Guest Discount Offered to P&F Subscribers for Web 2.0 Conference

Pike & Fischer's Legal Risk Management Forum II: Overcoming Obstacles in the Web 2.0 World includes a special offer for Pike & Fischer subscribers!  Any subscriber who registers for our September conference is entitled to bring a guest for just $199!  To register a guest, contact Customer Care, or call 1-800-255-8131 x 248.  Group, government, academic, and student rates also available.  View the entire program with faculty, which includes speakers from Google, NBC Universal, AOL, LinkedIn, FTC, Comcast Interactive Media, Phorm, Proskauer Rose, Covington & Burling, Bingham McCutchen, and many more.  Register now!
 

Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
Rights Holders Must Consider Fair Use Possibility When Requesting DMCA Takedown 
 
The "good faith belief" standard for issuing a takedown notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires copyright holders to consider whether the use of a copyrighted work falls within fair use exceptions to the Copyright Act, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held Aug. 20.  In a matter of first impression, the court held that, though an extensive investigation is not required, a copyright holder must have a subjective belief that a use of a copyrighted work is infringing and does not fall within fair use exceptions in order to issue a DMCA takedown notice in good faith.  Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 25 ILR (P&F) 445.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news:
 
·  Website Will Allow Searches of U.S., Foreign Patents
·  Associated Press Settles Infringement Case Over Content Use with VeriSign, Subsidiary
·  IPO Claims Muniauction Decision Creates Safe Harbor for Process Patent Infringement
·  ACTA Participants to Meet in October on Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement
·  Digital Audio Royalty Distribution Proceeding Begins
·  University IP Address Subpoena Not Barred by FERPA
·  Patent Exhaustion Is a Legal Doctrine for Jury's Consideration, Not an Equitable Doctrine
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
RICO Claims Against Google Dismissed in Ad Parking Action for Lack of Clear 'Enterprise' 
 
Allegations that Google and its network of advertising partners coordinated the placement of ads on parked webpages do not, without more, establish that the Google network was an "enterprise" for purposes of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held July 31.  The court said that in order to succeed on a RICO claim, the plaintiffs must do more than set out Google's pattern and practice of behavior.  Vulcan Golf, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2345.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  E-Mail Exchange Between Merchants May Amount to Enforceable Contract
·  Soliciting, Obtaining Proprietary Data Via E-Mail May Qualify as 'Access' Under CFAA
·  Class Complaint Alleges 3G Connection Problems with Speed of New Apple iPhone
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
ISPs Challenging Utah Porn Law Denied Reconsideration; Harms Still Too Speculative 
 
Internet service providers who were denied standing to challenge the Utah Harmful to Minors Act's filtering and distribution requirements are not entitled to a reconsideration, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah held Aug. 8, finding no new basis upon which to hook standing. The court previously determined that the plaintiffs, Utah bookstores and Internet service providers, lacked standing to challenge Internet-related amendments to Utah's Harmful to Minors Act, Utah Code Ann. §76-10-1206.  King's English, Inc. v. Shurtleff, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2439.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Freedom of Speech news: 
 
·  Newspaper Website Ordered to Identify Anonymous Bloggers in Defamation Litigation
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Freedom of Speech database 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
FCC Tucks Sticky Roaming Issue Into Rulemaking on VoIP E-911 Service 
 
The Federal Communications Commission late Aug. 25 released a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comments on issues related to the delivery of E-911 service by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers, as required under a new law enacted in July.  However, according to statements accompanying the rulemaking, two commissioners appeared hesitant to request comments on the long-standing issue of roaming agreements and how much information carriers should be required to provide.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
Extending ECPA to Behavioral Advertising Raises New Questions of Privacy Law, Policy 
 
Using existing electronic surveillance law to regulate new online marketing trends poses challenges for both litigators and Internet service providers, and may pave the way for a more developed privacy law of the future, a telecommunications and privacy lawyer said Aug. 20.  Over the past few years, consumers have grown increasingly aware of online "preference advertising"—also called "behavioral advertising"—a practice defined by the Federal Trade Commission as "the tracking of a consumer's activities online . . . in order to deliver advertising targeted to the individual consumer's interests."  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  Stearns: Replace Sector-Specific Laws with Comprehensive National Privacy Policy
·  Group Injects Privacy Into Presidential Race Looking to Arouse Voter Interest, Questions
·  Australian Commission Recommends Privacy Overhaul, Mandatory Breach Notice
·  Businesses Must Have Plans for Securing Information, Responding to Data Breaches
·  FTC to Hold RFID Data Security, Privacy Workshop September 23
·  Information on More Than 100,000 Students Left Unprotected on Princeton Review Site
·  Online Publication of Court Rulings Poses Risk to Personal Data, Canada's Stoddart Warns
·  HHS to Hold E-Records Medical Identity Theft Town Hall Meeting October 15 in Washington
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Internet-Based Commerce Costing New York City Tax Revenue, IBO Says 
 
Sales of retail goods and electronic services over the Internet are costing New York City millions of dollars in sales tax revenue, according to an Aug. 21 report by the city Independent Budget Office.  In a study of fiscal 2007, the IBO found that roughly $2.2 billion of the $4.4 billion in e-commerce sales generated by New York City residents was taxable.  Those online sales should have yielded about $173 million in tax revenues, including $91 million for the state and $82 million for the city, the report said.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Taxation news: 
 
·  Bundled Wireless Equipment, Internet Service Subject to Louisiana's Sales and Use Tax
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database

JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE 
 
Negative Feedback Posted on eBay About State Resident No Basis for Jurisdiction There 
 
A party who posted negative feedback about a Washington resident on the eBay online auction website cannot be sued there based on that feedback alone, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held Aug. 6.  Though the feedback was about a Washington resident and was accessible there, the court found no evidence that it expressly targeted the forum.  As a result, the court lacked specific jurisdiction over the nonresident in an action arising from the posting, Judge Marsha J. Pechman held.  Lange v. Thompson, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2453.  Subscribers read more ...
 
Other Jurisdiction & Procedure news: 
 
·  Multiple Sales Into California Through Website Amount to 'Purposeful Availment'
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database

Latest Cases 
 
·  Alliance Laundry Systems, LLC v. Thyssenkrupp Materials, NA, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2445 [ED Wis] (E-mail exchange between merchants may amount to enforceable contract)
·  Arista Records, LLC v. Does 1-9, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2333 [SD Ohio] (University students identified only by IP address and accused of violating various music copyrights cannot successfully object to a subpoena seeking their identifying information by invoking the protections of FERPA)
·  Boschetto v. Hansing, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2447 [9th Cir] (Lone sale of item on eBay does not subject seller to jurisdiction in the buyer's forum)
·  Cornell University v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2451 [ND NY] (Patent exhaustion defense is a legal doctrine that should be considered by a jury, not an equitable one reserved for a court)
·  Formal Complaint of Free Press and Public Knowledge Against Comcast Corporation for Secretly Degrading Peer-to-Peer Applications, In re (Memorandum Opinion and Order), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2437 [FCC] (Comcast's practice of targeting and interfering with P2P applications does not constitute reasonable network management)
·  Global Patent Holdings, LLC v. Panthers BRHC LLC, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2455 [SD Fla] (Claim for direct patent infringement claim dismissed because the patented process—which pertains to downloading jpeg images—cannot start until a remote user visits defendant's website; plaintiff has failed to allege sufficient "direction or control" over these third party "joint infringers")
·  Hepting v. AT&T Corp., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2449 [9th Cir] (In light of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a case challenging AT&T's alleged cooperation with the NSA's so-called "terrorist surveillance program" is remanded to the district court)
·  King's English, Inc. v. Shurtleff, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2439 [D Utah] (ISPs challenging Utah Harmful to Minors Act denied reconsideration; harms still too speculative)
·  Lange v. Thompson, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2453 [WD Wash] (Negative feedback posted on eBay about state resident no basis for jurisdiction there)
·  Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., 25 ILR (P&F) 445 [ND Cal] (Copyright owner must evaluate fair use in order to satisfy "good faith belief" requirement of DMCA takedown notice)
·  Louisiana Department of Revenue Private Letter Ruling No. 08-010 (Sales/Use Taxability of Wireless Internet Equipment), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2443 [La Dep't Rev] (Bundled wireless equipment, Internet service subject to Louisiana's sales and use tax)
·  MPC Containment Systems, Ltd. v. Moreland, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2349 [ND Ill] (Employee who solicited his former employer's proprietary information over e-mail may have violated CFAA)
·  Muniauction, Inc. v. Thomson Corp., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2347 [Fed Cir] (Court denies a claim of "joint infringement" against an Internet application provider and users of its application)
·  Ottinger v. Journal News, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2247 [NY Sup Ct] (Newspaper website ordered to identify anonymous bloggers in defamation litigation)
·  Overstock.com, Inc. v. SmartBargains, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2435 [Utah Sup Ct] (Competitor's use of pop-up ads does not constitute unfair competition, tortious interference)
·  Starlight International, Ltd. v. Lifeguard Health, LLC, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2351 [ND Cal] (Multiple sales into California through website amount to 'purposeful availment')
·  Vulcan Golf, LLC v. Google, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2345 [ND Ill] (Allegations that Google and its advertising partners coordinated the placement of ads on parked webpages do not, without more, establish that the Google network was an "enterprise" for purposes of RICO)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Reisinger v. Perez (Complaint), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2410 [ED Wis] (Woman sues city for enjoining her from linking to various city websites, including the city police department)
·  Smith v. Apple, Inc. (Class Action Complaint), 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 2412 [ND Ala] (Class complaint alleges 3G connection problems with speed of new Apple iPhone)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Femtocells: Competitive Outlook for Service Providers - New!
Femtocells, mobile network base stations for residential or small business environments, pose a technology conundrum for the telecommunications industry. Optimistically, hundreds of thousands or millions of the devices could be built and installed in consumer residences and small businesses within the next several years, fueling the widespread adoption of 3G broadband over mobile devices. On the other hand, femtos could end up being simply niche home antennas that boost in-building mobile signals and offload backhaul traffic onto the incumbent broadband network. In this report, we outline the market opportunities and technical hurdles involved in femtocell deployments, detail the femto plans among the nation's top mobile and wireline carriers, and explore the role that femtos will play in 4G network deployments.  Learn More  Order Now

Events & Conferences 
 
Legal Risk Management Forum II: Overcoming Obstacles in the Web 2.0 World
Only Three Weeks Away!
September 16 - 17, 2008 - AED Conference Center - Washington, D.C.
Pike & Fischer's Legal Risk Management Forum offers options to fit every budget.  Our half-day Workshop will immerse you in three nuts-and-bolts sessions addressing IT for Lawyers, Copyright 101, and Data Retention issues. Our full-day Forum features three keynotes and five interactive panels tackling intellectual property, privacy, reputation preservation, virtual worlds, and subpoena disclosure issues.  For the best deal, register for both!   Hear from Google, NBC Universal, AOL, LinkedIn, FTC, Comcast Interactive Media, Phorm, Harvard, Proskauer Rose, Covington & Burling, Bingham McCutchen, and many more.  Gain the latest insights on dealing with the growing array of Web 2.0 legal risks.  View the entire program with confirmed faculty, and see who's already coming.  Group, Government, Academic, and Student rates also available.  Ask Customer Care about our guest discount for P&F subscribers.  Interested in sponsoring this legal symposium?  Contact Todd Dale at 212-563-6131.


Broadband Policy Summit IV — Webcast & DVDs Now Available!
On June 12-13, BPS IV once again played host to over 200+ of the nation's top federal, state and private sector players who debated the critical issues facing the broadband industry.  40+ speakers participated in debates covering wireless broadband, network management/net neutrality, broadband deployment and more.  Keynotes were delivered by FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps, FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch, Ambassador David Gross and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).  Missed the Summit?  Streaming video and DVDs of all Summit proceedings are now available.  Watch the Webcast  Order a DVD  Visit the Blog

View all Events & Conferences

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