Weekly Alert
November 18, 2009
Publication Schedule
Latest News
• Intellectual Property
• Internet Commerce
• Freedom of Speech
• Telecommunications
• Privacy & Security
• Taxation
• Jurisdiction & Procedure
• Criminal Liability
Latest Cases
Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs
Latest Research from Pike & Fischer
Events & Conferences
• Social Networking in the Workplace - New Webinar
• Broadband Policy Summit VI - Advance Early Bird Discount
Internet Law Attorney Directory
Subscription Information
The ILR Weekly Alert will not publish the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The next issue will be dated Wednesday, December 2, 2009. The ILR staff wishes its readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Latest News
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Software Enabling Mac Operating System to Run on PCs Violated DMCA, Copyright Act
A company that sold software that decrypted the Mac OS X operating system and enabled it to run on non-Apple computers violated anti-circumvention and anti-trafficking provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and infringed Apple’s copyrights, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held Nov. 13. Apple, Inc. v. Psystar Corp., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3035. Subscribers read more …
Other Intellectual Property news:
• Revised Google Book Search Settlement Excludes Foreign Works, Shifts Other Terms
• Stakeholders Question Future of Business Method Patents After Bilski Oral Argument
• WIPO Official Touts Fast Track Procedure for Settling Internet Domain Name Disputes
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database
INTERNET COMMERCE
Website Terms Users Clicked to Accept, Plus Forum-Selection Clause, Were Binding
Users of the Match.com website who checked a box to accept the terms of service must pursue a lawsuit against the service in the forum designated in the contract, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held Oct. 28. Brodsky v. Match.com LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2901. Subscribers read more …
Other Internet Commerce news:
New Analysis & Perspective: Modern Contracts: Boilerplate Needs an Overhaul for the Information Economy, by Holly K. Towle, K&L Gates LLP
• Software Maker Not Liable in Husband’s Spyware Suit; ‘Humiliation’ Not Enough
• FTC Seeks Sanctions from Web Companies That Defied Order to Halt PC Marketing Scam
• UK Information Office Set to Approve Binding Corporate Rules for eBay, ICO Says
• FDA Should Be Flexible in Regulating Internet Marketing of Medical Products
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Journalist’s Use of Twitter in Court Banned as Impermissible ‘Broadcast’
Tweets are “broadcasts” for purposes of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, and as such may not be composed in the courtroom, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia ruled Nov. 2. United States v. Shelnutt, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3013. Subscribers read more …
Other Freedom of Speech news:
• Free Speech Issues Emerge as Judge Unmasks Identity of Online Commenter
Subscribers may search ILR's Freedom of Speech database
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Agencies Agree on One More Round to Distribute Last Broadband Funds
The two federal agencies charged with distributing $7.2 billion to support broadband infrastructure announced Nov. 10 that the remainder of the funds will be awarded in one final application round, not two as initially contemplated. Subscribers read more …
Other Telecommunications news:
• FCC Examines Broadband Questions Related to Business Adoption, Health IT
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database
PRIVACY & SECURITY
Public Outcry May Prompt Behavioral Tracking Laws, but Careful Drafting Needed
Consumer animosity towards behavioral marketing strategies remains high, and that negative energy may prompt legislation in the new year—but for Congress to be successful at regulating behavioral marketing, tighter definitions and a better understanding of consumer concerns are needed, privacy lawyers said Nov. 12. Subscribers read more …
Other Privacy & Security news:
• FTC Seeks More Time to Respond to Court Order on ‘Red Flag’ Rules
• ABA Panelists Study Work Privacy Issues; Law Unsettled on Social Media, Monitoring
• FTC Faces New Lawsuit Challenging ‘Red Flag’ Rules
• OECD Report Advises Governments, Business to Boost Confidence in Online Commerce
• APEC Ministers OK Cross-Border Data Transfer Privacy Enforcement Agreement
• U.K. Continues Push to Mandate Web Data Retention Despite Public’s Privacy Concerns
• Swiss Data Protection Agency Initiates Court Action Against Google Over Street View
• House Science Subcommittee Approves Bill Increasing NIST’s Cybersecurity Authority
• French Bill Proposes Breach Notification Requirement That Goes Beyond EU Measure
• Court Approves Customer Class Settlement in Hacking Breach at Montana Financial Firm
• OECD: Public, Private Sectors Should Join to Better Protect Consumer Privacy, Children
• Employee Holiday Online Shopping at Work Exposes Unwary Firms to Data Security Woes
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database
TAXATION
CBPP Claims Amazon’s Position on Sales Taxation Disingenuous
The primary arguments posed by Internet retailer Amazon.com against the collection of sales taxes by online retailers “do not withstand scrutiny,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said in a Nov. 16 report. Subscribers read more …
Other Taxation news:
• Indiana Found Noncompliant with SSUTA Digital Goods Provisions
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database
JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE
Social Networks Can Provide Valuable Evidence, but Lawyers Urge Careful Strategy
The popularity of social networking websites brings both benefits and risks to litigation: Networks can be invaluable sources of information on litigants, but the uncautious lawyer may find himself in over his head where evidence rules and ethics are concerned, attorneys speaking at Strafford Publications’s “Social Networking Websites: The Emerging Litigation Tool” webinar said Nov. 11. Subscribers read more …
Other Jurisdiction & Procedure news:
• GoDaddy’s Illinois Ads, Contracts, Revenues Did Not Target State for Jurisdiction Purposes
• Allowing Residents to Access Website Was Not Equivalent to Forum Targeting
• Registering Domain Name Similar to Forum Resident’s Did Not Create Jurisdiction There
Subscribers may search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database
CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Overbroad E-Mail Search Warrant Not Saved by Unincorporated Limiting Affidavit
A search warrant granting government officers permission to collect all of a defendant’s personal e-mails up to a certain date is, without some reference to an alleged crime, constitutionally overbroad, even in the presence of a limiting affidavit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held Oct. 26. United States v. Cioffi, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2887. Subscribers read more …
Other Criminal Liability news:
• State of the Art Hacker Ring Stole Millions from Credit Card Processor, Justice Alleges
Subscribers may search ILR's Criminal Liability database
Latest Cases
• American Association of Blood Banks v. Boston Paternity, LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2917 [D Md] (Court will not reconsider jurisdictional ruling based on evidence of “hidden” webpages)
• Apple, Inc. v. Psystar Corp., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3035 [ND Cal] (Software enabling Mac operating system to run on PCs violated DMCA, Copyright Act)
• Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc. (Amended Proposed Settlement Agreement), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3023 [SD NY] (Revised Google book search settlement excludes foreign works, shifts other terms)
• Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc. (Amended Proposed Settlement Agreement – Redlined Version), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3025 [SD NY] (Redlined version of the revised Google book search settlement)
• Bilski v. Kappos (Oral Argument of Nov. 9, 2009), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3015 [US] (Questions asked by justices seem to express doubt that a method of hedging consumption risk in commodities should be patentable, and more generally hint that they are suspicious of the concept of patenting a business method in the absence of a meaningful physical implementation)
• Brodsky v. Match.com LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2901 [SD NY] (Users of the Match.com website who checked a box to accept the terms of service must pursue a lawsuit against the service in the forum designated in the contract)
• Capital Confirmation, Inc. v. AuditConfirmations, LLC, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3019 [MD Tenn] (Colorado company’s interactive website could not form the basis for specific personal jurisdiction in Tennessee because the site did not reveal a specific intent to interact with state residents)
• Diagnostic Devices, Inc. v. Pharma Supply, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2911 [WD NC] (Puerto Rican company that registered and used a domain name similar to a North Carolina company’s did not direct its activities towards the state because its customers were located nationwide)
• Hayes v. SpectorSoft Corp., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 3017 [ED Tenn] (Man whose former wife targeted him with spyware failed to convince the court that his allegations and expert evidence against the software company support product liability and negligence claims under Tennessee law)
• Krottner v. Starbucks Corp., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2551 [WD Wash] (While an increase in the risk of identity theft is a constitutionally sufficient injury, plaintiffs have no injury cognizable under Washington common law)
• Lahoti