Internet Law

Online Video Clipping Service is Sued, Suspends Service

An Internet company that served as a platform for individuals interested in searching television and radio broadcasts, creating video clips, embedding them on websites and sharing them with others has closed down that portion of its services, after being sued by two major media organizations. Although Redlasso is shutting down…

Jul 25, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

‘Spam King’ Gets 4 Years in Unusual Case

Updated: So-called spam king Robert Soloway was sentenced this week to 47 months in prison by a federal judge in Seattle, for sending out a slew of fraudulent e-mail messages over the Internet. His case, under the Can-Spam Act, is only the second time that an offender has been sentenced…

Jul 24, 2008 4:32 PM CDT

Appeals Court Strikes Down Children’s Online Protection Law

A federal appeals court has struck down a law that imposes criminal penalties on commercial websites that allow minors to access “harmful” material on the Internet. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law, the Child Online Protection Act, is overly broad and vague, the Associated Press…

Jul 23, 2008 12:29 PM CDT

‘Obsessed’ Ex-News Anchor Charged With E-Mail Snooping

An “obsessed” former colleague of a Philadelphia television news anchor who allegedly illegally hacked into her e-mail and helped get her fired from her job by revealing personal information to others has now been federally charged in the case. Larry Mendte, 51, also allegedly snooped into ex-colleague Alycia Lane’s confidential…

Jul 22, 2008 6:50 PM CDT

Judge Blasts Actress for ‘Callous’ YouTube Video, Upholds Prenup

A New York judge has blasted a British actress for ranting against her husband in a YouTube video and upheld her prenuptial agreement that limited her divorce settlement to $750,000. Judge Harold Beeler gave actress Tricia Walsh Smith a month to leave the swank New York apartment she had shared…

Jul 22, 2008 12:48 PM CDT

Lawyer Sues Google for Low-Quality Ads

A lawyer has sued Google for charging him for pay-for-click ads that got poor placement. Boston lawyer Hal Levitte says Google charged him $136 for ads on error pages and on parked domains—Internet addresses that are registered but have no Web pages, CNet News reports. Levitte’s suit (PDF), filed in…

Jul 17, 2008 2:09 PM CDT

DA Withdraws Subpoena for IP Identity of ‘Republican Dissident’

Now that the Bronx District Attorney’s office has withdrawn a subpoena for the Internet identity of an anonymous commenter, two bloggers who fought the document are talking to a reporter. The subpoena had sought the IP address of a person called Republican Dissident who posted comments on Room 8, a…

Jul 15, 2008 4:06 PM CDT

Former Law Dean Obtains Internet Addresses of Anonymous Online Critics

The former dean of Pace law school has obtained the Internet provider addresses of online critics who alleged he and his wife paid off a mayor to secure permits for a home construction project. Richard Ottinger, the ex-dean and a former congressman, obtained the addresses in his defamation suit for…

Jul 14, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Web Companies Seek New Federal Privacy Law for Internet Ads

Existing privacy laws concerning Internet advertising are in good shape, a Federal Trade Commission official said in a hearing today before the Senate Commerce Committee, and any gaps can be filled by industry self-regulation. But big Internet companies are seeking a uniform federal law to replace a patchwork of state…

Jul 9, 2008 7:53 PM CDT

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