LJN Newsletters

  • Commentary Is Suing Your Customers A Good Idea?

    Four thousand two hundred and eighty lawsuits and counting.
    That's how many lawsuits have been brought by the major record labels against music fans for using peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software (like KaZaA or Morpheus) to swap music over the Internet. The 1-year anniversary has just been reached in the recording industry's unprecedented litigation campaign against its own customers. The campaign appears to have hit its stride, with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announcing roughly 500 new suits each month.

    October 01, 2004Fred von Lohmann

  • RIAA Escalates Battle

    The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently announced that it has filed a new round of lawsuits against 762 people it suspects of distributing its songs for free over Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) networks like KaZaA and eDonkey.
    As of press time, the RIAA has sued roughly 5400 people over the past year in an effort to discourage the online song copying that it believes has cut into CD sales. And it's also pressing Congress to help.

    October 01, 2004Samuel Fineman

  • Legislative Update

    House OKs Bill Imposing 'Spyware' Fines
    Schwarzenegger Signs California Anti-Spyware Bill
    Maryland Anti-Spam Law Toughens Penalties

    October 01, 2004Samuel Fineman

  • Franchise Law Applies To Internet

    Traditional franchising is an established business technique that brings together the owner of a branded product with another. A franchisor provides a trademark or trade name and a business arrangement; a franchisee pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisor's name and system. The contract binding the two parties is the franchise.
    After the downturn in the Internet advertising market, Internet merchants developed the pay-for-performance e-commerce sector. Internet merchants paid a commission to affiliates who directed people to their Web sites. More sophisticated affiliate programs were set up as revenue sharing arrangements. The terms and conditions for these programs began to mimic franchise agreements.

    October 01, 2004Jonathan Bick

  • Cases of Note

    Recent cases of interest to the Internet law community. This month:
    U.S. Supreme Court Mulls RIAA, Verizon Dispute
    PA Internet Child Pornography Act Struck Down

    October 01, 2004Compiled from the ALM News Service

  • Congress Passes Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004

    On Sept. 14, the Republican-led House passed a bill dubbed the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004 that aims to do just that: deter attorneys and their clients from bringing unfounded suits. The vote was 229-174 for the bill that would impose sanctions on lawyers who bring suits that are deemed unfounded.

    October 01, 2004ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Med Mal News

    Recent news of importance to you and your practice.

    October 01, 2004ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Verdicts

    Recent verdict you need to know.

    October 01, 2004ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |

  • Videotaped Depositions: Goldmine or Curse?

    Times have changed. Depositions, used at trial for impeachment purposes, are now more than just dry words on a page. Increasingly, they are on videotape and the courts are happy about that. Weseloh-Hurtig v. Hepker, 152 F.R.D. 198, 201 (D. Kan. 1993). Should medical malpractice lawyers feel the same way? Well, it depends on whether you are the attorney taking the deposition or if you are the one whose client's deposition is being captured on video. It can be a blessing or it can be the death knell for your case. Let's look at this developing trend.

    October 01, 2004Linda S. Crawford

  • HIPAA 2004: A Review of Significant Litigated Cases

    In the previous months' newsletters, we looked at two of the three significant cases interpreting the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Pub. L. No. 104-191, 110 Stat. 1936 (1996) (HIPAA). Northwestern Memorial Hospital v. Ashcroft, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 5724 (7th Cir. 2004), a case decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, rejected the idea that HIPAA created a new federal privilege regarding abortion medical records. In South Carolina Medical Association v. Thompson, 327 F.3d 346, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 7940 (4th Cir. 2003)(cert. denied 2003 U.S. LEXIS 8010 (U.S., Nov. 3, 2003)), the Fourth Circuit held the HIPAA regulations themselves to be constitutional. The third case of note on the subject of HIPAA interpretation, which we look at this month, is Law v. Zuckerman, 307 F. Supp. Part Three of a Three-Part Article.

    October 01, 2004Elliott B. Oppenheim