Latest News 
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
 
Domain Names with International Characters Held Confusingly Similar to Aural Counterpart

Domain names that are identical in sound and meaning to a famous trademark are confusingly similar for purposes of both the Lanham Act and the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, even if on their face they appear different, according to a May 4 ruling—entered by party consent—from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  MasterCard International, Inc. v. Trehan, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1909.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Intellectual Property news: 
 
·  ICANN Should Include Users' Domain Name Concern in Coming Discussions, Survey Says
·  High Court Declines Review of Remote DVR Ruling
·  IP Groups Add Support for Nomination of IBM's Kappos as Next PTO Director
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Intellectual Property database

INTERNET COMMERCE 
 
Domain Name Could Not Be Transferred Directly to Creditor Under Turnover Statute

Creditors cannot obtain debtors' intangible domain name registration rights through an action under California's general turnover statute, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, concluded June 16.  Judge Raymond J. Ikola, writing for the court, said a district court improperly ordered a debtor to turn over his domain name to a creditor.  Palacio Del Mar Homeowners Association, Inc. v. McMahon, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2061.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Internet Commerce news: 
 
·  FTC Reaches Accord with Two Defendants Involved in 'Scareware' Computer Scheme
·  New York Lawyer's Faxed Issue Reports Not Unsolicited Ads, Don't Violate TCPA
·  Securities Claim Required Hidden Click Fraud
·  Microsoft Complains Click Fraud Violated CFAA
·  Use of Expired Password to Access Software Produced Neither CFAA 'Damage' Nor 'Loss'
·  Ex-Cybersecurity Center Chief to Lead Global Domain Name Management Entity
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Internet Commerce database

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
 
CDA Shields Anti-Spyware Software; Immunity Not Limited to Content Providers

The "good Samaritan" provisions of the Communications Decency Act, 47 USC §230(c)(2), shield companies who sell filtering software from liability for claims brought by blocked Internet services, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held June 25.  Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2083.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Freedom of Speech news: 
 
·  CDA Shielded Craigslist from Tort Claim Stemming from Gun Sold on Service
·  Blogging About Coworkers Not Protected Speech
·  Prosecutor's Work Memo Post Protected Since Copy Came Through Records Request
·  Ninth Circuit Deletes Barnes Holding That CDA §230 Doesn't Support Summary Dismissal
·  Breach of Peace Conviction Upheld Against Sender of Profane Politically-Related E-Mail
·  Marketing Attorneys Urge FTC to Reconsider Integration of Blogs Into Endorsement Guide
·  Justices Decline to Review Ruling Upholding New Hampshire Rx Data Sales Ban Statute
·  China to Delay Requirement to Install Internet Filter on Computers After July 1
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Freedom of Speech database 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
 
Copps Starts Tour of Country to Better Develop Broadband Plan

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps June 30 started a national tour of facilities that could benefit from increased broadband capabilities, saying he intended to hear their stories and incorporate them into the national broadband plan.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Telecommunications news: 
 
·  Senate Approves Chairman, Member for Federal Communications Commission
·  Plenty of Spectrum Available, Just Not Permission, Expert Says
·  Genachowski Expected at Work June 29; Open Meeting on July 2
·  Commerce Waives 'Buy American' Obligation for Broadband Program
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Telecommunications database

PRIVACY & SECURITY 
 
MySpace Health Data Post Held 'Publication'; Minnesota Privacy Law Not HIPAA-Preempted

Posting a woman's misappropriated health data on a MySpace webpage satisfies the publication requirement for an invasion of privacy claim, a state appeals court ruled June 23, also finding that federal health privacy law does not preempt a Minnesota statutory health privacy breach claim.  Yath v. Fairview Clinics, N. P., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2071.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Privacy & Security news: 
 
·  Mayor's 'Tweet' Accidentally Posts Personal Employee Data on Twitter
·  Privacy Chair Suggests Tweaks to E-Records Grants Ineligibility Due to HIPAA Investigation
·  Specific List of Missing Safeguards Allows Privacy Policy Fraud Claim to Survive
·  FTC Could Lose Some Privacy Powers Under Obama Financial Reform Proposal
·  Supreme Court Will Not Review Ruling Upholding California Bank Privacy Law
·  ABA Favors Exemption for Lawyers from 'Red Flag' Rule Under FACT Act
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Privacy & Security database 

TAXATION
 
Washington State Agency Addresses Changes in Digital Goods Taxation

The Washington Department of Revenue will hold stakeholder meetings July 14 and 15 on changes in the taxation of digital products mandated by Engrossed Substitute H.B. 2075, enacted by the 2009 Legislature.  The new legislation retains or imposes sales or use tax on various digital products and software, such as downloaded music, streaming video, video games, and online legal research services, the department said in a notification on its website.  Subscribers read more ...

Other Taxation news: 
 
·  Ways and Means Member Reintroduces Bill to Repeal Federal Telephone Excise Tax
·  Wisconsin DOR Offers Tax Amnesty as Part of State's SSUTA Membership
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Taxation database 

CRIMINAL LIABILITY 
 
Google Trial Postponed, Closed to Media, Public

A Milan court June 23 postponed for three months a criminal privacy and defamation trial against four senior Google officials, due to the absence of a certified court translator.  The case centers on whether Google Video reacted correctly after a three-minute video showing three youngsters from Turin physically and verbally abusing a classmate with Down syndrome remained on the company's Google Video site for two months in 2006.  Subscribers read more ...

Subscribers may search ILR's Criminal Liability database 

Latest Cases 
 
·  Barnes v. Yahoo! Inc. (Amended Opinion), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2085 [9th Cir] (Court deletes a passage in the earlier opinion holding that publisher immunity under CDA §230 could not be raised in a motion for summary judgment)
·  Brodsky v. Yahoo! Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2089 [ND Cal] (Statements from Yahoo! employees that the company manipulated its click fraud filters and delayed refunds to fraudulently boost revenues were insufficient to support a claim under the Exchange Act, absent a showing the employees had actual knowledge of the company's accounting decisions)
·  Cassetica Software, Inc. v. Computer Sciences Corp., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2093 [ND Ill] (Software developer fails to allege that unauthorized downloads infringe copyright, breach contract, violate CFAA)
·  EU Opinion 5/2009 on Online Social Networking, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2091 [EC Working Party] (Operators of social networking websites must comply with European Union data protection law, but individual users may also be required to comply with the privacy mandates of the law)
·  Federal Trade Commission v. Accusearch, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2095 [10th Cir] (Website that sells confidential consumer phone records not eligible for CDA immunity)
·  Federal Trade Commission v. Innovative Marketing, Inc. (Stipulated Final Order), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2075 [D Md] (FTC reaches $100,000 settlement with two defendants involved in 'scareware' computer scheme)
·  Gibson v. Craigslist, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2051 [SD NY] (CDA §230 shielded craigslist from tort claim stemming from gun sold on service)
·  MasterCard International, Inc. v. Trehan, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 1909 [ND Ill] (Domain names identical in sound and meaning to famous trademark are confusingly similar for purposes of both the Lanham Act and ACPA, even if on their face they appear different)
·  Nebraska, State of v. Drahota, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2087 [Neb Ct App] (Profane e-mails sent to a politics professor from a fictitious e-mail account do not, on subject matter alone, qualify as constitutionally protected free speech)
·  Palacio Del Mar Homeowners Association, Inc. v. McMahon, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2061 [Cal Ct App] (Domain name could not be transferred directly to creditor under turnover statute)
·  Pinero v. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2079 [ED La] (Allegations that a corporation violated its privacy policy by disposing of sensitive data in a dumpster will clear the heightened pleading standard of Rule 9(b) when they are paired with specific examples of privacy protections that should have been in place)
·  Ranck v. Rundle, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2077 [SD Fla] (Prosecutor's posting on his blog of a memo that would ordinarily not be covered by the First Amendment because it was generated as part of his job was nevertheless protected because he obtained the memo through a state law public records request)
·  Richerson v. Beckon, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2073 [9th Cir] (Public blog on which a school district employee wrote about coworkers may have been speech related to a public concern, but it was not itself so intrinsically about matters of public concern as to warrant constitutional protections)
·  Stern v. Bluestone, 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2081 [NY] (Lawyer's faxed updates on attorney malpractice issues and trends were informational messages rather than unsolicited advertisements and therefore did not violate the TCPA)
·  Yath v. Fairview Clinics, N. P., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2071 [Minn Ct App] (Posting a woman's misappropriated health data on a MySpace webpage satisfies the publication requirement for an invasion of privacy claim; federal health privacy law does not preempt a Minnesota statutory health privacy breach claim)
·  Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2083 [9th Cir] (Distributor of Internet anti-virus software that allegedly interfered with use of downloadable programs is entitled to immunity under the safe harbor provision of the CDA)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Cases database

Latest Pleadings, Motions, & Briefs 
 
·  Microsoft Corp. v. Lam (Complaint), 2009 ILRWeb (P&F) 2008 [WD Wash] (Microsoft alleges it suffered at least $750,000 in damages from a click fraud scheme affecting its adCenter system in the seemingly unrelated industries of auto insurance and World of Warcraft services)
 
Subscribers may search ILR's Pleadings database 

Latest Research from Pike & Fischer

Communications Industry Report 2009: Views on the U.S. Economic & Regulatory Climate – New!
This is our second annual survey of communications industry executives, engineers and consultants, along with government officials, journalists, and academicians who focus on the communications industry. This year's survey centers on the impact that the recession is having on the communications industry, and on sentiments about the way the Obama administration and Congress are working to expand broadband availability across the country. More than half of respondents say they expect, with the federal government now providing grants to fuel broadband deployment, that the nation will achieve universal broadband availability within the next five to 10 years. But one-fourth of participants believe it will take more than a decade to reach that benchmark. And WiMAX is by far considered the emerging technology that will generate the biggest change in communications market dynamics over the course of the year. Details on these and other results are illustrated in more than 20 charts and graphs.  Learn More  Order Now

VoIP in the Business World: Market Forecast and Analysis, 2nd Edition – 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 2013, 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. Fourteen tables and charts are included.  Learn More  Order Now

Events & Conferences 
 

Trademark-Based Keyword Advertising: Potential Liability and Avenues for Relief – New Webinar!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 | 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EDT
The debate over the use of others' trademarks to trigger online advertisements is heating up.  A recent ruling held that such use constitutes an actionable "use in commerce"; other cases are pending, including claims against advertisers and search engines, and even class action lawsuits.  At the same time, Google is liberalizing its policy to permit use of third-party trademarks in some text ads.  Join Pike & Fischer for an interactive Webinar featuring legal experts from Google, Santa Clara Law School, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati as they clarify common misconceptions about keyword advertising, examine the implications of third-party trademark use, and offer guidance for brand owners, marketers, resellers, and website operators.  Learn More  Register Now


Pinning Down Cloud Computing: Legal Risk Management and Best Practices for Business – Webinar Recordings Available!
There's been a lot of buzz about cloud computing.  Much of it touts cloud computing as a way for companies to save money in lean times.  But what are the risks associated with its adoption?  What's the best way to vet cloud providers?  How do you train employees to use cloud services wisely?  Is the current state of the law as unclear as many commentators contend?  Order a recording of our May 6 webinar featuring legal experts from Sun Microsystems, Salesforce.com, GE Capital, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, who examined the benefits and risks of cloud computing from both the legal and practical perspectives.  Learn More  Order Now

Join the Broadband Policy Summit on LinkedIn
Participate in Summit conversations all year long and stay tuned about BPS VI by joining our new Group on LinkedIn.  Join now.

View all Events & Conferences