaging peer-level executive discussions, unique case-studies from leading corporations, and personalized meetings with experts in the industry. The unique format of the Exchange allows you to customize your own itinerary, ensuring that every session, advisory meeting and roundtable you attend is tied to your specific responsibilities and objectives. With this year's outstanding speaking faculty that includes John Doll, the Commissioner of Patents, USPTO (key note address) along with other industry leaders from 3M, Goodrich, Nortel, IBM, Palm, P&G and Time Warner, you will certainly be in good company.

View all Events & Conferences

Internet Law Attorney Directory

Find a lawyer ... Add a listing
Many of your colleagues have already added their names to Pike & Fischer's Internet Law Attorney Directory!  Isn't it time to add yours?  ILR subscribers are entitled to one complimentary premium listing per account. Additional listings and listings by non-subscribers can be purchased for $59.99 (or $79.99 for a premium boldfaced listing).  Use this form to submit your complimentary or paid listing today!

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.