Global Webcast License Introduced Reuters has this report.

Arrested Development II E! Online has this report about Arrested Development's trademark infringement lawsuit against Fox. Of course, I'm still wondering why they waited until the show was on the air to bring a lawsuit, since I've been reading about the show for months. Maybe they're looking for a pay out?

What Goes Around, Comes Around The band Arrested Development has sued Fox for trademark infringement over the name of Fox's recently-debuted sitcom "Arrested Development." Looks like my old firm has been tapped as local counsel for Fox. And what's with everyone filing trademark infringement suits in state court? Not sure why they want to stay there, but they've certainly done all they could by adding the local Fox affiliate as a defendant to defeat diversity jurisdiction.

Guess They're Not a Fan of Bob Marley Reuters has this report about a Canadian lawyer who faces possible disbarment for singing Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sherrif" in the hallway during a break in his client's murder trial for shooting and killing a police officer.

Maybe They Should Call it White Whale Beer The AP is reporting that a federal judge has ruled against a New Hampshire brewery attempting to sell "Billy Budd" beer, named for the title character from Herman Melville's posthumously published work, "Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)," on the grounds that the name is confusingly similar to Budweiser's BUD trademark.

Will This Hurt Their Ability to Show Irreparable Harm? Reuters has this report on how some companies, at the direction of major entertainment firms, are using the same P2P networks the RIAA is trying to shut down for marketing purposes, in some cases even deliberately releasing copyrighted content onto the network.

Do You Trust These Guys with an Election? The New York Times has an article about the controversy surrounding the distribution on the Internet of internal memos from Diebold Election Systems, that include discussions of bugs in Diebold’s software and warnings that its computer network are poorly protected against hackers. Donna has a rundown of the issue here.

There's a Blog for Everything Check out the Open Source Software Law Blog. Or Unsecure Privacy.

Lessig Has a New Guest Blogger Presidential candidate Senator Edwards will be taking over blogging duties at Lessig's Blog next week.

UK Cracks Down on P2P Reuters has this report about a new copyright law that has taken effect in the UK, designed to curb the exchange of copyrighted files on the Internet.

Here We Go Again The AP is reporting that the RIAA has filed an additional 80 lawsuits against P2P music downloaders.

Copyright Office Issues Rulemaking in Lexmark DMCA Case The Globe and Mail has this report on the Copyright Office's recent rulemaking on Lexmark's suit against Static Control Components, which alleged that SCC violated the DMCA by making components for use in remanufactured laser printer toner cartridges. C-Net has this report. Bag and Baggage has a pretty good rundown of the opinion.

Library of Congress Grants DMCA Exemptions C-Net is reporting that the Library of Congress has approved four exemptions to the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA:
• Lists of sites blocked by commercial Internet filtering software, but not spam-fighting lists.
• Computer programs protected by hardware dongles that are broken or obsolete.
• Computer programs or video games that use obsolete formats or hardware.
• E-books that prevent read-aloud or other handicapped access formats from functioning.

Alphabet Soup: SCO Challenges GPL in IBM Suit C-Net is reporting that SCO has launched a broadside attack against the General Public License ("GPL") in its lawsuit against IBM, claiming that the "GPL violates the U.S. Constitution, together with copyright, antitrust and export control laws."

Disney Gets Chance to Keep Pooh Rights Reuters is reporting that the federal district judge presiding over Clare Milne's attempts to regain rights to the Winnie the Pooh franchise, based on the character created by her grandfather, has agreed to certify her adverse May ruling for interlocutory appeal. Milne has struck a deal with Disney whereby Disney will be allowed to continue selling Pooh merchandise if Milne's appeal is successful.

Attention Patent Practitioners The FTC has presented Congress with a proposal that would lower the standard for proving patent invalidity from "clear and convincing" evidence to a preponderance of the evidence.

Get Your Copies of Ghettopoly While You Can... The AP is reporting that Hasbro, makers of Monopoly, have sued the maker of Ghettopoly, claiming trademark and copyright infringement. Somehow, I think they'll have more luck getting a preliminary injunction than Caterpillar did...

It's Raining... Copyright Infringement Lawsuits? Launch is reporting that a lawsuit has been filed against Enrique Iglesias, alleging that he copied the music for his song "Escape" from a song by Henry Lorenzo Haynes called "Remind Me." And E! Online is reporting that Miami-based producer Terrence "T-Robb" Robinson is suing Destiny's Child, claiming that the music to the group's hit "Survivor" is a rip off of Robinson's song "Glorious."

If it Looks too Good to be True... The New York Times is reporting on a disappointed group of customers that thought they were buying Tiffany heart-shaped pendant necklaces for half the usual price from the bargain Web site Overstock.com, only to find out the necklaces were fake. Tiffany plans to sue.

George of the Jungle 2 to Move Ahead as Planned The AP is reporting that a federal district court has rejected Caterpillar's request for a preliminary injunction against distribution of the new Disney movie George of the Jungle 2.

Hope You Didn't Buy the DVD for the Music... Reuters has an interesting story about the problems facing studios trying to release popular television shows on DVD. Apparently, the cost of licensing many of the songs that appeared on the television shows is cost prohibitive, requiring studios to replace the music before release. Which is too bad. I, for one, found several new bands by watching Felicity and Dawson's Creek. And yes, I actually bought the CDs.

3rd Circuit Upholds Webcasting Royalties The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with the RIAA, holding that the Copyright Office correctly determined that radio stations are required to pay a digital recording license when they stream their AM/FM broadcasts over the Internet.

Google Hit with Trademark Infringement Fine in France Reuters is reporting that a French judge has fined Google over the practice of allowing advertisers to link text Internet advertisements to trademarked search terms, and has ordered Google to cease the practice within 30 days.

Do They Actually Expect Anyone to See the Movie? Looks like Caterpillar didn't learn anything from the Fox and Slip 'n' Slide suits. Reuters is reporting that the construction equipment manufacturer has filed a trademark infringement suit against Disney over the made-for-video movie George of the Jungle2, alleging that the movie's depiction of "bulldozing bullies" riding Caterpillar equipment will create a negative image of the manufacturer in the minds of the children that view the movie. All 10 of them.

If You Don't Like Their Review, Sue
SunnComm Technologies Inc. (not to be confused with SunCom, the cell phone carrier) is suing Princeton graduate student Alex Halderman over an article he posted of a digitally protected CD, in which Halderman asserted that SunnComm's MediaMax CD-3 software could be defeated by pressing "Shift" while the disc was inserted into the computer. SunnComm alleges that Halderman violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when he disclosed the existence of driver files loaded by SunnComm's software onto the user's computer, the deletion of which prevents SunnComm's software from protecting the contents of the CD from copying.

Not So Fast C-Net is reporting that SunnComm has decided not to sue.

Another Company Stands Up to the RIAA Reuters is reporting that Charter Communications, a broadband service provider, has sued the RIAA, seeking to block it from gaining access to the names of Charter customers accused to illegally trading copyrighted music. Anyone betting on whether it will be more successful than Verizon's challenge?

Talking Book Wars The AP is reporting that LeapFrog Enterprises has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price, alleging that Fisher-Price's new PowerTouch Learning System infringes on a 1998 patent on interactive learning books for toddlers and preschoolers. Who knew talking books were such a big industry?

I'm Back! After moving a few hours north and changing jobs, I finally have Internet access again. So I'll try to catch up on some of the stuff I missed.

RIAA Sues File Trading System C-Net reports that "RIAA sues iMesh file-trading firm."

They're At it Again IP Justice has a report on another case filed by the movie studios to block distribution of DVD copying software.

Hotel Sued Over Use of Dewey Decimal System Who knew that the Dewey Decimal System was trademarked? And how do you trademark a system, anyway? The New York Times is reporting that the "owners" of the Dewey Decimal System trademark have sued the owners of the Library Hotel in New York for using the system without a license. This is one complaint I would love to read, since I have a feeling that the write up probably isn't capturing the whole issue.

JetBlue Data Transfer Backfires The
AP is reporting that a group of JetBlue passengers has sued the airline for providing historical flight data to a Defense Department contractor testing the new Homeland Security Airline Passenger Risk Assessment system.

Senators Balk at Brownback Proposals Reuters reports that several members of the Senate Commerce Committee have indicated a reluctance to change the existing digital copyright laws.

More DVD Suits Reuters reports that "Film Studios Sue Over DVD Copying Software."

More on Grokster Appeal Reuters reports that "Grokster, Morpheus File Briefs in Song-Swap Appeal."

There Goes the RIAA's Favorite Chestnut Reuters is reporting that "Europe's Internet downloaders are avid music fans who own multiple gadgets and are as likely to buy a compact disc as anyone else, according to new research released on Wednesday."

Six Degrees of Separation on the Web The New York Times reports that "Setback for Microsoft Ripples Through the World Wide Web."

Internet Software Consortium to VeriSign's Site Finder: Get Lost! Wired details the Internet Software Consortium's plans to disable VeriSign's new Site Finder service, since the new feature "breaks" many ISP's spam filters. Marty has a report on the news here.

Follow Up on Garage Door DMCA Suit Wired has this report on the Chamberlain Group's lawsuit against Skylink Technologies, which alleges that Skylink's universal garage door opener violates the DMCA.

Brownback Proposes Greater Protections for Internet Users Wired has an article about a bill recently introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) which seeks to modify the DMCA by requiring owners of digital media to file a John Doe lawsuit before obtaining the contact information of an Internet user. In addition, Brownback's bill (entitled the Consumers, Schools, and Libraries Digital Rights Management Awareness Act of 2003) would require record companies to label all digital media protected by digital rights management measures.

Monsanto Sues Family Farms Wired has this report about Monsanto's recent lawsuit alleging that milk labels that boast "No rBST" or "rBST-free" are misleading, unfair and deceptive.

SBC Stands Firm The New York Times is reporting that ISP SBC Communications is the lone holdout, refusing to comply with the RIAA's subpoenas in the file sharing cases.

SCO Moves to Dismiss Red Hat Suit C-Net has this report.

Verizon Tries Again Verizon has filed an appeal of the district court order requiring it to turn over the identities of Verizon subscribers sought by the RIAA. In its court papers, Verizon challenges the constitutionality of the subpoena provisions of the DMCA. The AP has this report on oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Beatles Management Sues Apple Over Use of "Apple" Trademark The Beatles Management company, Apple Corps., is suing Apple computer, claiming that Apple violated a 1991 agreement in which Apple agreed to limit its use of the "Apple" trademark to computer products. At issue is Apple's expansion of the Apple brand in connection with the new iTunes music service. My question is: does Apple Corp. actually use the word "Apple" as a trademark? While they have a federal registration for the mark (which they obtained in 1997), they seem to use it more as a business name than as an actual trademark or service mark. And who advised Apple to sign the 1991 agreement in the first place? I guess I'll have to stop using Apple as an example of a strong, arbitrary trademark now. More information about the suit can be found here.

Kazaa Users Surprised by RIAA Lawsuits Wired has this report, entitled "Rude Awakening for File Sharers."

Reaction on Campus Reuters has this report on college students' reactions to the recent RIAA lawsuits.

Sun Seeks to Capitalize on SCO Threats C-net is reporting that Sun is considering offering Java customers indemnity from Linux-related lawsuits filed by SCO.

First Sale Doctrine in Cyberspace C-net has an interesting article about the intricacies of one man's attempt to resell a song bought from Apple's iTunes store.

Time to Move to Canada? No, this post isn't about our esteemed commander in chief. Globe and Mail is reporting that lawsuits like the ones recently filed by the RIAA may be less likely in Canada than the U.S., due to differences in the two countries' copyright laws.

Be Careful Before You File that Lawsuit Wired is reporting that EmarketersAmerica.org, which recently filed a lawsuit against a group of spam opponents, is having a difficult time extricating itself from the case. While EmarketersAmerica.org filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal last week, defendants are seeking a court order for $75,000 in legal fees.

Legal Challenge to RIAA Amnesty Plan Wired has this report on a legal challenge to the RIAA's amnesty plan, contending that the program could result in lawsuits from parties not represented by the RIAA.

More on Porn Wars in Pennsylvania In a follow up to one of the stories I posted the other day, the AP is reporting that "Pa. Won't Force Providers to Block Porn."

RIAA Suits in the News The AP has an article entitled "Music Download Suits Could Raise Backlash," and another one announcing that "Girl, 12, Settles Piracy Suit for $2,000." Reuters has this report on the settlement, while Wired has this report. The Washington Post has this report on the defendants in the RIAA suits. Finally, C-net has a fairly complete round-up of RIAA news here.

WooHoo! Completely off-topic, but Opus is returning! Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed will introduce a new comic, aptly entitled "Opus," in November. I still have the series of Outland strips featuring Mary Poppins and Pooh Bear somewhere...

From the Free Publicity Files The makers of Slip 'N Slide have guaranteed extra press for the new David Spade movie by suing the studio for trademark infringement over the inclusion of a scene in which Spade jumps belly first on the yellow plastic sheet without first inflating it with air and water. You gotta wonder about the mental acuity of the guy who sued Wham-O when he became paralyzed after diving onto the slide while intoxicated... And Reuters has a report here.

Good News for Gator A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia has dismissed a lawsuit filed by U-Haul against the purveyors of pop-up ads, alleging that the ads infringed U-Haul's copyright and trademark rights.

Pornography Laws in the News Reuters is reporting that two civil liberties groups are challenging the anti-porn tactics of Pennsylvania's attorney general. Law.com reports here that the 2nd Circuit has ruled that the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977, as amended, does not violate the commerce clause, even if the images are not shipped across state lines.

RIAA Sues... A Yale Professor? The AP has a story on the lawsuits recently filed by the RIAA, which, if the details are correct, seems to contradict the RIAA's assertion that they are only going after the most egregious file sharers. One comment though: what 26 year old in their right mind didn't know that file sharing was illegal, or at the very least, probably not a good idea? Reuters has this report and this report. And E!Online has this story. Finally, the New York Times has this commentary.

Score 1 for IP Justice I've been asked to post about the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois' recent ruling in the case Chamberlain v. Skylink, which contains a good run-down of recent opinions under the DMCA. Chamberlain had brought a claim against Skylink under the DMCA, arguing that Skylink's competing garage door opener was an illegal circumvention device. Citing disputed issues of material fact, the Court denied Chamberlain's motion for a preliminary injunction. The Court also cited favorably amici briefs filed by CCIA and Consumers Union, which pointed out the stifling effect the DMCA has on innovation and competition under Chamberlain's theory. IP Justice has further details on the case here.

Typosquatters Beware The first charges have been filed under the new Amber Alert legislation, which makes it illegal to use misleading Internet URLs to lure children to pornographic websites. Who knew there was a Truth in Domain Names statute? The AP has a report here.

The Onion Takes on Trademark Disputes Online satire magazine The Onion has this spoof of recent trademark disputes. Thanks to Larry and Marty for the link.

RIAA Faces Legal Challenge The lawyers for a New York woman accused of copyright infringement by the RIAA have asked a federal magistrate to delay any order requiring her ISP to turn over her identity. In arguing for the delay, her lawyers have suggested that the RIAA acted illegally when investigating her online activities.

Jeff Burgar At it Again Infamous cybersquatter Jeff Burgar has lost another one, this time to Pierce Brosnan over piercebrosnan.com.

Ever Wondered How they Caught You? The AP has a story detailing the methods the RIAA has used to catch online music swappers.

It's a Great Time to be an RIAA Lawyer The AP is reporting that Webcaster Alliance has sued the RIAA. The move comes after the group, which represents online music broadcasters, was unable to reach an agreement with the RIAA on Internet broadcast royalties. The suit alleges antitrust violations, and seeks an injunction prohibiting the RIAA from enforcing their IP rights and collecting royalty payments.

Wait Just a Second, Honey. I Need to Call the Karma Sutra Hotline From the "What will they think of next?" files: A Brazilian company has begun offering a service that beams animations of sexual positions from the Karma Sutra directly to a user's mobile phone. The service costs $.33. Apparently, a similar service is already in place in Europe. Wait until the Bible Belt gets a load of this one...

Earthlink Sues Spammers Reuters is reporting that Earthlink has sued two spam "rings," located in Alabama and British Columbia, that allegedly flooded Earthlink's network with 250 million e-mails.

5th Circuit: "You Gotta Suck da Head on dem der Crawfish" not Original In a decision sure to comfort Mystikal fans everywhere, Launch is reporting that the Fifth Circuit has cleared Mystikal of copyright infringement. The court ruled that Mystikal's hit "Shake Ya Ass" did not infringe on Emanation Inc.'s copyright in its handheld toy Cajun in Your Pocket, since the allegedly copyrighted phrases, including the ever-so-erudite "We gon pass a good time, yeah, cher" and "You gotta suck da head on dem der crawfish," were unoriginal, and thus not protected by copyright law.

Amazon Sues Spoofers The AP has this report on Amazon.com's lawsuit against 11 e-mail marketers that spoofed the company's domain name. You can find the AP report here.

Looking for Some New Songs? Reuters has a summary of new music services.

Final Franken Round-Up E! Online has their take here. Reuters has a report here. The AP has another report here. Finally, CNN has a report here.

DeCSS Update The California Supreme Court has ruled that a lower court's order to remove the DVD decryption code from the Internet does not violate the defendant's rights under the First Amendment. Reuters has another report here. The New York Times has an additional report here.

Surely There Was Extensive Third Party Use... The Atlanta Journal Constitution has a report on the recent decision in a trademark infringement case which held that the name EntrepreneurPR for a public relations firm infringed the trademark "Entrepreneur" for a magazine.

Fox Finally Gets a Clue The AP is reporting that Fox has dropped its lawsuit against Al Franken. Of course, they couldn't resist getting in a few snarky comments first.

Who's Responsible for the Fox/Franken Fracas? According to the New Yorker, responsibility for Fox's ill-fated lawsuit against Franken can be laid squarely at the feet of O'Reilly.

Franken Case Has them Laughing in the Aisles Despite the fact that Fox's lawyers judge Franken to be "increasingly unfunny," according to this New York Times report the oral argument on Fox's motion for a preliminary injunction against Franken was a lot more entertaining than most court hearings.

Mixed Results from RIAA Crackdown The Washington Post has an article about a recent market research study which showed that, while the number of music downloaders has decreased by 28 percent since the RIAA began issuing ISP subpoenas, the average number of files downloaded by each household has actually increased by 6.7 percent.

Judge Puts the Smack Down on Fox I hope the term "Smack Down" isn't trademarked by the WWF... But E! Online is reporting that the judge in Fox's trademark infringement suit against Franken has rejected Fox's bid for a preliminary injunction, calling Fox's suit "wholly without merit, both factually and legally." Reuters has this report. Salon has a fairly extensive report here (subscription or day pass required to view the entire article).

Patent Infringement Suit Against Palm Reinstated Law.com is reporting that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reinstated E-Pass Technologies Inc.'s patent infringement suit against Palm.

More Chilling Effects Showing the need for efforts like Chilling Effects, Wired has this report on the parody site DontBuyMusic.com, which shut down after legal threats from BuyMusic.

RIAA Subpoena Fall Out Wired is reporting on the reaction to the RIAA's latest statements that it will target only "substantial" users of P2P for lawsuits.

Grokster Decision Appealed Reuters is reporting that the MPAA and RIAA have filed briefs in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to overturn the district court's grant of summary judgment to Grokster and Morpheus on claims of copyright infringement.

Internet Pundits Expect Fight Over Search Engines' Ad Scheme In an article that quotes Wendy, Reuters is reporting that a fight could be brewing over Google and Overture's sale of "paid listings" linked to companies' trademarks.

Administration Seeks to Defend PATRIOT Act The AP reports here that the Bush administration is sending Ashcroft around the country to stump in support of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Oral Arguments Scheduled in Fox v. Franken Proving that Fox really doesn't know when to call it quits, the AP is reporting that oral arguments have been scheduled for Friday in Fox's trademark infringement suit against Al Franken. It appears that Franken's lawyers have removed the case to federal district court. Reuters has this report.

RIAA: We Won't Sue Small Downloaders The RIAA has provided Congress with written assurances that it won't target "de minimis" P2P traders. Reuters has additional coverage here.

Citigroup Victim of Phishing Scam Citigroup has become the latest victim in a series of scams seeking to trade on consumers' trust of well-known corporate entities. The e-mail, emblazoned with the Citigroup corporate logo, asks consumers to click on a link to review and agree to Citibank's terms and conditions, providing the hoaxsters with personal information in the process. You'll just have to read the article for the origin of the term "phishing." Reuters has more background here.

Amazon Wins UDRP Proceeding WIPO has ordered a Seattle man to turn over the domain names amazonbooks.com and amazonbooks.org to Amazon.com. Reuters story here.

Senate to Investigate RIAA Senator Norm Coleman, R-Minn, head of the Senate Governmental Affairs' Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has announced plans to hold hearings on the RIAA's recent efforts to crack down on online file traders.

Is That a Photocopy in Your Inbox? Bag and Baggage has an interesting post about a recent decision by a Maryland district court considering whether intra-company distribution of subscription-only materials is copyright infringement.

For All Those Searching the Keywords "judge rejects subpoenas music" I apparently missed this, but Infringing Actions has a post on the recent decision by a Massachusetts federal court quashing the RIAA's subpoenas to MIT and Boston College, because they were improperly issued out of a district court in Washington, DC. (It's the third post down.)

New IP Blawg Check out Kelly D. Talcott's Infringing Actions. Via Denise (who I just realized works at the same firm as a good friend of mine here in Richmond).

Balkin's Take on Fox v. Franken Professor Jack Balkin has an op-ed about the Fox v. Franken case in the LA Times.

Larry Has Another Guest Blogger Check out Lessig's Blog, where presidential candidate Dennis J. Kucinich is filling in for Larry this week. (Yeah, I know I should have posted this much earlier in the week. I forgot.)

Go Marty, It's Your Birthday Just getting a chance to check out The Trademark Blog for the first time in a few days. Check out his posts on the Fox v. Franken fracas here, here, and here. (Apparently, I'm not the only one to speculate on canceling Fox's FAIR AND BALANCED mark based on misdescriptiveness.) Marty also has a post about a Wall Street Journal article I missed, discussing SCO's challenge to the GPL in its case against IBM. Finally, all you Black Dog fans should check out this post.

HP Wins Battle Against Gray Marketers C-Net has an article about a case recently brought by HP against a company that obtained $5.7 million in equipment from Compaq Computer using an educational discount, which it then tried to resell.

More Legal Challenges to RIAA Subpoenas The LA Times is reporting that a Verizon customer has filed to quash the subpoena issued by the RIAA seeking to uncover her identity.

SCO Terminates Second IBM Unix License C-Net has this report.

New Software for Tracking Copyright Licenses The LA Times has this report on software developed by RightsLine Inc.