Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Net News Image

Net News

Eric J. Sinrod

A company that operates numerous music Web sites will have to pay the largest civil penalty levied to date over violating COPPA, and the Federal Trade Commission is apparently serving public notice that it intends to vigorously enforce the privacy rules.

States Reach Out to Collect Internet Taxes Image

States Reach Out to Collect Internet Taxes

Samuel Fineman

Realizing the sizable impact of revenues from Internet sales, key states such as New York and California now require taxpayers to declare any tax they owe on out-of-state purchases.

Features

Record Industry Still Pursuing File-Sharers Image

Record Industry Still Pursuing File-Sharers

Samuel Fineman

The U.S. music industry recently sued 531 more individuals for online copyright infringement through anonymous "John Doe" styled suits. The RIAA, continuing to cite digital piracy as a major cause of slumping CD sales for the third year in a row, announced that it filed five separate lawsuits against 531 users of undisclosed Internet Service Providers.

Features

Web-Tracking Data: An Under-Utilized Legal Resource Image

Web-Tracking Data: An Under-Utilized Legal Resource

Stephen W. Feingold, Gerry A. Fifer, & David H. McDonald

Several years ago, businesses like WebSideStory began offering dedicated Web-tracking services. These services can capture and analyze many aspects of Web traffic and create a multitude of customized reports. Such digital market research has become indispensable to many online businesses. (Its use has also raised many concerns about privacy, which are beyond the scope of this article.) On the other hand, it offers significant, yet largely unrecognized, benefits to trademark attorneys in their efforts to assist clients. This article briefly outlines some of the ways that trademark attorneys can utilize this data.

DMCA Abuse? Image

DMCA Abuse?

Louis Trager

After someone electronically lifted embarrassing e-mails from Diebold Inc. and posted them online, the company responded with a tactic that more and more companies are using to put a lid on Internet distribution of sensitive information: Diebold sent cease-and-desist notices to organizations hosting Web sites and forums that had published, or even linked, to the e-mails. The messages portrayed participants in Diebold's electronic voting business confirming their critics' worst nightmares about security vulnerabilities. Information may want to be free. But specialists say that sending such notices under the 5-year-old DMCA succeeds, in the vast majority of cases, in promptly curtailing online distribution. The technique is so effective, critics contend, that it is often abused in situations where no copyright protection applies or ' as with the Diebold case ' there would be a strong fair use defense.

e-Commerce Sales Rise ' Again Image

e-Commerce Sales Rise ' Again

Michael Lear-Olimpi

U.S. retail e-commerce spending continued rising ' in total volume of e-sales and as a percentage of all retail transactions ' in the fourth quarter last year.

Features

Developments of Note Image

Developments of Note

Julian S. Millstein, Edward A. Pisacreta & Jeffrey D. Neuburger

Recent developments in e-commerce law and in the e-commerce industry.

Coping With COPPA Image

Coping With COPPA

By Jonathan Bick

While the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) was designed to rein in commercial Web sites that target children as buyers of goods, it has caused legal difficulties for those who provide services such as camps, schools, after-school activities and sports clubs. COPPA, the only law specifically to target online information privacy, applies only to Web sites that collect information from children. The providers of such services must regularly wrestle with the ways they collect prospects from their sites. COPPA requires commercial Internet sites to refrain from collecting personal data from children under the age of 13 without parental consent.

Features

e-Commerce Docket Sheet Image

e-Commerce Docket Sheet

Julian S. Millstein, Edward A. Pisacreta & Jeffrey D. Neuburger

Recent court rulings in e-commerce.

Features

IM: Plenty of Benefits, But Risks Too Image

IM: Plenty of Benefits, But Risks Too

By Marie Flores

Like many other businesses, the financial sector has embraced e-commerce as a way of expanding. Today, online banking is fairly common. Many financial institutions offer a variety of products and services for commercial and retail customers. And the finance market is mirroring wider use of all things "e" by taking e-business a step farther with the use of instant messaging (IM) to provide faster customer-inquiry responses. But although IM use often allows them to provide better customer service, it also exposes institutions to a variety of potential risks.

Need Help?

  1. Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
  2. Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.

MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
    There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
    Read More ›
  • Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
    In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.
    Read More ›
  • AI or Not To AI: Observations from Legalweek NY 2023
    This year at Legalweek, there was little doubt on what the annual takeaway topic would be. As much as I tried to avoid it for fear of beating the proverbial dead horse, it was impossible not to talk about generative AI, ChatGPT, and all that goes with it. Some fascinating discussions were had and many aspects of AI were uncovered.
    Read More ›