The news this week has been dominated by discussions of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, that had congressional hearings this week. I really liked the following discussions of SOPA: Why I Oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)/E-PARASITES Act Eric Goldman has a great summary of the bill and its problems. Well recommended [...]
Category Archives: Cases
SOPA and other @Cyberlaw Links
Also posted in Copyright, DMCA, First Sale Doctrine, Internet Governance, Musings, SOPA Leave a comment
Court awards $214 Million for DMCA Circumvention
The recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in the Echostar Satellite LLC v. Viewtech case, Civil Case No. 07cv1273 BEN (WVG), 2011 WL 1522409 (S.D.Cal.), is interesting mainly for the amount of statutory damages awarded. The defendants had been manufacturing receivers that circumvented the copy protection in [...]
Also posted in Copyright, DMCA 2 Comments
“John Doe” Filesharing Lawsuits
As I wrote in a post on our firm blog back in December, I have been answering lots of questions from those receiving notices from their ISP relating to lawsuits over the filesharing of copyrighted material with the BitTorrent protocol. For those seeking more information, the EFF has a great page of subpoena defense resources [...]
Also posted in Copyright 3 Comments
ACLU challenges Suspicionless Laptop Border Searches
Today, the ACLU and related parties filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the U.S. Government’s policy of allowing suspicionless searches and seizures of laptops and other electronic devices at the border. The allegations include violations of the First and Fourth amendments. It is seeking a declaration that the Department of Homeland Security policies, which are restatements [...]
Also posted in Privacy, Search and Seizure, Security 3 Comments
Register for IICLE webcast – 8/23/2010 – Viacom v. Google
I’ll be discussing the recent Viacom v. Google decision on Monday, August 23, 2010 on a webcast for IICLE, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. To register for the webcast, click here. The webcast will be from 12:00 to 1:00 CST, and is accredited for one hour of CLE in Illinois. Many thanks to [...]
Also posted in DMCA, Speaking 3 Comments
FTC v. Trudeau – Are Emails Within a Judge’s “Presence”?
The recent 7th Circuit opinion in FTC v. Trudeau, No. 10-1383, slip op. (7th Cir. May 20, 2010), raised an interesting cyberlaw issue as a minor point within the larger issue of criminal contempt of court: Just because the Judge receives an email, does that mean the email, as well as the conduct in inciting [...]
Awarding of Attorneys Fees for Copyright Cases Not Automatic
In addition to their costs, the prevailing party in a copyright case may also seek recovery of their attorneys fees, provided that the requirements of the Act are otherwise met. See 17 U.S.C. Section 505, which provides as follows: ยง 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney’s fees In any civil action under this title, [...]
Also posted in Copyright 3 Comments
Standing under the CAN-SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. 7701, et seq.) provides a private cause of action for providers of an Internet access service to use against spammers, in addition to the enforcement of the Act by the FTC, states, and other government entities. In order to have standing to bring a case, however, a private plaintiff must [...]
Also posted in CAN-SPAM 2 Comments
Looking forward to Techshow 2008!
I’ll be heading over to the Hilton for ABA Techshow 2008 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week. I am looking forward to catching up with those I’ve met in previous years. If you will be there, please stop me and say hello! I also plan to post somewhat, at least once per day, during the [...]
Also posted in Defamation, Patents, Techshow Leave a comment
A special MLK Day Blawg Review
Public Defender Stuff has created a really special edition of Blawg Review, No. 143, in honor of Martin Luther King day. I urge you to check it out. As I am hosting Blawg Review #144 this next Monday, please get your submissions in early so they can be included. Also on topic for today, here’s [...]
Also posted in Blawg Review 1 Comment