Internet Law

Justice Breyer and Several Lawyers Were Victims of Data Breach

Personal identifying information about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and several lawyers was inadvertently exposed when an employee of an investment firm used file-sharing software on a company computer. The breach occurred when an employee of the Wagner Resource Group used the file-sharing network LimeWire to trade music…

Jul 9, 2008 2:32 PM CDT

Google Ordered to Turn Over User Names of YouTube Viewers

A federal judge in New York has ordered Google to turn over to Viacom records of customers’ user names and IP addresses, along with records of videos they watched on YouTube. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton of Manhattan ruled in a lawsuit filed by Viacom, which seeks to prove that…

Jul 3, 2008 2:46 PM CDT

More eBay Suits Expected Over Sales of Fake Luxury Goods

Lawyers representing eBay are likely to be busy with additional lawsuits over sales of fake luxury goods after a $63 million ruling by a French court this week holding the Internet auctioneer liable for online sales conducted by users of its site. “I expect this ruling to encourage a number…

Jul 1, 2008 10:18 PM CDT

Taming the Gossipmongers

Websites that dish dirt may soon get their publishers’ hands muddy

Jul 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

eBay Must Pay $63M Damages for Unauthorized Sales of Luxe Goods

For the second time in a month, a French court has held Internet auction site eBay Inc. liable for helping to facilitate the sale of luxury goods outside of authorized outlets. This time, a judge awarded $63 million in damages, after finding that eBay had failed to take the necessary…

Jun 30, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

ICANN OKs Internet ‘Land Grab’ for New Domain Names

In what one news outlet termed a “big bang” revision of the 25-year-old international system of registering Internet domain names, and another termed a “land grab,” the Web’s main oversight agency today approved a number of sweeping changes. Among them: As many as new 5,000 address extensions will be available…

Jun 26, 2008 6:51 PM CDT

Lawyer to Use Google Search Stats to Defend Obscenity Case

A lawyer for a pornographic website operator plans to use statistics from Google to establish community standards in Florida. Lawyer Lawrence Walters plans to introduce evidence that Pensacola residents are more likely to search Google for terms like “orgy” than for “apple pie” or “watermelon,” the New York Times reports.…

Jun 24, 2008 1:53 PM CDT

Baker & McKenzie in Court Fight Over 11-Year-Old’s Birthday Present?

Legal powerhouse Baker & McKenzie may have met its match: A threatened lawsuit over a domain name has pitted the Chicago-based international megafirm against an 11-year-old in Scotland who received it as a birthday present and his parents. “Gillian Ferguson and Richard Saville-Smith bought the narnia.mobi e-mail domain name in…

Jun 17, 2008 10:35 PM CDT

Lawyer Agrees to Reprimand for Blog Tirade About Judge

A Florida lawyer has agreed to a public reprimand and ended a First Amendment fight over his critical blog post calling a judge a witch. Sean Conway of Fort Lauderdale refused to comment for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on his decision to resolve his case. But his lawyer, Fred Haddad,…

Jun 11, 2008 10:42 AM CDT

ISPs to Block Child Porn in U.S., France

As a result of an ongoing probe by New York state authorities, three major Internet service providers have agreed to block access to the Web by groups that use the Web to share child pornography, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today. Although it is with just one state, the…

Jun 10, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

Lawyers Puzzled About FBI Probe of Anchor’s Alleged E-Mail Snooping

Lawyers are wondering why the FBI decided to investigate alleged e-mail snooping by Philadelphia news anchor Larry Mendte. Sources told the Philadelphia Inquirer that federal officials learned Mendte viewed the private e-mail account of former co-anchor Alycia Lane hundreds of times, and that officials are checking to see if his…

Jun 3, 2008 12:41 PM CDT

Calif. Lawyer Arrested in Singapore for Criticizing Judge in Blog and E-Mail

A California immigration lawyer has been arrested in Singapore on charges he insulted a judge in an e-mail and on his blog. Gopalan Nair, a former citizen of Singapore, was charged with “threatening, abusing or insulting a public servant,” Reuters reports. He faces a sentence of up to one year…

Jun 3, 2008 10:43 AM CDT

Blogger David Lat Says Privacy an ‘Antiquated Notion,’ Goes Public With Diet

The blogger who writes the legal gossip blog Above the Law suggests that privacy is the refuge of scoundrels—and a convenient way to hide bad eating habits. Above the Law’s David Lat writes on a separate blog that he gets lots of e-mails from lawyers who complain that his blog…

May 27, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

WiFi-Sensitive Individuals Claim ADA Violation

The city attorney in Santa Fe, N.M., is investigating claims that wireless Internet signals are a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act because they can cause an allergic reaction. Arthur Firstenberg says he is highly sensitive to wireless signals and he experiences chest pain from WiFi, KOB-TV reports. His…

May 27, 2008 11:58 AM CDT

‘Flogs’ Illegal in UK, Rest of EU

A recent Wall Street Journal article describes a seeming grass-roots website created by angry renters seeking to make their elected representatives aware of their unhappiness about a planned legislative bailout for homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages. But in fact AngryRenter.com was created by publishing magnate Steve Forbes and FreedomWorks,…

May 22, 2008 10:43 PM CDT