<b><i>Software Review:</b></i> The Buzz on Buzzword
July 30, 2008
The livelihood of a lawyer involves a lot of words, which is why practically every lawyer uses a word processor. Traditionally, this means installing and using a software copy of Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect. Over the last few years, however, we've seen the emergence of a new delivery method for software.
Web 2.0 Comes to the Legal Profession
July 30, 2008
We now have what many technology experts call 'Web 2.0' and, once again, technology offers new opportunities for members of the legal profession to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their workflow. We believe it is in the interest of technology leads within law firms and corporate counsel groups to consider how they can better incorporate these innovations into their practices, given the benefits they can deliver.
The Role of Tape
July 30, 2008
Information stored on various kinds of electronic media is becoming central to virtually all corporate investigations, whether they are litigation-, regulatory- or audit-driven. The adoption of e-mail as the standard communication and document distribution mechanism, coupled with its exponential growth, has focused attention on electronically stored information.
Novel Internet Statute Strategies
July 30, 2008
The Internet presents special regulatory challenges. Any effective statute, for instance, must be prepared by an entity with the authority to draft, implement and, to some extent enforce, the statute. Efficacy, of course, hinges on jurisdiction, but the Internet knows no geography and, so, users leap boundaries with a finger poke or thumb flick. These challenges require novel statutory strategies to meet the Internet's current and future status as a channel and communications domain that requires regulation at various levels of operation and use, including e-commerce.
DIY-ing to e-Plan
July 30, 2008
Professional services requiring insight and judgment ' and application of sophisticated expertise on a case-by-case basis ' seemed immune to the e-commerce onslaught. After all, no one wants to trust the future welfare of one's family and affairs to a device that makes the phrase 'computer problem' a redundancy. And why would people who need to spend thousands of dollars on estate planning even think about trusting an online service just to save a few dollars ' even if only to pass on post-mortem thoughts from the grave?
Lulu v. Hulu: What's All of the Hullabaloo?
June 27, 2008
While the rhyming nature of these two Web sites provided entertaining fodder for journalists and bloggers, in <i>Lulu Enterprises, Inc. v. N-F Newsite, LLC, aka Hulu, LLC, et. al</i>, the court focused its denial of Plaintiff Lulu's motion for preliminary injunction not on the rhyming nature of the domain names, but upon the Plaintiff's inability to prove imminent harm from the launch of Defendant's 'hulu.com' Web site. Rather than focusing on a likelihood of confusion analysis, the court's decision instead contains useful commentary on the effects of statements made in federal registration applications, and the likely expansion of the use of the mark, as they relate to the 'imminent harm' standard in trademark and unfair competition cases.
Redefining Prior Art Under Proposed Patent Reform Measures
June 27, 2008
This is the second installment of a two-part series on the proposed move from a patent system granting priority of patent rights based upon invention dates to a system in which priority is based primarily upon filing dates. The first installment discussed the history behind the current first-to-invent system and the basics of the proposed changes to the system. This installment explores the statutory bars under the proposed legislation and other changes affecting prior art.
Did 'Roommates.com' Nix Consumer-Generated Content?
June 26, 2008
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act essentially gives Internet service providers immunity from liability for publishing false or defamatory material as long as that material was provided by another party. In <i>Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com LLC</i>, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an earlier ruling that a commercial roommate-matching service may be liable for violations of the Fair Housing Act because of the manner in which the site elicits information from prospective roommates.
Online Pharmacy Ordered to Pay FTC $15.8 Million
June 26, 2008
Saying they 'dispensed deception,' a federal judge in Atlanta has ordered the founders and operators of a now-defunct online pharmacy business to pay the FTC $15.8 million for fraudulent claims associated with the drugs they peddled. In his order, issued June 4, U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell also found Dr. Terrill Mark Wright, a physician associated with the online pharmacies, liable for $15.4 million to compensate consumers for false advertising claims.
