Trademarks as Top Level Domains — This Thursday!

Taking Trademarks to the Top Domain: Opportunities and Risks in the New gTLD Space
Thursday, February 5, 2009 | 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EST
There's still time to register to tomorrow's webinar, co-sponsored by Pike & Fischer and the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law, which 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
 
Bot Designed to Circumvent Anti-Cheat Measures Within Online Game Violates DMCA

A bot designed to allow online gamers round-the-clock play is a "circumvention device" that violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act insofar as it bypasses security controls and copyright interests in the game's "dynamic non-literal elements," the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona held Jan. 28.  "Dynamic non-literal elements" are those elements that exist only in the live game, the court said. They include avatar interactions, the changing landscape, and the plasticity of characters and events, among other things.  MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1077.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news: 
 
·  Finnegan Firm Seeks Supreme Court Review in Bilski Business Method Case
·  CRS Report Discusses Copyright Licensing in Music in the Digital Age
·  News Organizations Respond to RIAA Petition Opposing Webcasting in File Sharing Case
·  British ISPs Will Need To Collect Data on P2P Infringers Under Proposed Rules
·  Paris Court Enters 'Huge' Award Against Google France in Keywords Case
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Highlighted Clickwrap Arbitration Agreement with 60-Day Opt-Out Enforceable in Virginia

An arbitration clause included in an E*Trade clickwrap agreement, which was highlighted and presented in bold, capitalized text, was not unconscionable under Virginia law, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held Dec. 29.  Before reaching the unconscionability question, Judge S. James Otero concluded Virginia law governed the dispute arising under the E*Trade account agreement.  The court rejected arguments a Virginia choice-of-law provision should not be enforced, concluding E*Trade, located in Virginia, had a reasonable basis for choosing Virginia law to govern the contract.  Guadagno v. E*Trade Bank, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3297.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  NCSL E-Commerce Panel Postpones Resolution on Prepaid Wireless 911 Fees
·  Lydia Parnes to Leave FTC, Enter Private Practice
·  FACTA Does Not Cover On-Screen Sale Confirmations
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
Broadband Grants in Stimulus Bill Will Not Produce Results, Panel Says

A panel of academics and industry analysts Jan. 30 largely agreed that the $6 billion to $9 billion in grants contained in economic stimulus legislation to build out broadband networks to unserved and underserved areas will not produce the results lawmakers seek.  Indeed, Robert Crandall, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, who has studied the effects of broadband deployment on employment, said that data have been wrongly extrapolated and that job growth would be less than expected.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Telecommunications news: 
 
·  Telecom Regulator Varies Ruling on ADSL Services to Competitors
·  Senate Panel Approves $9 Billion in Grants for Broadband Infrastructure
·  EC Proposes 1 Billion Euros to Stimulate European Broadband Market
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
Dutch Search Engine Ixquick Cuts Retention Time of IP Addresses to Zero

Dutch search engine Ixquick announced Jan. 28 that the company would no longer store Internet Protocol addresses of users.  Ixquick, which previously retained IP addresses for 48 hours in order to detect denial-of-service attacks, changed its policy after its technicians developed an "alternative way to prevent abuse of the system without retaining the IP addresses of users," said Katherine Albrecht, head of U.S. media relations for Ixquick.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  Heartland CEO Pushes for Total Encryption to Supplement PCI Data Security Standard
·  Massachusetts Regulators Urged to Extend Compliance Deadline for Security Regulation
·  EU's Article 29 Party Updates FAQs on Binding Corporate Rules
·  U.S., Veterans Settle VA Data Breach Privacy Act Class Action for $20 Million
·  First Internet Privacy Ordinance in China Approved by Province, Bans 'Cyber-Hunting'
·  CDT Releases Tool for Online Advertisers to Assess Their Privacy Protection Needs
·  Canadian Privacy Chief Sets New Guidelines on Cross-Border Personal Data Transfers
·  Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing of Decision That City Violated Officer's Privacy Rights
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Georgia Court Special Master Finds Online Travel Companies Misled Taxing Authorities

A court-appointed special master who reviewed internal documents and communications from online travel companies (OTCs) reported that the communications appear to have been made in furtherance of a concerted effort by the OTCs and/or third parties "to misrepresent, obfuscate, and mislead taxing authorities" as to the true nature of their business model, in order to avoid application of occupancy tax statutes and ordinances.  Orbitz strongly disagrees with the report's findings and has filed exceptions to them, an attorney for the company said.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Taxation news: 
 
·  Virginia Finds Sales of Downloaded Music Exempt
·  SSUTA Panel Hires Lobbyists to Facilitate Federal Legislation
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database

JURISDICTION & PROCEDURE 
 
Proposed Wikipedia Article Verification Could Enhance Encyclopedia's Evidentiary Potential

Proposed changes to Wikipedia's entry verification system could convince outlying courts reluctant to take notice of its contents that information on the service is more reliable.  Wikipedia's founder Jan. 21 urged the Wikimedia Foundation to immediately adopt a "flagged revision" system, which would require all entries posted by anonymous contributors to be approved by "administrators," users given special verification privileges on the service.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Jurisdiction & Procedure news: 
 
·  YouTube Post Aimed at Connecticut Resident Created Specific Personal Jurisdiction There
·  Infringing Investment Website Generates Jurisdiction Where Trademark Holder Resides
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Jurisdiction & Procedure database

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
Case Opens in Milan for Top Google Officials; Criminal Defamation, Privacy Breaches Alleged

Proceedings against four executives from Internet giant Google, Inc. began Feb. 3 in a Milan court (Tribunale di Milano) on criminal charges of defamation and civil Italian privacy law violations in connection with an offensive three-minute video posted on the company's Google Video portal in September 2006.  If found guilty, Peter Fleischer, Google privacy counsel; David Drummond, the company's senior vice-president and chief legal officer; George Reyes, Google's former chief financial officer; and a fourth official who was not identified, could each face up to 36 months in prison, and the company itself could be fined.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Criminal Liability news: 
 
·  Ex-Fannie Mae Worker Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Planting Malware Time Bomb
·  Contract Worker Charged with Attempting to Destroy All Data on Fannie Mae Servers
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Criminal Liability database 

Latest Cases 
 
·  CRTC Telecom Regulatory Policy No. 2009-34 (Requests to Review and Vary Directives in Telecom Decision 2008-17), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1065 [CRTC] (Canada's telecom regulator varies its regulatory policy for ITCs' provision of central office-based wholesale high-speed Internet services to competitors and launches hearing to consider the appropriate configuration, classification, and feasibility of unbundled ADSL access service to competitors)
·  Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Data Theft Litigation, In re (Proposed Settlement Agreement), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1067 [D DC] (VA files joint proposed agreement that would pay a class of military veterans a lump sum of $20 million to settle their Privacy Act claims related to a massive 2006 data breach)
·  Doninger v. Niehoff, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1071 [D Conn] (School officials who barred a student from participating in an extracurricular activity because of an offensive blog post are entitled to qualified immunity on the student's First Amendment claim)
·  Guadagno v. E*Trade Bank, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3297 [CD Cal] (Arbitration clause included in an E*Trade clickwrap agreement—highlighted and presented in bold, capitalized text—was not unconscionable under Virginia law)
·  MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1077 [D Ariz] (Bot designed to circumvent anti-cheat measures within online game violates DMCA)
·  Portfolio Solutions, L.L.C. v. ETF Portfolio Solutions, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1073 [ED Mich] (Infringing investment website generates jurisdiction where trademark holder resides)
·  Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co. (Order Denying Rehearing En Banc), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1069 [9th Cir] (Over vigorous dissent, the Ninth Circuit denies a petition for rehearing en banc of a panel ruling that city violated Fourth Amendment rights of police sergeant by reading his text messages on a department-issued pager)
·  Smith v. Under Armour, Inc., 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3299 [SD Fla] (Web payment confirmations displayed on-screen are not "printed" within the meaning of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)
·  United States v. Lewis, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1201 [1st Cir] (Government may satisfy the interstate commerce element of 18 USC §2252(a)(2) by proving that child pornography images were transmitted over the Internet)
·  Virginia Tax Commissioner Ruling PD 08-196, 2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 3295 [Va Tax Comm'r] (Taxpayer's sale of electronic music via the Internet was exempt from tax as a nontaxable service transaction)
·  Voyageurs du Monde v. Google, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1075 [Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris] (Paris court enters 'huge' award against Google France in keywords case)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Bilski v. Doll (Petition for a Writ of Certiorari), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1016 [US Sup Ct] (Law firm appeals Federal Circuit decision in In re Bilski, which set a "machine or transformation" test for determining patentable subject matter for process claims)
·  Sony BMG Music Entertainment, In re (Amicus Curiae Brief of Associated Press, et al., in Opposition to the Petition), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1018 [1st Cir] (Fourteen news organizations urge the First Circuit to allow webcasting of the Feb. 24 district court hearing in a record industry challenge to music downloading)
·  Sony BMG Music Entertainment, In re (Brief of Respondent Joel Tenenbaum), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1020 [1st Cir] (Alleged infringer argues that court should permit webcast of motions hearing in P2P dispute)
 
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.