He May be 17, but this Doesn't Look Good... The AP reports that "Microsoft Takes on Teen Over Web Site."

Domain Name Patent Wars C-Net reports that "Domain registrars sued over URL patent."

More Discussion of 9th Circuit Keywords Case C-Net reports "Web ad trademark law to be retested."

Another Celebrity Cybersquatting Case The AP is reporting that "Carmen Electra Wins Control of Net Name."

Lessig: Provocateur? Lawrence Lessig argues in Wired that Third World countries should give the U.S. a taste of its own medicine in A Taste of Our Own Poison, A modest proposal: Hold Hollywood hostage till we kill farm subsidies."

Coverage of Yesterday's Ninth Circuit Decision Law.com reports that "9th Circuit Refreshes Web Trademark Law." Reuters has this report.

It's Spreading... C-Net reports that "SCO takes Linux licensing overseas."

Ninth Circuit Reverses in Playboy Case... ... holds that search engines' practice of selling key words may constitute trademark infringement or dilution. Opinion here.

Don't Mess With Zappa Reuters reports that "Zappa Widow Gets Apology in Canada Copyright Case."

Check it Out How Appealing has a link to the audio file of the oral arguments before the en banc Seventh Circuit in Hosty v. Carter.

More Complaints to Congress About Kazaa Reuters reports that "Kazaa Could Filter Copyrighted Music, Critics Say."

Better Read This If You Submitted A Comment to the ATTB Regarding Malt Beverages C-Net reports that "Treasury breaks word on e-mail anonymity."

I Didn't Know They Were Appealing... C-Net reports that "High court turns deaf ear to Aimster."

Get Your SCO Fix C-Net reports that "SCO, Novell publish Unix disputes."

Will We See Cross-Border Smuggling of iPods? C-Net reports that "Canadian MP3 player tax challenged."

Copy Protected CDs Bad for Industry's Bottom Line? C-Net reports that "Rights issue dogs CD protection."

Reprieve Across the Pond Over? Reuters reports that "UK Music Industry Considers Suing Net Song Swappers."

Porn Industry Now Joining Chorus Against Kazaa Reuters reports "Kazaa Can Block Downloads, But Won't -Porn Firm."

Lord of the Rings in Cyberspace Reuters reports on the recent cybersquatting case in "Lord of the Rings: Return of the Domain Name."

There's a Line to Cross? The BBC online is reporting that "Japanese manga ruled obscene." Reminds me of an unfortunate event where I let my advisees pick the (Japanese anime) movie in college...

Are Viewers Really Clamoring for SNL Clip Shows? Reuters reports that "NBC Sues E! Over 'Saturday Night Live' Clips."

321 Studios Faces More Legal Headaches C-Net reports that "Macrovision sues DVD-copying firm."

Looking for a Slice of the Nemo Pie... E!Online is reporting that French author Franck Le Calvez has sued Disney and Pixar, claiming that the hit movie Finding Nemo was copied from his own work Pierrot le Poisson Clown (aka: Pierrot the Clown Fish).

SCO Threatens Unix Users C-Net reports that "SCO opens new front in Linux war."

Internet Law in 2003 C-Net reports on the year in review.

ACLU and CDT in Pennsylvania A Pennsylvania federal court is hearing a challenge brought by the ACLU and the Center for Democracy and Technology to a Pennsylvania state law that they claim has lead ISPs servicing Pennsylvania customers to block nearly 1 million Web sites, many of which featuring legal material. Reuters has this report.

Who Knew There Was a Market for Nude Photos of Barbie Menaced by Kitchen Appliances? Rejecting a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Mattel, the Ninth Circuit held the photos to be protected free speech.

UHaul Brought Suit in the Wrong Court... A federal judge in New York has issued an injunction against WhenU.com in a trademark infringement action brought by 1-800 Contacts.

Advice for P2P Users Wired reports that "Battle Not Over for File Sharers." Meanwhile, the LA Times reports that "Refund Unlikely for Sued File Sharers."

Dutch Court: Kaaza Not Liable for Copyright Infringement The AP has this report, while Reuters has this report on the ruling.

Set Back for RIAA A federal appeals court has ruled that the RIAA cannot use DMCA subpoenas to obtain the identity of P2P users. The AP has this report on the ruling, and this analysis of the impact.

Canada's Approach to P2P The Globe and Mail reports "Record industry to target uploaders."

An Alternative Approach to P2P Wired reports "Argentina Won't Copy RIAA Tactic."

They May Be Infringers, But They Have Damn Good Shakes CNN has a report about a trademark dispute between Chicago's Billy Goat tavern, which uses the slogan "Cheezborger, Cheezborger," and the Florida-based chain Cheeburger Cheeburger. The Cheeburger Cheeburger in Richmond has an excellent Cotton Candy milkshake. Haven't found one of their restaurants up here in DC yet, though.

SCO Wins Battle to Protect Code The judge in SCO's patent infringement case against IBM has ruled that SCO's code will be protected from disclosure to the public.

Phillips to Introduce New DRM System Wired reports in "No, Really, You Can't Copy These."

The Ins and Outs of Buying Foreign Films Wired reports on the intricacies of copyright law for aficionados of foreign martial arts films here.

This is What Happens When You Adopt Patented Technology for Industry Standards C-Net reports that "CD-burning software prompts patent suit."

More Copyright News From Our Neighbors to the North C-Net is reporting that "Canada deems P2P downloading legal."

Score One for Microsoft PCWorld.com reports that "Lindows.com Ordered to Change Name."

Copyright Fees in the Great White North The Globe and Mail reports that "Copyright Board freezes music-media levies," while Reuters reports that "Canada Slaps Copyright Levy on MP3 Players."

First it was the Rat Olympics. Now it's the Robolympics. Robolympics founder David Calkins has received a cease and desist letter from the United States Olympic Committee demanding his group stop using the word "olympic" to describe a robotics competition.

Link Earns Kung Fu Fansite Cease and Desist Letter from Miramax Wired has this report.

Guess There's No First Amendment in Alphaville Salon has an interesting article on Peter Ludlow, real-world academic and Sims Online muckraker, who apparently published one too many criticisms of Electronic Arts in his Alphaville Herald.

Another One Bites the Dust IP boutique Pennie & Edmonds has announced that it will close, effective December 31, 2003.

Jackson 4 Reach Copyright Settlement E! Online is reporting that four of the Jackson brothers (minus embattled Michael) have reached a tentative settlement in two copyright infringement cases brought by producer Gordon Keith and R&B group Ripples & Waves.

Say Goodbye Reuters is reporting that "Voyeur Web Site JenniCam to Go Dark After 7 Years."

Blow for the Giraffe Marty has a report on the Louisiana Tax Court decision about taxation of trademark holding companies.

RIAA Progress Update C-Net reports that "RIAA lawsuits yield mixed results."

More Legal Maneuvering in SCO v. IBM Case C-Net reports that "Judge orders SCO to show Linux Infringement."

Guess She Doesn't Like Rap Music Reuters reports that "Supreme Court Allows Rosa Parks to Sue Rap Duo."

Trademarks and the Nonprofit The Christian Science Monitor discusses branding and nonprofits in the article "Smaller nonprofits latch on to logos." Would have made a great link to include in my article "What Every Nonprofit Needs to Know About Trademark Law."

Google Brings Trademark Declaratory Judgment Action Reuters is reporting that Google has asked a U.S. District Court judge in San Jose, California to decide whether Google's keyword advertising constitutes trademark infringement.

Time to Report the RIAA Gaffes The AP is reporting that among the 80 individuals sued by the RIAA for copyright infringement back in October is "retiree Ernest Brenot, 79, of Ridgefield, Wash., who wrote in a handwritten note to a federal judge that he does not own a computer nor can he operate one."

41 New Suits Reuters is reporting that "Music Industry Sues More File Swappers." Wired has this report. C-Net reports that "RIAA lawsuits yield mixed results".

CA Court Transfers RIAA Suit to DC C-Net has this report about a California District Court's decision to transfer the suit filed by SBC against the RIAA to challenge the latter's file-swapping subpoenas to the District of Columbia.

Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich Calls for Inquiry into Diebold C-Net has this report.

DeCSS Redux Reuters reports that "DVD 'Hacker' Pleads Not Guilty in Piracy Appeal."

Diebold Sees the Light The AP is reporting that Diebold has promised not to file copyright infringement actions against dozens of students, computer scientists and ISP operators that posted internal company memoranda regarding flaws in Diebold's electronic voting systems.

Library Hotel Case Settled The AP has this report.

He Asked So Nicely... Dan Fingerman, a 2003 Boston Law School Grad, has a new blog, DTM :<|. And you gotta like someone who can use alliteration.

Red Hat Trademark Policy Prompts Opposition InfoWorld is reporting that researchers at UVa and Cornell plan to oppose Red Hat's trademark application for the mark FEDORA, based on their prior use of the mark for their digital management system. The researchers are concerned that Red Hat would attempt to prevent them from using the mark should Red Hat's mark be registered.

Court Hearing on SBC's Challenge to the RIAA's Subpoenas Today C-Net has this report.

They Just Can't Get a Break After being sued by one of Hunton's clients, the AP is reporting that EBay and PayPal now face another patent infringement lawsuit from AT&T. Reuters has this report.

More on the Diebold Dustup Internetnews.com reports that "Judge Needs Time For E-Voting Decision".

Anti-Diebold Forces Have Their Day in Court Following up on a post a bit further down, C-Net has this report about oral arguments in a case brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society seeking to block further DMCA claims by the e-voting software firm.

New EU Copyright Law Takes Effect in UK Today Vnunet.com has this report about the European Union Copyright Directive which took affect at the end of October and makes it a crime to copy a copyrighted DVD, CD or music file, even for personal use. How many US lawyers would be quoted in the press calling the law an "ass"?

What is "Effective" DRM? In a classic chicken-or-the-egg formulation, Rob Semaan, head of US-based company 321 Studios, has put forth a novel interpretation of the new European copyright law that contains anti-circumvention provisions similar to the DMCA. The European law makes it a copyright violation to circumvent "effective" digital rights management technology. According to Semaan, the technology isn't "effective" if it can be broken. Which leads to the question: if Semaan's interpretation is correct ($20 says the judge laughs it out of court), how would you ever violate the anti-circumvention provisions? Seems the technology would only be "effective" if the would-be hacker was unable to crack it, and thus unable to distribute technology to circumvent it.

Inspiration for Flashdance Sues J.Lo We've all heard the canard that everyone in the world is connected within six degrees of separation (probably less if they've ever worked with Kevin Bacon). But a new lawsuit poses the question: how many degrees removed from the original can a work be and still violate the right of publicity? Maureen Marder was the real-life inspiration for 1983's Flashdance. J.Lo decides to turn the video for her single "I'm Glad" into an homage to the movie. Maureen Mauder sues J.Lo. What if I did a parody of the homage to the movie about Maureen Mauder's life?

P2P Monitoring Activities Said to Violate Altnet Patent C-Net reports that Altnet has been sending cease and desist letters to nine companies that monitor file-trading networks, accusing them of violating its patent rights. I'm waiting for the inevitable DMCA claim once someone begins encrypting P2P user information.

Gives "Keep Your Enemies Closer" a Whole New Meaning C-Net is reporting on a move by chief executives of LinkedIn and Tribe.net, who are not only competitors of Friendster but also investors, to buy a patent they call a key asset in the battle for the nascent social networking market.

Browser Plug-in Patent under Scrutiny C-Net reports that "Patent office to re-examine Eolas patent".

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.