News Briefs
June 15, 2006
Highlights of the latest privacy and data protection news from around the country.
Internet Privacy: Do You Know Who's Collecting Information About You?
June 15, 2006
While savvy users of the Internet may be aware of the multitude of ways that personal information can be monitored and collected on the Web, most users are likely oblivious to the information trail they leave behind. How many readers of this publication, a population plainly concerned with privacy issues, have read the privacy policies of their favorite Web sites? If you have not, you may be surprised to learn about the amount of information collected by even the most popular and mainstream sites. For example, when a user requests and views a Web page from Yahoo!, that request is logged on Yahoo!'s servers with information including the IP address of the computer that requested the page. Even if information is not purposely collected, just about everything a person does on the Web is stored somewhere for at least some period of time.
What Every U.S. Employer Should Know About Workplace Privacy
June 15, 2006
Last month's article discussed background screening and Social Security number laws. This month's installment covers the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; information security; and monitoring employee telephone, e-mail, and Internet use.
China's Great Leap In-House
June 12, 2006
These days China is full of Silicon Valley wannabes, but Alibaba.com, headquartered in Hangzhou, is way ahead of the pack. In a headline-grabbing deal last August, the company acquired Yahoo Inc.'s China business (it now operates the Yahoo brand in China), plus a $1 billion investment from the venerable Internet company. Now a $4 billion privately held concern, Alibaba.com is best known for its business auction site (www.alibaba.com, which the company claims is the leading Web site for business-to-business trade in the world) and Taobao.com (www.taobao.com), a consumer auction site that's giving eBay.com a run for its money in China. (Alibaba.com is in English, Taobao.com is in Chinese.)
First Global IP Forum in China Sparks Interest
June 06, 2006
Just days before the U.S. government declared China one of 2005's worst infringers of intellectual property, two Needle & Rosenberg attorneys traveled to Beijing for what they say is the country's first-ever international intellectual property rights conference.
Dismantling the 'Great Wall' of Risk <i>Part Two of a Two-Part Article</i>
June 06, 2006
<b><i>Part Two of a Two-Part Series.</i></b> This two-part article (based on a 2005 white paper issued by ELA's Equipment Leasing Foundation, 'Knocking Down (Great) Walls') looks at the key legal and regulatory issues surrounding investing in the Chinese leasing market. Last month's installment provided a market history and analysis of the current legal and regulatory climate. This month's conclusion examines the experiences of lessors currently operating in China.
News Briefs
May 31, 2006
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Court Watch
May 31, 2006
Highlights of the latest franchising cases from around the country.
IFA Legal Symposium: Franchise CEOs Emphasize Importance of Legal Counsel in Wide Variety of Business Issues
May 31, 2006
Legal counsel to franchise systems have responsibilities that range from drafting and updating UFOCs, to assisting with purchases of new systems, to monitoring legislative and regulatory activity. Which of these services are most needed by franchisors, and how can in-house or outside counsel maximize their value? A special CEO Roundtable session at the International Franchise Association ('IFA') Legal Symposium in Washington, DC, in May tried to answer some of those questions by bringing together four veteran franchisor CEOs who detailed how they work with inside and outside counsel and where they see legal flashpoints in franchising today.
