DMCA: A Safe Harbor for Video Sharing?
October 29, 2008
As the popularity of Web video continues to grow, so too does the potential for contributory copyright infringement on popular video-sharing Web sites. These Web sites become venues for infringing behavior, simply due to the sheer number of users uploading new videos daily. Consequently, content owners have contended that such Web sites must take a greater role in stemming their users' infringement. The Web site owners have countered that they need only follow the dictates outlined by the DMCA safe harbors that can immunize service providers from copyright liability. Thus, both sides continue to dispute what it means to be compliant with the DMCA. They also dispute which entity should bear the ultimate responsibility for policing video-sharing sites for infringing content: the Web site owner or the content owner.
Developments of Note
October 29, 2008
Federal Banking Authorities Issue Identity Theft 'Red Flag' Regulations <br>IN Do-Not-Call Law Does Not Violate First Amendment Charity Rights<br>Federal Law Criminalizing Misleading Web Content To Lure Users to Obscene Material Is Passed <br>
e-Commerce Docket Sheet
October 29, 2008
Credit-Card Issuing Banks May Benefit from Data Security Reqs. <br>Parties' Subcontract Governs Software Transaction, Despite Purview of VA's UCITA<br>Cable TV Remote Storage DVR System Is Not Direct Copyright Infringer<br>'Free' Software Charges Settled with $2.1 Mil. Fine<br>Forum Selection Clause On Web Site Sufficiently In Contract Is Enforceable
Changing Internet Pharmacy Legal Standards
October 29, 2008
Telemedicine, on the scene medically and legally for several decades, is an area ' in the form, strictly speaking, of providing some kind of health care or health-care products or services ' under the Big Top of the e-commerce fair that is subjected regularly to regulatory scrutiny, debate, enforcement actions, improvements and all the other aspects of e-commerce, although sometimes at a slower pace than within the sector's other channels.
SEC Guidance On Company Web Site Use
October 29, 2008
Over the last several years, rapid developments in technology and the Internet have significantly enhanced the quantity and quality of e-commerce, products and information available to the public. One area of online business interaction, though, that particularly benefited recently is the information that corporate investor can find on a company's Web site. In August, the SEC, acknowledging the significant technological advances since the SEC last provided guidance on Internet issues relating to the Securities Act of 1933, issued an interpretive release providing updated guidance on the disclosure of investor information on company Web sites.
Web Site Terms and Conditions
October 29, 2008
It was Henry Ford, not Marlon Brando or Don Corleone, who once famously said: "The customer can have any color he wants so long as it's black." Unfortunately for e-commerce buyers, however, the rules imposed on them by the fine print and deep links usually known as "Terms and Conditions" often leave as little room to negotiate as early Ford buyers once had.
Mandatory Wellness Programs
October 29, 2008
While often a healthy asset for organizations, the increasing use of mandatory wellness programs can also present liability risks for companies, including potential violations of employee privacy rights, the federal anti-discrimination laws, such as the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and state legislation regarding the regulation of an employee's lawful off-duty conduct.
Delaware Chancery Court Allows Board to Abandon Sales Process
October 29, 2008
Earlier this year, the Delaware Chancery Court dismissed a claim by shareholders of First Niles Financial, Inc., alleging that the directors breached their fiduciary duty by abandoning a sales process, despite receiving offers that its financial adviser found to be "within a range supported by its financial models.
The Supreme Court and Business
October 29, 2008
Recently, we witnessed the annual ritual of the United States Supreme Court releasing its most monumental decisions in the waning days of its term. The front pages were consumed with new landmarks on, among others, the Second Amendment and the death penalty. The general public and the media rightly gave greater import to these constitutional decisions, but does that mean that American business was ignored by the Justices this year?
