Insanity, Drugs and the Family Code
September 27, 2006
Go to your favorite Internet search engine and run a search for 'stupid laws.' You will come up with thousands of hits for sites that report it is illegal to spit on the ground within 5 feet of another person and the like. Most of these 'laws' are probably just urban myths. However, the California Family Code (and in all probability the codes of most other states) does contain laws that should be looked at more carefully. Some of our statutes are in need of modernization. Others are poorly worded, and others just make no sense. We can and should expect more of our legislature.
Akin Gump to Open Beijing Office
September 26, 2006
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is planning to open an office in Beijing within the next 60 to 90 days, according to the firm's chairman, R. Bruce McLean.
Milbank Tweed Opens Fourth Asian Office
September 20, 2006
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has opened its ninth office, in Beijing. The firm currently has 40 attorneys in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo who practice New York and English law.
<b>Online Exclusive:</b> Facebook's About-Face Shows Depth of Consumer Privacy Concerns
September 20, 2006
When the highly popular social networking Web site Facebook announced that it would implement an enhanced service that would automatically share information about its users with other users, the company thought that it its members would embrace the concept. But within days, a huge backlash induced the company to rescind its program and to rethink how it addresses a growing number of privacy issues.
China's Trademark Laws ' Simple and Effective
September 19, 2006
The media loves to write about China's failure to protect foreign company intellectual property. But those articles can be misleading. They often fail to state whether the foreign company actually registered its IP in China at all, and they nearly always fail to distinguish between the various types of IP eligible for protection. Both of these shortcomings are meaningful.
<b>Online Exclusive:</b> FTC Shuts Down Four Spamming Operations
September 18, 2006
The Federal Trade Commission ('FTC') announced that it settled litigation against four spam operators, resulting in their permanent shutdown. Each operator was charged with sending spam that violated provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act, and one was also charged with violating the Adult Labeling Rule that requires that senders use the phrase 'SEXUALLY EXPLICIT' in the subject line of sexually explicit e-mail.
The Federal Stored Communications Act: Third-Party Subpoena to E-mail Service Provider of Anonymous Party Ruled Invalid
September 18, 2006
Are electronic records maintained by an electronic communications service provider fair game for discovery in civil litigation? <i>In O'Grady v. The Superior Court of Santa Clara County (Apple Computer, Inc.)</i>, 139 Cal. App. 4th 1423, 44 Cal. Rptr. 3d 72 (Ct. App, 6th Dist. 2006), a California state appeals court quashed a civil subpoena seeking e-mail records from an e-mail service provider, citing provisions of the federal Stored Communications Act ('SCA'), 18 U.S.C. §§2701-2712, that prohibit service providers from disclosing the contents of stored electronic communications. The ruling is controversial because it appears to be the first time, in the 20 years since the enactment of the SCA in 1986, that a court has held that the Act prohibits civil litigants from obtaining discovery of electronic communications from providers of e-mail and other electronic communications services, even when a court has reviewed and approved the subpoena.
A National Data Breach Law Is Inevitable: Both Houses of Congress Are Considering Bills
September 18, 2006
On July 21, the Financial Data Protection Act (H.R. 3997) was reported out of the House Financial Services Committee. If passed, this act would impose a business-friendly, national standard for the protection of private consumer data, and notification of consumers in the event of a data-security breach. Although the House leadership sought a quick floor vote on the bill, fierce opposition from consumer groups forced the vote to be rescheduled until after the summer recess. Despite this delay, a number of factors seem to be converging that will make a national data-breach law inevitable.
