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Technology Media and Telecom

  • For more than a year, the software/information technology, financial, and even biotech industries, along with the patent bar, waited for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue of business methods and patent-eligible subject matter under ' 101 of the Patent Act. In its recent decision in Bilski v. Kappos, the Supreme Court provided an answer for the business method claimed by Bilski, but not a lot of detailed guidance for future cases.

    July 29, 2010Brian Mudge
  • On-the-job Internet surfing has become a problem that employers can no longer ignore. A recent Office of Inspector General investigation, for example, revealed that senior-level SEC staff, including an attorney, used their workplace computers to view online pornography for up to eight hours per day during the period of time that led this country's biggest economic meltdown since the Great Depression.

    July 29, 2010Fernando M. Pinguelo and Laura J. Tyson
  • In a closely watched case and in a nearly unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the City of Ontario, CA, Police Department did not violate the Fourth Amendment privacy rights of its employee when it audited text messages he had sent and received on a department-issued paging device.

    July 29, 2010Sarah A. Kelly
  • Under what circumstances do employees who use a workplace computer to communicate with their attorneys waive the attorney-client privilege that would normally attach to such a communication? A recent ruling from New Jersey addressed this question.

    July 28, 2010Fernando M. Pinguelo and Laura J. Tyson
  • CourtroomInsight.com and LegalRelay.com both launched at LegalTech New York in February. They are growing by encouraging users, as well as experts and vendors who can benefit from the reviews, to take advantage of their respective "freemium" models. The unrelated sites allow visitors to post and read reviews for free, but offer enhanced positioning and descriptive information to paid subscribers.

    June 30, 2010Ari Kaplan
  • What is the first step that an end-user should consider when in technical distress? My first suggestion to that end-user is the time-honored, well-known and often irritating ' reboot.

    June 30, 2010Sue Hughes
  • A growing number of courts have addressed the validity of contracts purportedly created through Web-based transactions. While the judiciary has produced mixed results in this area, a few trends have emerged ' notwithstanding the nuances presented by online transactions.

    June 30, 2010Michael J. Breslin
  • Whether your firm is redesigning its existing Web site or creating its first site, hiring a developer can be an expensive and time-consuming undertaking. To make your redesign/development experience rewarding and to avoid misunderstandings, outline the scope of your project before obtaining proposals from Web site design firms.

    June 21, 2010Nancy Roberts Linder