Thursday, September 29, 2005

Because That's Certainly The Best Use of Our Law Enforcement Resources... Reuters reports that "Senators turning up heat on P2P pirates: "That failed to mollify Specter or Feinstein, who appeared to want her department to be much more active. 'Why not go after both levels?' Specter asked. 'Why not get tough? That's what Sen. Feinstein wants to do, and I think it's a good idea.'"

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Looks Like the PTO Rejected the W3C's Attempt to Challenge the Java/Active-X Patent. Internetnews.com reports that "Eolas Patent Survives Re-Exam." From the article: "On Tuesday, the USPTO issued a 'Notice of Intent to Issue a Reexam Certificate' to Eolas Technology, the tiny University of California spin-off that received U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906 in 1998."

Monday, September 26, 2005

So if a Use Increases the Market for a Related Service..., but hurts the market for the copyrighted work (i.e., increases the ease with which people can use public transportation, but obviates the need for hard copy maps, which are given away for free), how does the fair use analysis come out? Wired.com reports that "IPod Maps Draw Legal Threats." From the article: "More than 9,000 people downloaded the map, which was viewable on either an iPod or an iPod nano, before Bright received a Sept. 14 letter from Lester Freundlich, a senior associate counsel at New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority, saying that Bright had infringed the MTA's copyright and that he needed a license to post the map and to authorize others to download it."

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Sounds Like the Cayman Islands May be Getting New Residents. Reuters reports that "P2P music sites closing doors in legal fallout." From the article: "Popular file-sharing site WinMX.com ceased operating and the New York office of another, eDonkey.com, appeared to be closed, in the continuing legal fallout among underworld peer-to-peer music services, industry sources and users said on Wednesday."
More Ways to Dine Well and Help the Victims of Katrina. The Peacock Cafe is holding a benefit tonight for the Red Cross and Salvation Army. In exchange for a $75 donation (100% of which goes to either the Red Cross or Salvation Army), you get a three course meal (drinks are your responsibility).

Restaurants around the country are participating in Restaurants for Relief on Tuesday, September 27, 2005. Check the web page for participating restaurants.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

The New Yugos. Reuters reports in "Bricklin will not use "Chery" name in US." From the article: "Visionary Vehicles founder Malcolm Bricklin said on Tuesday that he will not market cars from Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co. in the United States under the Chery name because of objections from General Motors Corp. GM has threatened legal action if Bricklin uses the brand name 'Chery' to bring in Chinese-made cars and trucks to the U.S. market. The world's largest automaker says that 'Chery' sounds too similar to its 'Chevy' brand, short for Chevrolet."
Interesting Development. Reuters reports that "Baidu ordered to halt music downloading service." From the article: "The Baidu cases are believed to be different, since the search engine is providing links to sites that offer illegal downloads."
Anyone Starting a Pool to Guess How Quickly These Limitations are Circumvented? The AP reports that "Google's digital library tests law." From the article: "To prevent the wholesale file-sharing that is plaguing the entertainment industry, Google has set some limits in its library project: Users won't be able to easily print materials or read more than small portions of copyright works online."

Monday, September 19, 2005

It Really Is Napster 2.0. The AP reports that "File-Sharing Services Trying to Go Legit." From the article: "Grokster, which faces a copyright-infringement suit brought by Hollywood movie studios and recording companies, has been in talks to be acquired by Mashboxx, a company preparing to launch a licensed file-swapping service, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the talks."
The Only Guarantees In Life: Death, Taxes and Pirated Microsoft Products. Internetnews.com reports that "Microsoft Sues 8 Resellers Over Fakes." From the article: "The world's biggest software maker has filed suits in Arizona, California, Illinois, Minnesota and New York against the privately held companies who allegedly sold counterfeit copies of several different software products, such as Office 2000 Professional and Windows XP, Mary Jo Schrade, senior attorney at Microsoft, told internetnews.com."
They Get It. They Really Get It. Wired reports that "E-Tailers Get Apple Nastygrams." From the article: "'Although on the surface it looks like Apple is being overly heavy-handed with this approach, protection of its brand is important,' he said. 'Authorized Apple resellers, for example, have very clear guidelines to follow regarding the use of trademarks. It appears that this has not been the case for the rapidly growing number of web-based accessory e-tailers, particularly the gray market.'"

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Slate Asks the Important Questions. Slate discusses the recently filed lawsuit regarding the Freedom Tower in "When Architects Plagiarize - It's not always bad." From the article: "Whatever the merits of the claim, the suit raises a broader issue, one that is particularly relevant in an age in which 'starchitect' buildings have become the norm: How important should artistic authorship be in the world of architecture?"

Friday, September 16, 2005

So Are These Links Manually Compiled, or the Result of Search Queries? Reuters reports that "Record labels sue Baidu for copyright infringement." From the article: "The four largest record companies have sued Baidu.com Inc. for copyright infringement, alleging the Chinese Internet search engine has been illegally providing links to free digital music downloads, according to a trade group the represents the music industry."

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Anyone Know About Publicity Rights in the EU? The AP reports that "Tom Waits sues over alleged soundalike." From the article: "Andreas Schumacher, Waits' German lawyer, said the singer was approached numerous times about doing the ads last year, but declined, citing a policy of not doing commercials. He said the firm then hired a soundalike and the ads aired earlier this year in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway."

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Surprised That It Took This Long. In good news for technology companies everywhere, Law.com reports that "Lemelson Patents Ruled Unenforceable." From the article: "The Federal Circuit ruled Friday that Lemelson's 18- to 39-year delay in prosecuting patent claims relating to machine vision and bar-code technologies was unreasonable."

Sunday, September 11, 2005

What a Surprise - Barbershop Opened Three Years Ago Next Week. E!Online reports that "Writer Wants Cut of 'Barbershop'." From the article: "Per his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, James Davis, a 31-year-old aspiring filmmaker, says he came up with the idea for The Shop while he was working in a Atlanta barbershop. The suit claims Davis had circulated the script to several actors and production companies."

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Interesting Resolution. Reuters reports that "GEICO, Google settle lawsuit." From the article: "'Terms of the settlement, although not disclosed, would suggest some sort of payment was made, but that a trial has been avoided,' Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst with brokerage Hoefer & Arnett. 'This mitigates the risk of further trademark lawsuits,' he said."

Monday, September 05, 2005

Ways to Help. ABA's Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief page.

Red Cross donation page.

Liberal Blogs for Hurricane Relief.

Best Buy is matching in-store donations.

Federated Department Stores, including the Hechts chain, are also matching donations.

The Kimpton Hotels Group will credit members' Kimpton InTouch account with a bonus credit equivalent to a one-night visit for any donation to the American Red Cross of $50 or more.

McDonalds will be matching donations to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which will be directed toward relief efforts.

GM is matching employee contributions to the Red Cross, as are GE, Kimberly Clark and Ford.

DCist has information on local fundraisers in the DC-area, and the Washington Post has more.

The Richmond Times Dispatch has a listing of fundraisers in the Richmond, Virginia area.

Dine for America goes live on Thursday, September 8, 2005.

Share Our Strength is hosting a Hurricane Relief Benefit Taste Event in DC on October 17, 2005.

The Museum of the American Cocktail is sponsoring a nationwide "Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour" on Monday, September 12, 2005 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Habitat for Humanity is accepting donations and volunteers to help rebuild the Gulf Coast.
Let Me Guess What the Defense Will Be... ... fair use? Reuters reports that "ABC News sued over use of bin Laden footage." From the article: "In a suit filed August 31 in U.S. District Court in Denver and made public this week, Essam Mohamed Aly Deraz seeks $10 million in damages and to bar ABC from further use of the still photos and video pictures that he took 'at great risk to his personal safety.'"
It's Roberts. Reuters reports that "Bush picks Roberts to succeed Rehnquist."
Piling it On. The AP reports in"Aussie Court: Kazaa File-Swapping Illegal." From the article: "In a ruling hailed as a resounding victory by the recording industry, a court Monday said that popular file-swapping network Kazaa breaches copyright in Australia and gave its owners two months to stamp out further piracy by its millions of users."

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Rehnquist is Dead. CNN has more.
New DMCA Ruling from the Eighth Circuit. The AP reports that "Court KOs Online Game Bypass Program." From the article: "Thursday's ruling by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here upholds a lower court's finding that the trio violated the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act as well as software license agreements by helping people bypass Blizzard's system for playing multiplayer games like Diablo and StarCraft online."

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Barbera Motors in Hot Water Again. Sounds like he's making enemies that he may not want to make... First 50 Cent, and now Snoop Dog have sued the Philadelphia-area car dealership. E!Online reports that "Snoop Sues Over 'Izzle' Flap." From the article: "According to Broadus' complaint, available online at the Smoking Gun, Barbera ran an ad in the Philadelphia Daily News on Aug. 22 that stated 'Is Bar-Bizzle the Sh-izzle? Boy I Gu-izzle' in an apparent attempt to lure street-savvy kids to his lot."