Internet Law

Are Planned Facebook Ads Illegal?

Innovative new advertising planned on the Facebook social networking Web site could be illegal, depending on how far it goes in linking targeted individual advertising to what the recipient’s friends do and say online. And the campaign certainly creates privacy issues, whether or not it creates potential causes of action,…

Nov 9, 2007 12:31 AM CST

Plaintiff to RIAA: Download This!

Accused of online music theft, Oregon woman strikes back

Nov 1, 2007 8:14 PM CDT

FTC to Create ‘Do Not Track’ List?

In a suggestion that should send a shiver down the spines of Web-based companies throughout the world, some are asking the Federal Trade Commission to develop an Internet version of its popular Do Not Call list. The fledgling idea apparently would involve a ban on companies using cookies and other…

Oct 31, 2007 11:27 PM CDT

Industry Pact Sets Video Clip Posting Rules

A coalition of Internet and mainstream media groups have agreed to a new system of preventing copyright violations concerning video clips posted on user-generated sites such as MySpace. Participating members will use special software to detect and block video postings on Internet sites that may violate copyright laws, reports the…

Oct 19, 2007 5:58 PM CDT

Hi-Tech Hunt Nabs Swirled Photos Suspect

Updated: A high-tech hunt featuring an unprecedented online Interpol appeal to the public for help has led to the arrest of a Canadian teacher who is allegedly the subject of photos posted on the Internet that show an adult male sexually abusing boys in Cambodia and Vietnam. Christopher Paul Neil,…

Oct 19, 2007 4:42 PM CDT

Cybersquatter Threatened Thelen’s Rebranding

Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner had to take action against a cybersquatter before it rebranded itself as simply “Thelen.” A Korean held the domain name Thelen.com, Thelen partner Robert Weikert told the Recorder. Weikert took the dispute to the World Intellectual Property Organization, which acts when a cybersquatter attempts…

Oct 18, 2007 12:56 PM CDT

Lawyer Testifies Against Ex-Client in Obstruction Trial

A defense lawyer testified against her former client in an Alexandria, Va., courtroom yesterday, saying she didn’t believe his phony e-mail was an honest mistake. The ex-client, former dot-com billionaire Charles Johnson Jr., is being retried on charges of fraud and conspiracy in connection with advertising deals his company made…

Oct 17, 2007 5:52 PM CDT

Ban on Hannah Montana Virtual Line-Cutters

Commercial resellers can’t use computer software to cut in line ahead of ordinary fans competing for tickets to Hannah Montana concerts, a federal judge has ruled. An upcoming tour by the star who plays Montana in the Disney Channel television show has ignited a frenzy of fan interest unprecedented since…

Oct 16, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Damages ‘Offensive’ in Music Piracy Case, Motion Says

The lawyer for a woman assessed $222,000 in damages for illegally sharing downloaded music contends in a motion for a new trial that the amount is constitutionally excessive. The judgment against Jammie Thomas for illegally sharing two dozen songs amounts to $9,250 for each recording. Her lawyer, Brian Toder of…

Oct 16, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

Court Rejects Appeal in Internet-Marketing RICO Case

Consumers will get a chance to prove their claims that Microsoft and Best Buy violated racketeering laws by fraudulently signing them up for Microsoft’s MSN Internet services. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant cert in the company’s appeal today, the Associated Press reports. The suit claims Best Buy employees…

Oct 15, 2007 4:11 PM CDT

Internet Contracts Restrict Speech

After several recent attempts by major companies to restrict speech they don’t like, some folks are reading the fine print on their consumer contracts. And a number do contain clauses that say companies can do so, reports the Los Angeles Times. Although apparently legal, since they don’t involve government restriction…

Oct 10, 2007 5:03 PM CDT

Blogger Back Online, Trumping Lawyers

Seemingly on the ropes after a Uzbekistan billionaire’s lawyers pressured his former Web host into taking down his site, an Internet critic is back online today in an ongoing Internet slugfest that has drawn worldwide attention to the way libel issues are handled in the blog world. Craig Murray, a…

Oct 8, 2007 3:13 PM CDT

Record Labels Win Anti-Piracy Verdict

In a huge win for the recording industry, a federal jury in Minnesota decided that a woman who illegally downloaded music owes a whopping $222,000 for copyright infringement. The Los Angeles Times reports that Thursday’s victory could embolden the industry to target consumers in its four-year battle against rampant Internet…

Oct 5, 2007 9:52 AM CDT

Verizon Does About Face on Abortion-Rights Campaign

Updated: Last week Verizon Wireless turned down a request by an abortion-rights group for a text message program, igniting debate over whether mobile companies should be able to censor messages. Today the company reversed itself, the New York Times reports. The original decision was a “mistake,” according to Verizon spokesman…

Sep 27, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Money-Making Game: ‘Second Life’ First?

A Canadian law firm claims to be the first to establish an office on Second Life, a 3D virtual community that has attracted millions of participants from all over the world. Davis LLP is staffing its Second Life office with lawyers from the firm’s Video Game law & Interactive Entertainment…

Sep 25, 2007 10:10 PM CDT