The process of redaction evokes images of legal teams gathered along large conference tables surrounded by boxes stroking black permanent markers across brittle documents, while assistants shuttle between photocopiers and bates stamping machines to prevent an adversary from spotting a privileged smoking gun. With the transformation of modern litigation from print to digital, those who incorporate and master the use of electronic tools have a distinct advantage.
In response to increasing volumes of electronic data generated and maintained, corporations are forming response teams to develop and implement protocol designed to comply with legal requirements for the preservation and production of electronically stored information. In furtherance of this mission, the role of IT has gone through a radical evolution ' and IT is leading the charge in creating and implementing IT protocol designed to safeguard corporations against the future threat of litigation or investigation.
The New Jersey Supreme Court is poised to decide whether ordinary people who lie about the wares they sell on Internet auction sites like eBay can be held liable under the state's Consumer Fraud Act, with its awesome treble-damages remedy.
In the early "wild west" days of the Internet, legal remedies always seemed a step behind the intellectual property dilemmas presented by the new technological medium. Congress has gradually responded by enacting new laws to tackle high-tech loopholes, and the courts have creatively applied traditional concepts in an effort to prevent unscrupulous people from exploiting others' Internet-based intellectual property.
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
When it comes to social media, I tend to be an evangelist. But even I could not grasp why so many lawyers were all atwitter over Twitter. What value could there be in a microblogging tool that limits each post to 140 characters? So I strapped on some wings and gave it a try. In no time at all, Twitter turned me into a songbird ready to sing its praises.
Grip sites tell a business what some customers think, even though their opinions are not necessarily those that the business wants to hear ' and certainly not those that it would want other customers or potential customers to hear. They could serve as a warning system to companies that their products or services are not being well received and that they are suffering from bad word of mouth. Gripe sites also, theoretically, add to the public good as forums for discussion and create better-informed customers. But there are, or should be, many other and better ways to obtain this information, such as through a company's own Web site and toll-free customer service numbers.
False Endorsement/No Preemption
Song Copyright/Implied License
Video-Game Statutes/Unconstitutionality
Two courts in the Ninth Circuit have recently addressed how to differentiate between an 'owner' and a mere 'licensee' for purposes of rights under the Copyright Act, and have reached decisions that might surprise many practitioners.
The recording industry estimates that music piracy has cost it billions of dollars during the past 15 years. Facing the potential for an industry-wide collapse, the RIAA undertook its aggressive litigation campaign to protect itself and its constituents from copyright infringement by suing individual file sharers. After fighting a public relations battle over some of its tactics, the RIAA has chosen to temper its aggressiveness. The RIAA is instead forming relationships with ISPs that maintain the online accounts of the consumers.
