Net News
October 01, 2004
U.S. Cybersecurity Chief Abruptly Resigns<br>AOL Rejects Microsoft's Anti-Spam Standard
Internet Communications Pose New Liability Issues
October 01, 2004
Law firms, which are as much a part of the e-commerce world as any enterprise they advise, are more often offering clients protected access to their personal case information over the Internet. <br>Clients expect their attorneys to use the most modern communications technologies, including the Internet. Using the Internet, through the firm's Web site, to communicate with clients and other attorneys can be fast, efficient and cost-effective. Providing confidential information over the Internet, however, can increase legal liability for the law firm. As of now, courts and bar associations provide little guidance for lawyers facing these new ethical and legal issues.
Buying Into Or Offering Franchising Opportunities?
October 01, 2004
Franchise statutes and regulations apply to the Internet. Court decisions clearly state that suppliers who use the Internet to sell goods and services ' with independent distributors, dealers, or sales agents helping ' may be franchisors under federal or state law.
Is Your Online Presence An Afterthought?
October 01, 2004
Googling" has become the preferred way to check out a potential date, anonymously, and without the target's knowledge. You just put the name into the popular search engine to see whatever may appear, good or bad. <br>But what would a potential customer find if it did the same thing for your business, or your key employees? Would a prospective hire or acquirer be scared away by your firm's online tracks?
Franchise Law Applies To Internet
October 01, 2004
Traditional franchising is an established business technique that brings together the owner of a branded product with another. A franchisor provides a trademark or trade name and a business arrangement; a franchisee pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisor's name and system. The contract binding the two parties is the franchise. <br>After the downturn in the Internet advertising market, Internet merchants developed the pay-for-performance e-commerce sector. Internet merchants paid a commission to affiliates who directed people to their Web sites. More sophisticated affiliate programs were set up as revenue sharing arrangements. The terms and conditions for these programs began to mimic franchise agreements.
Cases of Note
October 01, 2004
Recent cases of interest to the Internet law community. This month:<br>U.S. Supreme Court Mulls RIAA, Verizon Dispute <br>PA Internet Child Pornography Act Struck Down
<b><i>Commentary</b></i> Is Suing Your Customers A Good Idea?
October 01, 2004
Four thousand two hundred and eighty lawsuits and counting. <br>That's how many lawsuits have been brought by the major record labels against music fans for using peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software (like KaZaA or Morpheus) to swap music over the Internet. The 1-year anniversary has just been reached in the recording industry's unprecedented litigation campaign against its own customers. The campaign appears to have hit its stride, with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announcing roughly 500 new suits each month.
RIAA Escalates Battle
October 01, 2004
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently announced that it has filed a new round of lawsuits against 762 people it suspects of distributing its songs for free over Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) networks like KaZaA and eDonkey. <br>As of press time, the RIAA has sued roughly 5400 people over the past year in an effort to discourage the online song copying that it believes has cut into CD sales. And it's also pressing Congress to help.
Legislative Update
October 01, 2004
House OKs Bill Imposing 'Spyware' Fines <br>Schwarzenegger Signs California Anti-Spyware Bill <br>Maryland Anti-Spam Law Toughens Penalties
Get Smart With Your Marketing Materials
October 01, 2004
For some time now, CRM has been all the rage, but marketers may soon start hearing another buzzword: "SMART." <br>SMART stands for Sales and Marketing Assembly Resource Tool, and when integrated with a company's content, it can make an enormous difference in the way companies prepare and send out their marketing pieces.
