Broadband Policy Summit IV - Next Week - Register Now!

Broadband Policy Summit IV - Navigating the Digital Revolution
The Westin Embassy Row, Washington, D.C., June 12 -13, 2008
Reserve your seat today at Washington's preeminent annual policy forum.  BPS IV will once again play host to the nation's top federal, state, and private sector players who will discuss and debate the critical issues facing the broadband industry, including the 700 MHz spectrum auction, wireless broadband, network management/net neutrality, broadband deployment and more.  Confirmed keynotes include FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps, FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, Ambassador David Gross and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).  View the Summit program.  Group, academic and gov't rates available. 
 

Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
Mormon Church Defenders Not Liable for Website Parodying Church Critics 
 
In a tussle between critics and defenders of the Mormon Church, the defenders' parodying website did not give rise to liability for trademark infringement, unfair competition, or cybersquatting, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held May 23.  Affirming summary judgment for the Mormon Church defenders, the court upheld the trial court's finding that they derived no financial benefit from their website and thus their use of the critics' trademark was for parody, not for commercial purposes.  Utah Lighthouse Ministry v. Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1867.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news:
 
·  Five Years After Losing in High Court, Victoria's Secret Wins Summary Judgment of Dilution
·  Google Book Search Project, Infringement Liability in Digital Environment Debated
·  Increasing Mobile Content Prompting Evolution of Digital Media, Devices, Platforms
·  YouTube Seeks Dismissal of Copyright Infringement Allegations on DMCA Grounds
·  Yahoo! Sues Anonymous Operatives of Lottery Hoax
·  High Court Declines Review in Two Online Content Cases
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Google AdWords Pricing Practices May Support California False Advertising Claim 
 
Advertisers alleging they were misled by Google, Inc.'s practice of charging AdWords subscribers up to 120 percent of their "daily budget" on any given day may proceed with a false advertising suit against the search company, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held May 14.  The court denied Google's motion for summary judgment on the false advertising claim, holding that it could not be determined before trial whether ordinary consumers would have been misled by the company's use of the term "daily budget."  CLRB Hanson Industries, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1877.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  Specific, Personal Injury Must Precede Antitrust Allegations Against Amazon.com
·  States Busy with Anti-Spam Bills During Recent Session, Though Few Were Passed
·  Senator Expects Passage of Canadian Spam Bill with Criminal Penalties, Fines
·  Online Bookstore's Free Shipping Practices No Violation of French Law
·  Registrar Not Honoring UDRP Faces Breach Action
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
MySpace-AG Pact Puts on Hold State Efforts to Limit Child Access to Social Network Sites 
 
State lawmakers have had little success in the 2008 legislative season moving legislation that would go beyond federal law and impose new limits on access by children to social networking, virtual world, and other websites.  "The lack of action by state lawmakers should not really come as a surprise," given recent industry self-regulatory initiatives underway, Denise Tayloe, president and chief executive officer of Vienna, Va.-based Privo, said.  Privo works with companies to ensure that children who visit websites are protected through a proprietary "identity and permission management platform."  Subscribers read more ...
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Freedom of Speech database 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
Colorado Law Extends 911 Charge to VoIP Services 
 
Colorado April 25 enacted legislation (H.B. 1249) clarifying that emergency (911) telephone charges apply to prepaid wireless and Internet-based telephone services.  The measure amends Colorado Revised Statutes Section 29-11-102 to specify that such charges apply to "interconnected voice-over-Internet-protocol service."  Subscribers read more ...
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
Privacy Groups Ask Google to Place Link to Privacy Policy on Home Page 
 
Over a dozen privacy groups June 3 called on Google, Inc. to include a direct link to its privacy policy on its home page, saying in a letter to Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt that compliance with California's Online Privacy Protection Act requires Google to post a home-page link to its privacy policy.  The groups said Google could easily provide such a link without marring the well-known simplicity of its home page.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  Canada's Federal Privacy Commissioner Investigating Complaint Against Facebook
·  EU Cybersecurity Agency Urges Adoption of Business Data Breach Reporting Law
·  Attacks Increase as Hackers Exploit Vulnerabilities in Hospital IT Systems
·  Company to Pay $250,000 to Settle Probe Into Sale of Credit Data, New York AG Says
·  House Democrats Propose Legislation to Shield Power Systems from Cyber Attacks
·  Businesses Decry EU Data 'Overprotection'; Hustinx Says BCRs Best Route for Transfers
·  Oklahoma Agency Taking Steps to Prevent Future Data Releases
·  GAO Calls for Agency to Tighten Information Security, Systems Data Access
·  TVA Needs to Improve Data Security to Withstand Cyber Attacks, GAO Says
·  Public Defender Not ECPA 'Government Entity'
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Overstock.com Challenges Constitutionality of New York's Law on Internet Sales Taxes 
 
Overstock.com, Inc. filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court May 30 challenging the state tax law requiring Internet retailers to collect and pay the state tax on their in-state sales, despite the fact the retailer has no physical presence or nexus in New York.  According to the complaint, the online retailer is seeking a declaration that the recently enacted tax statute, both on its face and as applied to Overstock.com, violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Due Process clauses of the U.S. and New York constitutions.  Overstock.com, Inc. v. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (Complaint), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1822.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Taxation news: 
 
·  SSUTA Panel to Take Up Limit on Sales Tax Holiday Exemptions
·  Russia's Finance Ministry Clarifies VAT Imposed on Intellectual Property
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database

JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE 
 
Judicial Notice Taken of User Agreement Available Online, in Previous Litigation Files 
 
Judicial notice of eBay's User Agreement readily available on its website and in previous litigation files was appropriate where a complaint against the company relied extensively upon its terms, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held May 5.  Judge Ronald M. Whyte declined to take judicial notice of numerous other webpages and forms eBay submitted, however, because their contents were in dispute.  Missing Link, Inc. v. eBay, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1861.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Jurisdiction & Procedure news: 
 
·  Website Providing Company Information Only Is No Basis for Personal Jurisdiction
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
Sending Hyperlink to Child Porn Not Actionable as Pornography 'Distribution' 
 
Sending a hyperlink to a Yahoo! remote server that contains child pornography is not a "distribution" for purposes of the Child Pornography Prevention Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces held May 14.  The court said sending a link pointing to pornography is not the same as actually distributing pornography.  Hyperlinks do not themselves contain illicit data, and they only technically translate into URLs, not content, the court said.  United States v. Navrestad, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1859.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Criminal Liability news: 
 
·  Security Firm Traces 'Whaling Scam' to Chinese Hacker, Faked Tax Court E-Mails
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Criminal Liability database 

Latest Cases 
 
·  Archipel, Inc. v. Yunsik, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1873 [WIPO] (Mere lack of active use of domain name is not sufficient by itself to establish bad faith registration)
·  CLRB Hanson Industries, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1877 [ND Cal] (Google's practice of charging AdWords customers up to 120% percent of their "Daily Budget" is not in and of itself a breach of contract, but it may constitute false advertising in violation of California Unfair Competition Law)
·  Doninger v. Niehoff, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1865 [2d Cir] (Lower court properly concluded that high school blogger failed to demonstrate likely success on First Amendment claim)
·  France Telecom E-Commerce v. Syndicat de la Librairie Française, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1863 [Cour de Cassation (France)] (France's top appeals court rules that an Internet bookseller's offer of free delivery on purchases did not violate a French law that tightly regulates price competition in book sales)
·  Gerlinger v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1853 [9th Cir] (Specific, personal injury must precede antitrust allegations against Amazon.com)
·  Missing Link, Inc. v. eBay, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1861 [ND Cal] (Judicial notice of eBay's User Agreement readily available on its website and in previous litigation files was appropriate where a complaint against the company relied extensively upon its terms)
·  On Site Gas Systems, Inc. v. USF Technologies, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1869 [D Conn] (Website providing company information only is no basis for personal jurisdiction)
·  Tdata, Inc. v. Aircraft Technical Publishers, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1875 [SD Ohio] (While actual confusion is not relevant to the trademark infringement analysis in initial interest confusion cases, actual confusion is relevant to the issue of causation and the appropriateness of damages)
·  United States v. Amawi, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1851 [ND Ohio] (Federal public defender is not a "government entity" that can seek a court order under the ECPA compelling the production of electronic communications)
·  United States v. Giberson, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1871 [9th Cir] (Seizure of computer did not exceed scope of warrant where there was ample evidence that the documents authorized in the warrant could be found on defendant's computer)
·  United States v. Navrestad, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1859 [CAAF] (Sending hyperlink to child porn not actionable as pornography 'distribution')
·  Utah Lighthouse Ministry v. Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1867 [10th Cir] (Mormon church defenders not liable for web site parodying church critics)
·  V Secret Catalogue, Inc. v. Moseley, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1857 [WD Ky] (Five years after losing in Supreme Court, Victoria's Secret wins summary judgment of dilution against sex shop)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic PIPEDA Complaint: Facebook, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1820 [Can Priv Comm'r] (Law students allege that Facebook violates Canadian privacy law)
·  Overstock.com, Inc. v. New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (Complaint), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1822 [NY Sup Ct] (Overstock.com challenges constitutionality of New York's law on Internet sales taxes)
·  Viacom International, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. (Defendants' Answer to First Amended Complaint), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1816 [SD NY] (YouTube seeks dismissal of copyright infringement allegations on DMCA grounds)
·  Yahoo! Inc. v. XYZ Companies 1-25 (Complaint), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1818 [SD NY] (Yahoo! sues anonymous operatives of lottery hoax)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

VoIP in the Business World: Market Forecast and Analysis - New!
This report compares the business-class VoIP offers from six carriers, detailing both the services for large enterprises and SMBs. We then project the market opportunity out to 2012, forecasting both numbers of business-class VoIP lines and resulting revenues. We predict that AT&T, Verizon and Qwest will capture the biggest share of large enterprises as VoIP customers, but will face competition in the SMB space from a variety of new entrants. Nine tables and charts are included.

Mobile Multimedia Service and Price Comparison 
In this report we closely examine the video/multimedia offerings and pricing schemes among the top wireless service providers, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel. We rate each provider's offerings on ease of use, price, value and variety of content. AT&T and Verizon Wireless get the highest overall ratings.

Events & Conferences 
 
What's Next for D Block? A Pike & Fischer Audioconference
June 25, 2008 - Register Now!
More than six years after 9/11, first responders still lack a nationwide interoperable communications network. And the latest attempt at modernization--the FCC's first attempt to auction the so-called "D Block" of the 700 MHz spectrum band to a public safety-private provider partnership--fell flat. What remains is a superior quality block of spectrum waiting to be dispensed, under rules not yet contrived. Join Pike & Fischer's experienced panel of D Block experts for a thoughtful and insight-laden discussion of the issues, challenges, and opportunities still unfolding in the 700 MHz saga.  Learn More  Register Now 


Digital Risk Management Forum: Overcoming Legal Hurdles in the Web 2.0 World
September 16 - 17, 2008 - AED Conference Center - Washington, D.C.
Join us for our second annual legal forum on existing and potential liabilities facing Web 2.0 businesses.  We've expanded our program to include a half-day workshop on Web 2.0 essentials, and we've included panels addressing best practices for monetizing applications tied to personal information, legal remedies for victims of online gossip and rumor, proactive steps for avoiding Attorney General subpoenas, plus a whole lot more!  View the entire program.  Interested in participating in or sponsoring this legal symposium?  Contact Meg Hargreaves at 301-562-1530 x 229.

View all Events & Conferences

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