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News Briefs
Ninth Circuit Supports Search Warrant for Web Site Member; But Conservative and Liberal Judges Dissent
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that mere membership in a pornographic Web site containing both legal and illegal porn is enough to authorize the FBI to search a home computer (U.S. v. Gourde, No. 03-30262).
The case arose when Micah Gourde, 29, of Castle Rock, WA, paid $19.95 per month for a 2-month membership in a pornographic Web site, www.lolitagurls.com, which contained pictures of legal adult porn as well as illegal child pornography. FBI agents raided the owners of the lolitagurls Web site in Iowa, confiscated the host computer, and prosecuted the owner. They also sought a warrant to search Gourde's computer, arguing that there is a 'fair probability' that customers of child pornography Web sites download the illegal images. Gourde challenged the warrant based on the Fourth Amendment and sought to suppress more than 100 images of child pornography seized from his home computer.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.