Where to Find Everything You Need
December 01, 2003
The increasing distribution of forms, procedures, rules, laws, and opinions in electronic format suggests that for certain legal materials it has become appropriate to look for a Web site early in the research process. A selected list of Web sites useful to attorneys engaged in litigating land use issues or drafting land use plans appears below. All sites should be viewed critically for accuracy and reliability of the information. It is important to remember that materials that are even a few years old may be excluded; the scope of coverage may be limited; and often a citation, name, or date is needed as an access point because the Web site content is not searchable.
Trademark Exploitation on the Internet
December 01, 2003
While the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C.S. '1051, adequately addresses the legal difficulties associated with bad faith registration of trademarked names by non-trademark holders, e-exploitation of trademarks is still a problem for trademark holders.
Music Industry Faces Dual Setbacks
December 01, 2003
Just as the reinvigorated Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed its third wave of lawsuits to thwart the trading of copyrighted music…
Spam Gets Canned Federal Anti-Spam Law to Take Effect January 1
December 01, 2003
More than 35 states have enacted laws regulating spam in some form or fashion. Legitimate marketers and businesses adapted to these various state laws, gravitating toward a fairly uniform best practices model, which stopped short of the sort of true "opt-in only" model strongly preferred by consumer and anti-spam groups. Mailers could be fairly confident that they would avoid liability under state spam laws and not overly alienate Internet service providers (ISPs) or their own customers by simply including valid contact information, honoring "opt-out" requests, providing accurate headers and routing information, using nondeceptive subject lines and (in a few states) labeling the messages as advertisements. This widely followed compliance strategy became unworkable in September 2003, however, when California instead enacted a true "opt-in" approach to commercial e-mail marketing. Marketers were faced with a January 2004 compliance deadline and sweeping new prohibitions on marketing to or from any California e-mail address unless the sender had the recipient's "direct consent" or had a "pre-existing business relationship" with the recipient (and the recipient had not "opted out" of such mailings). In response, legitimate marketers aggressively lobbied Congress to accelerate final passage of federal legislation to pre-empt at least the more disruptive aspects of California's new law prior to its effective date. Congress responded to the call, and the CAN SPAM Act of 2003 was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Dec. 16, 2003.
Remote Access: What It Can Do for You
December 01, 2003
Most people have heard of remote access and wireless Internet, two terms that could be, but aren't always, interchangeable. But from a practical standpoint, how do they apply to the common practitioner?
Federal Law Allows Employer Search of Stored Worker e-Mail, Court Says
December 01, 2003
An employer does not violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by digging through an employee's e-mails in computer storage, since the law bans an "interception" only if it occurs at the time of transmission, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
A Look Back and A Look Forward
December 01, 2003
Four months ago when I was asked to become Editor-in-Chief of <i>Marketing The Law Firm</i>, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to engage a wonderful group of authors; select an outstanding Board of Editors; and moderate the first of what I hope will be many exciting and interesting Web audio seminars. As I look back on the last four months, I think the one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that we had so many wonderful contributors to the newsletter. So I thought that we might take a look at the last 4 months and some of the highlights. Although I would love to be able to select all of the articles we've published, given the constraints of space, I am only able to pick two from each issue to feature. In case you missed reading these issues, we'll give you a nutshell version of these articles. I would also be remiss if I didn't say how much I appreciated the efforts of Russ Lawson and Mike O'Horo, whose monthly columns provided all of us with a look at the intricacies of marketing both in a law firm setting and to smaller firms and solos. And as we look forward, we'll take a look at what's coming up and a preview of our editorial calendar.
What You Need to Know About a Debtor's Leased Computers
December 01, 2003
Every lessor and bankruptcy professional understands that the Chapter 7 trustee has the duty to investigate the financial affairs of the debtor and to ensure that books and records are properly turned over in accordance with Section 704. The debtor has the obligation, under Section 521(4), to "surrender to the trustee all property of the estate and any recorded information, including books, documents, records, and papers relating to property of the estate, whether or not immunity is granted under Section 344 of this title." Likewise, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 trustees and debtors have similar duties and responsibilities.
Service Provides Useful Features for E-Discovery
December 01, 2003
Continuing the trend of informing readers about helpful online services (See October <i>PLLS</i> Online for a description of CourtLink and November <i>PLLS</i> Online for EDOCKET), this month's column describes an electronic discovery service that may be useful in complicated product liability litigation. We are not recommending the service; we merely inform our readers of its existence and its claims.
Bush Signs Anti-Spam Bill
November 25, 2003
On Dec. 16, President George W. Bush signed the "can spam" legislation passed earlier in the month by Congress. The legislation provides for jail time and hefty fines for serious violators and calls for the creation of a "do not spam" registry.
