Cyberlaw Central

I’m happy that my Blog was included in the 2007 edition of Blawgworld, published by Technolawyer.  Here’s a link to get your free copy.  Be sure to check out the other wonderful legal blogs that are linked through from there.

John Welch and Marty Schwimmer have organized Meet the Bloggers III, which will be held on Monday, April 30th at 7:30 at the Billy Goat Tavern here in Chicago.  More details can be found here at the TTABlog.  I fully intend to attend, even if I may be a few minutes late.

In preparation for the November 7, 2006 elections, check out the Technology Voter Guide prepared by CNET News.com.  The link leads to the analysis page, from which you can click on the map to see how your representatives in your state voted on technology issues. Then, you can click on each person’s name to see their votes on particular bills.  What a wonderful resource, I’ll be sure to study it further before voting. 

The Internet Bar Association and the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution have joined together to sponsor the 2nd Annual Cyberweek.  Be sure to check out the programs, discussions, podcasts, and other content available there.

• Today was my first day back at work after two weeks off.  My excuse? Parental leave after the birth of my third son.  Mother and baby are doing fine.  So are his older brothers.
• I was pleased to see that Blawg Review #70 was posted on Monday by Dave! Gulbransen.  I had the pleasure of meeting Dave! last fall at the BlawgThink conference.  He’s been on my blogroll ever since.  What a great job he did here, be sure to check it out. 
• The most interesting case I kept up with over the last few weeks is the 9th Circuit’s decision in United States v. Hill, a 4th amendment search and seizure case involving computers.  Orin Kerr posted a great summary of the decision at his personal blog.

I am one of a panel of speakers on July 27, 2006 at an afternoon seminar entitled “IP Law and the Internet” sponsored by the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (“IPLAC”) Internet Law Committee, and Northwestern Law School.

The event will be held at Nortwestern University, and will feature a keynote address by the USPTO’s Commissioner for Patents, John Doll.  Other speakers will include Professor Clint Francis from Northwestern University School of Law and Professor Douglas Lichtman from the University of Chicago School of Law.  There will be panels of practitioners (like me!) on topics such as patent, trademark and copyright law developments relating to the Internet.

Here is a flyer for the seminar with instructions about how to register.  The cost is $15 for IPLAC members and students, $25 for non-members.

I hope to see people there!

UPDATED 7/26/06 TO ADD: The seminar has been cancelled, and will be rescheduled for the fall.  I hope shortly to post materials I had prepared for my talk on trademark issues as they relate to the Internet.

I attended the ABA Techshow here in Chicago from Thursday through Saturday, and had a wonderful time.

On Wednesday evening I was one of the 100 invited guests of the Lexthink! Lounge, presented by Dennis Kennedy, Matthew Homann and JoAnna Forshee. My bowling was a bit rusty, but the conversation and fellowship was great. Rob Robinson took photos, here is a link to his post from which you can follow the link to the Flickr photo set.

At Techshow, I attended sessions relating to electronic discovery, extranets, MS Sharepoint, information security, computer forensics, advanced Internet searching, and use of technology to reduce the risk of legal malpractice. It was very educational and informative.

I especially enjoyed meeting and talking with the following people, in no particular order:
Tom Mighell
Dennis Kennedy
Matt Homann
Sabrina Pacifici
Blair Janis
Rob Robinson
Ben Cowgill
Jim Calloway
Adriana Linares
Ernie Svenson
Nerino Petro
David Moon

Here’s looking forward to next year’s show!

Research has shown that you really only have a 50-50 chance of correctly identifying the tone of email messages. Stephen Leahy of Wired News takes a look at a research study published in the December, 2005 issue of the Journal of Personality and Psychology. If interested, copies of the Journal article can be purchased from this link.

This research study confirms that a lot of users can’t accurately determine whether the person writing the email intended to tell a joke, be serious, or was being sarcastic. The person reads into the message what they want to hear. As Leahy’s article notes, many companies deal with workplace lawsuits over what is written in company emails.

Word to the wise — if you’re dealing with a sensitive issue, think twice before sending it over email. It’ll avoid misunderstandings and misapprehensions.

Jonathan B. Wilson is the host of Blawg Review #41, please be sure to check it out here.

FYI, I’m hosting next week’s Review, so if you’re a legal blogger please be sure to submit your post (written during this week) for consideration. The deadline is Saturday at 11:59PM PST. For submission guidelines, see here.

Also, I’ve finally added email subscriptions to the blog via Feedblitz. So, if you haven’t figured out RSS, or just like email, feel free to try it out. I’ve been testing it for the past few weeks and it seems to work pretty well. Just enter your email in the box on the site and it will start the process to register with Feedblitz.

While you can get a bulk package of CD-R’s really cheap at local stores or online, they are not the best for backup purposes. The physical material degrades over time, and some types degrade faster than others. An IBM expert indicates that a 2-5 year lifespan is typical for most self-recorded CD’s. (Link courtesy of BeSpacific) The best solution is to use magnetic tapes, which can last 30 to 100 years.

As a lawyer, I owe my clients a duty to safeguard the data entrusted to me, as well as to backup my own work product. As a user, I understand the necessity of saving early and often. Backup solutions have become really affordable and easy to use over the last few years, making the lack of a backup system troubling. I saw a demonstration of a Mirra Personal Server last year at the ABA Techshow, I am now considering that as my next backup system.