When Technology Doesn't Work
February 03, 2006
The traditional wisdom, "failing to plan is planning to fail," has been transformed into a rule of thumb for the tech sector: "plan for failure." Firms that do not explicitly anticipate systems failure run the risk of being unprepared for a catastrophe, just as Floridians must plan for hurricanes in August ' and New Orleans must now be prepared for potential dike breaches.
<b>Analysis:</b> Courts Still Not Sure How to Handle Internet
February 03, 2006
While the legal and jurisdictional implications are important, the Internet considerations highlight the complexity associated with the online world and geographic borders. For the majority of the court, the combination of the expert panel evidence and the decision by the French court to limit its restrictions to French users yielded the view that offline geographic borders can be applied to the Internet.
Yahoo Can't Win For Losing
February 03, 2006
If hard cases make bad law, perhaps it follows that unusual cases produce bizarre results. Proof of that can be seen in a recent ruling of an 11-judge <i>en banc</i> panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals involving Yahoo's battle against French groups that oppose the sale of Nazi memorabilia.
Is Anti-Spyware Legislation Congress's Killer App In 2006?
February 03, 2006
Reading the news, one might think the encroaching patchwork of state anti-spyware laws and the proliferation of high-profile cases against surreptitious spyware distributors could finally prompt Congress to take action on spyware in 2006. But a closer look reveals that states, Congress and the Federal Trade Commission have not yet reached a consensus on what spyware is and how best to address enforcement. Even if Congress does act on spyware this year, the legislation is likely to offer an incomplete solution to computer users and, for legitimate online behavioral advertisers, to leave substantial litigation questions unaddressed.
Justice Dept. Google Subpoenas Anger Privacy Groups
February 03, 2006
Right-to-privacy groups say that the Government's attempt to force Google to turn over a broad range of materials from its databases has set a dangerous precedent that should worry all Americans.
Net News
February 03, 2006
Recent news of interest to the Internet law community.
The LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
February 02, 2006
For more than 135 years, attorneys have relied on the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory to provide them with authoritative information on the worldwide legal profession. Martindale-Hubbell's exclusive Peer Review Lawyer Rating System evaluates attorneys and law firms in the U.S. and Canada with its independent peer review process.
Overmessaging
February 02, 2006
Dwelling on your "message" (or what you want to say) at the onset of any reporter's inquiry, or at any point during the reporting process to the exclusion of all of the other component parts of the reporter/source/communications professional interaction (deadlines, non-verbal cues, relationships, etc.), is sure to result in less than optimal coverage. This can only be described as "overmessaging" or "over-PRing" a situation.