Technology Media and Telecom

Not all file-sharing websites are created equal, according to U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S District Court for the District of Washington.

What's at issue is control, obviously, and the great lengths to which some will go to maintain it, even as they benefit from the wide-open, free-flowing viral information torrent of the Internet.

One thing to do when hiring a celebrity endorser is to be certain the contract includes a "morals clause" that permits termination of a contract if the endorser decides to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., to tweet, post or upload offensive comments and materials. Know, however, that celebrity agents are very careful not to let contracts be terminated for bad behavior.

For lawyers struggling to cut costs and boost efficiency, Internet-based data storage and client service has been a popular alternative. But those who have their heads in the clouds when it comes to client confidentiality concerns may get a wake-up call by the American Bar Association.

A Massachusetts state court judge has ruled that a Boston software developer's case against defunct social media site ConnectU Inc. and its founders and key shareholders, including the Winklevoss twins, can move forward. Also, the Winklevosses' have taken their bid to undo their Facebook settlement to the Supreme Court.

Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn signed the "Main Street Fairness Act" into law, making Illinois one of a growing number of states seeking to collect sales tax revenues from a retail market traditionally beyond their reach ' the world of online commerce ' by focusing on the role of local online marketing affiliates.

Economic data often seems like the weather ' fickle and hard to predict, or rely on. But raw revenue data doesn't lie, and according to U.S. Census Bureau, overall preliminary estimated retail spending and e-commerce sales in the first quarter of this year reached record high.

Myriad Internet-related violations of criminal and civil statutes are not prosecuted because their novelty requires the moving party to exert excessive effort. The truth is that when cases of Internet bad acts are brought to court, the prosecution tends to be unsuccessful. Rather than pursuing traditional criminal or civil action, each of which would be based on a specific act, the use of nuisance-law injunctions may be a better alternative in responding to Internet bad acts, because such injunctions are based on generally objectionable behavior.