December 16, 2009 
 
Social Networking in the Workplace – Webinar at 2 pm EST Today!
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·  Taxation
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Social Networking in the Workplace – Webinar at 2 pm EST Today!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EST
Is blocking Facebook the answer ... or is it enough? That's the question facing many businesses as employees communicate electronically both on and off the clock. Join legal experts from Hogan & Hartson, Intel, and IBM as they identify the legal risks inherent in social networking, and offer practical solutions for minimizing those risks and maximizing the bottom line.  Learn More  Register Now

Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
Student File Sharer's Fair Use Defense Rejected; Destruction of Copies Ordered

The fair use defense asserted by a university student accused of downloading copyrighted music files was so broad as to swallow the copyright protections that Congress created, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts held Dec. 7.  Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3217.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news: 
 
·  Biden Vows to Fight Copyright Piracy but Closes Door in Content Owner Meeting
·  Locke, Kappos Applaud EU, Member-State Ratification of WIPO 'Internet Treaties'
·  Paris Court Fines eBay €1.7 Million for Failure to Promptly Heed Injunctions
·  Simple Policies Best for Confidentiality, Related Issues Involving Social Media
·  Individual Who Used Mark on Gripe Site as Bargaining Tool Not Liable for Cybersquatting
·  Google Alleges Trademark Infringement, Cyberpiracy by Work-at-Home Promoters
·  Practitioners Say Google Image Search in France Imperiled by Recent Court Ruling
·  Trademark Need Not Be Registered, Exclusively Owned to Sustain ACPA Action
·  Domain Names Intended to Correct Typos Held Non-Infringing of Incorporated Mark
·  Google Distributes Supplemental Notice in Book Search Settlement
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Commerce Secretary Issues Call for Fresh Look at Internet Policies

Significant changes in e-commerce over the last decade will require the United States and other countries to take a fresh look at Internet policymaking, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said Dec. 9.  Those remarks came at a conference sponsored by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to examine international e-commerce issues.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
New Analysis & Perspective Article: Combating Claims of Computer Fraud and Abuse, by Adam Augustine Carter, Employment Law Group
·  OECD Conference Launches Review of E-Commerce Guidelines from 1999
·  Uniform E-Commerce Regulations Called Essential to Success of World Online Market
·  EU Antitrust Regulator Accepts Concessions from Rambus in 'Patent Ambush' Probe
·  Employees' Hard Drive Scrubbing to Mask Data Theft Was Not 'Without Authorization'
·  Plaintiff Suing Google for Deception Must Show Standing Before He Can Be Replaced
·  EU Antitrust Regulator to OK Oracle Buy Out of Sun Microsystems After New MySQL Offer
·  Judge Tosses Claims Wireless Firms Conspired on Pricing of Texting Services
·  FACTA Does Not Protect E-Mail Confirmations of Internet Purchases
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
Senate Judiciary Approves Media Shield Legislation Covering ISPs, News Providers

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Dec. 10 that would set conditions for federal law enforcement access to confidential information held by news services and other parties who collect information to disseminate news.   Subscribers read more ...

Subscribers may search ILR's Freedom of Speech database 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
Genachowski Adviser: Net Neutrality Rules Should Provide Clear Guidance to Industry

The chief counsel and senior legal adviser to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski Dec. 11 stressed the agency will recognize the technological differences between wireline and wireless networks when writing rules to preserve open Internet access, and said one of the chairman's priorities will be to ensure that the new rules provide clear guidance to the industry.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Telecommunications news: 
 
·  Broadband, Spectrum, USF Reform Top Agendas of FCC's Clyburn, Baker
·  Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case Dealing with Carrier's Franchise Agreement
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
Supreme Court Will Review Some, Not All Aspects of Quon SMS Monitoring Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 14 agreed to consider whether a police sergeant assigned to a SWAT team had a reasonable expectation of privacy in text messages transmitted on a department-issued pager and stored by an outside service provider, but denied review to questions of whether the outside provider's surrender of those messages violated the Stored Communications Act.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  OMB Announces New Transparency Mandate, Gives Agencies 45 Days to Publish New Data
·  House Easily Passes Legislation to Set National Data Breach Rules
·  House Approves Legislation to Protect Consumers from P2P File-Sharing Risks
·  EU Urged to Define eID Cards Privacy Parameters
·  UK ICO Seeks Public Comment on Draft Guidance for Online Data Controllers
·  Military Web Shopping Site Suspends Sale of Vendor's Software Over Privacy Issues
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Connecticut Mails Tax Bills to Residents Who Purchased Unstamped Cigarettes Via Internet

The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services said Dec. 10 it mailed nearly 1,000 bills this week to Connecticut residents who owe state taxes for unstamped cigarettes purchased over the Internet.  The agency said the initiative is part of its efforts to ensure taxpayer compliance with state cigarette and use tax laws.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Taxation news: 
 
·  Online Auction Listing Fees Tax Exempt in New York
·  SSUTA Dispute-Resolution Panel Hears Cases on Nevada, Software
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database 

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
13 More Service Providers Agree to Purge Sex Offenders, Cuomo Says

Google, Yahoo, and 11 other companies operating social networking sites have agreed to remove the accounts of registered sex offenders, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo (D) announced Dec. 10.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Criminal Liability news: 
 
·  Owner of Internet Pharmacies Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Criminal Liability database

Latest Cases 
 
·  Almeida v. Google, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3037 [ND Cal] (Named plaintiff in lawsuit alleging Google deceived its AdWords customers must show he has standing before a request for leave to substitute plaintiffs will be granted)
·  Amendments to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar—Rule 4-7.6, Computer Accessed Communications, In re (Revised Opinion), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3079 [Fla] (Court adopts amendments to website advertising rules)
·  Cleary Building Corp. v. David A. Dame, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3211 [D Colo] (Individual who registered a domain name containing a building company's mark where he complained about the company's work could not be sued for cybersquatting because the gripe site did not show a bad faith intent to profit)
·  Convertino v. United States Department of Justice, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3231 [D DC] (Communications to attorney sent via office e-mail account are protected by attorney-client privilege)
·  Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2005-041, Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) (Final Rule), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3219 [DOD] (Final rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require Internet Protocol Version 6 compliant products be included in all new IT acquisitions using Internet Protocol)
·  Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee Opinion No. 2009-20, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3085 [Fla Jud Ethics Adv Comm] (A judge may not "friend" lawyers who may appear before him, nor may he permit such lawyers to add the judge as their "friend")
·  FragranceNet.com, Inc. v. Les Parfums, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3221 [ED NY] (Keyword advertising complaint withstands motion to dismiss)
·  Hostess Brands, Inc. v. Domain Capital, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3227 [WIPO] (No sufficient evidence suggests that respondent targeted complainant's trademark when it purchased the domain name "hostess.com," inasmuch as "hostess" is a common word subject to substantial third-party use)
·  Karim v. Newsquest Media Group Ltd., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2925 [Royal Ct Just, QB (UK)] (Online newspaper not liable for comments posted by third parties)
·  Monex Deposit Co. v. Gilliam, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3223 [CD Cal] (Trademark registration is not required to bring an action under the ACPA, so long as the plaintiff owns and is using the trademark)
·  Mortgage Now, Inc. v. Stone, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3077 [ND Fla] (Mortgage company employees who allegedly "scrubbed" company computer hard drives to hide data theft could not be sued under the CFAA because they had permission to access the computers)
·  New York Office of Counsel Advisory Opinion TSB-A-09(52)S, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3083 [NY Dep't Tax Fin] (Online auction listing fees are tax exempt in New York)
·  Parfums Christian Dior et autres v. eBay, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3089 [Tribunal de Commerce de Paris (France)] (Paris court fines eBay €1.7 million for failure to promptly heed injunctions)
·  SafeWorks, LLC v. Spydercrane.com, LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3225 [WD Wash] (Domain names registered by a brand owner in anticipation of likely user misspellings are not likely to confuse consumers even if the resulting domain names are similar to another's registered mark, so long as the marks are used for different goods and services)
·  Sedersten v. Taylor, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3237 [WD Mo] (Disclosure of anonymous poster's identity is not warranted)
·  Shlahtichman v. 1-800 CONTACTS, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3235 [ND Ill] (Electronically displayed e-mail confirmations are not protected by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)
·  Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3217 [D Mass] (Widespread, unlimited file sharing does not constitute a "fair use" under the Copyright Act)
·  Text Messaging Antitrust Litigation, In re, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3233 [ND Ill] (Court rejects a consumer class action that alleged the four primary national providers of wireless phone services engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate pricing for text messaging services in violation of the Sherman Act)
·  Third Education Group, Inc. v. Phelps, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3087 [ED Wis] (Claim for misrepresentation under the DMCA is dismissed)
·  Tommy Bahama Group, Inc. v. Sexton, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3229 [ND Cal] (eBay seller of counterfeit goods liable for infringement)
·  United States v. Cioffi (Amended Memorandum and Order), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3081 [ED NY] (Evidence seized from personal e-mail account suppressed because warrant did not comply with Fourth Amendment)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Blues Destiny Records, L.L.C. v. Google, Inc. (Complaint), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3204 [ND Fla] (Record company sues file-sharing site as well as search engines for copyright infringement)
·  Google, Inc. v. Pacific WebWorks, Inc. (Complaint), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3206 [D Utah] (Google alleges that Utah company infringed its trademark in promoting and selling work-at-home kits)
·  Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. (Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2822 [ND Cal] (YouTube poster moves for partial summary judgment on several affirmative defenses raised by copyright holder who had sent a takedown notice allegedly in bad faith)
·  Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. (Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3028 [ND Cal] (Copyright holder argues that summary judgment on several of its affirmative defenses is not appropriate)
·  Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. (Plaintiff's Reply in Support of Motion for Partial Summary Judgment), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3030 [ND Cal] (YouTube poster argues that damages under DMCA §512(f) are not limited to pecuniary harm)
·  Lenz v. Universal Music Corp. (Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment – Refiled), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3208 [ND Cal] (Copyright holder argues that damages are a required element of a claim for a knowing misrepresentation under DMCA §512(f))
·  United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc. (Brief for the United States in Support of Rehearing En Banc by the Full Court), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3024 [9th Cir] (Government argues that en banc panel's decision on warrants to search computers is having an immediate and detrimental effect on law enforcement efforts)
·  United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc. (Appellees' Brief re Rehearing by the Full Court), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3026 [9th Cir] (Appellees oppose reconsideration, but take no position on whether the full Court or the en banc panel should review or clarify the en banc decision's guidelines for searches of electronic records)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Clearwire and the Outlook for 4G Competition – New!
This report examines Clearwire's services and device strategy, its partnerships, and its financial status. We also provide a forecast on Clearwire's subscriber base and revenues, and an outlook on the impact that LTE's emergence will have on Clearwire's competitive strength and on WiMAX as a whole.  Learn more about this research

Telemedicine and the Economic Stimulus: Broadband Opportunities in a Swelling Market – New!
In this report, Pike & Fischer provides descriptions of the latest telemedicine solutions offered in the professional and consumer markets by the top U.S. wireless carriers, MVNOs, cable operators, and application developers, along with 5-year annual revenue forecasts on telemedicine-related spending.  Learn more about this research

Cable Advanced Advertising Market Update and Forecast, 2nd Edition – New!
In this report, we update our analysis of the market, examine recent activity, and provide our adjusted forecast for U.S. cable operator advertising revenue through 2014.  Learn more about this research

Events & Conferences 


Broadband Policy Summit VI
Advance Early Bird Discount – Save $200 – Expires January 1, 2010
The Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row, Washington, D.C., June 10-11, 2010
Join us at BPS VI--the 2010 edition of the preeminent annual forum for the broadband telecommunications industry--to air and dissect the critical and complex issues facing broadband businesses and policymakers in the wake of the new National Broadband Plan. Interact with panels of top federal, state, and private sector players and top-level keynoters to gain invaluable, actionable insights into the industry's emerging shape and explore new developments in recurring themes. Register before January 1 at Early Bird Rates and save $200.  Learn More  Join us on LinkedIn

Introducing The Pipe
Pike & Fischer's Broadband Advisory Services team has launched a new blog, The Pipe, devoted to providing you with observations, insights and findings about everything broadband.  We welcome your comments and perspectives.

View all Events & Conferences

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