Legislative Update
January 28, 2005
The latest state and federal legislative developments in Internet law.
Net News
January 28, 2005
Recent developments of note in the Internet industry.This month:<br>First Convictions in U.S. Peer-To-Peer Piracy Fight <br>Music Industry Boss Defends File-Sharing Lawsuits <br> 8th Circuit: No ISP Subpoenas
Online Apple Secrets Publisher Finds Heavy Hitter
January 28, 2005
The 19-year-old publisher of a Web site facing a recent lawsuit over an article about a top-secret $499 Apple computer originally had to plead for legal assistance. Not only did Terry Gross, a partner in the San Francisco-based Gross & Belsky LLP, step up to the plate, but he appears to be willing to play hardball.
SEC Says Google's Lawyers Goofed
January 28, 2005
Google and its general counsel, David Drummond, reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the company's failure to register more than $80 million in employee stock options in the 2 years prior to its IPO.
Practice Tip: Evaluating Products Liability Risks at the Corporate Level
January 26, 2005
Conducting a due diligence review has long been standard practice for anyone considering the purchase of a company's stock or assets or a piece of real estate. In some disciplines, such as environmental law, the potential imposition of strict liability for contamination or the threat of third-party lawsuits has resulted in comprehensive environmental due diligence becoming an essential part of any pre-acquisition review. The same is the case with respect to product liability. Given the proliferation of product liability lawsuits, due diligence should no longer be thought of as a tool used exclusively in mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"). Rather, it should become an integral part of the corporate culture.
Litigation
January 26, 2005
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Identity Theft: The Next Corporate Liability Wave?
January 26, 2005
The FTC estimates that over 24 million people in the United States have had their identity stolen. Using the $11,000 damage figure per case developed above, that represents over $26 billion of potential liability if fault can be ascribed to the data holder. Customer and employee databases are prime targets for identity thieves because a single vulnerability in a company's information security can yield access to personal data on thousands of persons. In addition to the growing threat of class-action lawsuits, new laws are coming into effect to hold organizations responsible for securing personal data. Companies should evaluate this risk and consider taking action to reduce their potential liability.
Practice Tip: Want To Blog?
January 26, 2005
Google describes a Blog as: "a journal that is made available on the Web. The activity of updating this blog is known as blogging and, likewise someone who keeps a blog is known as a blogger!" Typically, blogs are updated daily by the use of software that allows people with little or no technical background to maintain the blog; however, while attorneys are the best at what they do ' <i>ie</i>, the practice of law ' they have no clue when it comes to marketing skills for their firm, or technology and how to effectively design a blog! <br>Well, recently all this has changed ' and for the better, I might add.
Cutting Edge Litigation Support Services
January 26, 2005
A progressive court reporting agency should be considered a part of the litigation team, and strive to not only produce a perfect record, but to help attorneys get the most value from that record. As soon as attorneys are exposed to a few choice tools on the technology frontier, they are hooked. Those critical tools are based upon the Internet, video recording services, conferencing capabilities, and software developed for transcript and discovery management. Attorneys have discovered how easy these technologies are to use, and they enjoy adopting new practices to make them more efficient, more astute, and more competitive. Whether they tackle one frontier at a time, or all at once, the technology ends up being entrenched in their routines.
