EU's Antitrust Move Against U.S. Studios
September 02, 2015
The European Commission's (EU) recent decision to file antitrust claims against six major U.S. film studios is an aggressive approach at dismantling how Hollywood does business. Even so, it comes as little surprise to antitrust experts given the regulatory agency's push to unify consumer access to digital products in the European Union.
FTC, Federal Court Views on Fraud In Crowdfunding
September 02, 2015
In a release this summer, the FTC announced it had brought and settled its first case involving crowd-funding. The defendant raised more than $122,000 through Kickstarter to produce a Monopoly-like board game geared toward H.P. Lovecraft fans. According to the FTC's complaint, defendant used the Kickstarter proceeds to pay for personal expenses, including his move to Oregon. The settlement order should serve as a reminder that strong legal remedies at both the state and federal level are available to defrauded contributors.
FTC, Federal Court Views on Fraud In Crowdfunding Ventures
September 02, 2015
In a release this summer, the FTC announced it had brought and settled its first case involving crowd-funding. The settlement order should serve as a reminder that strong legal remedies at both the state and federal level are available to defrauded contributors.
Significant UK Court Ruling on Data Protection Liability
September 02, 2015
The UK's Court of Appeal gave a very important judgment in March 2015 in a case concerning Google's Internet behavior tracking through a browser. First, misuse of private information is now classified as a tort, thereby in this case enabling proceedings to be issued against a party outside the jurisdiction of the UK; and, second, financial compensation for distress caused by breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 may now be claimed, despite there being no monetary loss.
e-Mail Risk Mitigation For Law Firms
September 02, 2015
Each day, attorneys create and handle documents that require strict confidentiality to avoid loss of evidentiary privileges. In today's digital workplace, many of these files are exchanged via e-mail. While e-mail allows for convenience, speed and portability, each attorney using e-mail must ask before sending: "Am I putting my client's confidentiality needs and expectations, as well as my ethical obligations, at risk?"
Data Sharing in the Cloud
September 02, 2015
Storing and sharing data "in the cloud" has become, in many instances, a business necessity. The practical and economic advantages of cloud computing are clear ' it eliminates the need to send client data via traditional, costly methods, and is significantly less expensive than building and maintaining the same data storage capacity in-house.
Online Impersonation Continues, With Varying Consequences
September 02, 2015
Online impersonation is defined in the New York Code provisions that prohibit the practice, as the act of impersonating another "under an assumed character with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another." The foremost case brought under this law, <i>People v. Golb</i>, in many ways epitomizes the bizarre and highly esoteric reasons why someone chooses to impersonate another in the first place.