Communications & Internet Law - Blogs
- Woman Indicted in MySpace Suicide
A federal grand jury has indicted Lori Drew on charges of conspiracy and gaining access to "computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress" on Megan Meier in 2006. Ms. Drew and another woman sent Ms. Meier...
(May 15, 2008) - Why?
I assume everyone has seen the stories about the indictment in the Megan Meier suicide case. I did a post on the case last fall, because it at once outraged and mystified me. (How could an adult get involved in all this?) If you want a review of the facts and my take on the permissibility (not) of charges, check out that earlier post. Here, I want to talk about something different. I want to talk about why the woman who set the events in motion that led to Megan's suicide has been charged in a...
(May 15, 2008) - Tip: Three Ways to Cut and Paste From Word to Wordperfect
Some of us in "Wordperfect shops" are always looking for ways to cut and past from Word to Wordperfect. Yesterday I came across the following tip from Charles T. Lester Jr. He was responding to a question on TechnoLawyer--Answers to Questions [www.technolawyer.com]: QUESTION:. "My problem with WordPerfect is that when I cut data from a Word doc and paste it into a WP doc I seem to get equal parts type and Word-inserted codes. Can I accomplish a Word to WP cut and paste without all the garbage?...
(May 15, 2008) - Thomson-Reuters Plans To Cut Staff
In an email sent to its employees, Thomson-Reuters has confirmed that it will cut jobs. Although it did not announce actual numbers, the National Union of Journalists fears that the numbers might go as high as 5,000 of the 50,000...
(May 15, 2008) - Going native with Palfrey and Gasser
John Palfrey and Urs Gasser are presenting a session on "Digital Natives", which is a research project they have been engaged in for some time. The book that has emerged from their research, Born Digital, is complete and will be published this summer. If you want to follow at home (no stream for this bit), the best way might be the Question Tool, where the 'myths' that are at the heart of their discussion are included and questioned. Find it here. We in the room (the overwhelming majority of...
(May 15, 2008) - Electronic Hein Sites 05-16-08
Dahl's Law Dictionary: French-English Third Edition By: Henry Saint Dahl & Tamera Boudreau "The newest edition of this exceptional tool for legal professionals is now available! Dahl's Law Dictionary links two separate languages and two diverse legal systems, assuring that attorneys never use the wrong name or term. The third edition of this annotated legal dictionary provides words and phrases in English with the French translation and, in French with the English equivalent." Bilateral...
(May 15, 2008) - Opinion Summary: Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
From: Findlaw Opinion Summaries May 15, 2008. CIVIL PROCEDURE, CONSUMER PRODUCTS, CONTRACTS, EVIDENCE, FOOD & BEVERAGES, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INTERNATIONAL LAW, TRADE SECRETS Topps Co., Inc. v. Cadbury Stani S.A.I.C., No. 06-5316 "In an action alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets involving a chewing gum licensing agreement, summary judgment for defendant is reversed and remanded where: 1) the licensing agreement was ambiguous as to defendant's entitlement to...
(May 15, 2008) - In the frame
Parallel sessions on "open" starting the day today; I'm at "The Language Of Openness": Nothing matters more than what the Net is. Yet when we call it a "space" or a "stage" or "pipes," we frame it with metaphors that yield very different purposes, laws and business models-also different futures. What different laws and regulation do we get by framing the Net in terms of real estate ("domains," "sites," "commons"), transport ("packets," "content," "pipes") or theater ("audience," "experience")?...
(May 15, 2008) - ABA Journal Weekly Newsletter May 15, 2008
Top ten stories: Family Law Wife Sues Husband for Share of Secret $600K Lottery Win May 12, 2008, 02:29 pm CDT "It was a secret that surely could not be kept for long. But Arnim Ramdass allegedly tried. The airline mechanic, 52, disconnected the phone line at home and forbade his stay-at-home wife, Donna Campbell, 48, to watch television, Campbell claims in a lawsuit" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lawyer Pay Recent Law Grad Got $3M Bonus, Plus...
(May 15, 2008) - British TV Show, Producer, Will Donate Libel Damages To Charity
The damages that Channel 4 and indie producer Hardcash receive from their successful libel action will go to a charity that aids reporters and their families if they are killed or injured overseas. The plaintiffs won in the High Court...
(May 15, 2008) - Celebs Win Damages in Invasion of Privacy Suit Against British Photog Agencies
Hugh Grant, his former girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley, and her new husband Arun Nayar have won 58,000 pounds in damages for invasion of privacy against Big Pictures (UK) Ltd and Eliot Press SARL, which also apologized for snapping photos of the...
(May 15, 2008) - The Countermajoritarian Difficulty as to State Constitutions vs. the Federal Constitution:
When the U.S. Supreme Court reads the federal Constitution as barring certain kinds of laws -- especially state laws -- people often raise three related objections:...
(May 15, 2008) - New Media Principles — Publius Project
The "Publius Project" - essays and conversations about constitutional moments on the Net collected by the Berkman Center - has launched. I have an essay there, along with the writings of many other folks. Share This
(May 15, 2008) - Netizenship
The Internet's design relies on few mechanisms of central control. This allows new services to be introduced, and new destinations to come online, without any vetting or blocking by either private incumbents or public authorities. However, because we cannot easily measure the network and the character of the activity on it, we cannot easily assess and deal with threats from bad code without laborious cooperation among a limited group of security software vendors. Experiments need measurement,...
(May 15, 2008) - Blood Libel or Just Libel?
France's public broadcaster, France 2, has sued blogger-media critic, Philippe Karsenty, for libel. The lawsuit centers on Karsenty's allegation that the scene, which France 2 broadcast in September 2000, of twelve-year...
(May 15, 2008) - Network Neutrality - the brain trust!
This is a real gallery of big names; Terry Fisher is in the chair and Yochai Benkler and Tim Wu are speaking. Not only that, but sitting in front of me are Chris Marsden (the UK expert; see his work here)) and Motohiro Tsuchiya (the Japanese expert!), and Maria Gomez Rodriguez (completing a fantastic PhD on net neutrality in the EU; see an example here) is alongside us. Benkler - This is a "story" - if you wanted competition as you moved from incumbents - you needed to allow to share their...
(May 15, 2008) - Anascape Awarded $21 Million in Patent Infringement Win
Tiny Anascape of Tyler, Texas, has won a patent infringement suit against giant Nintendo. The company sued over the controllers Nintendo uses in its popular Wii Classic, WaveBird and Gamecube products. The jury awarded Anascape $21 million. Nintendo plans to...
(May 15, 2008) - Senate Votes To Overturn New FCC Rule on Media Ownership
On a voice vote, the Senate has voted to reject the new FCC rule on media ownership. President Bush has indicated that he will veto a bill to overrule the FCC rule should it reach his desk. Meanwhile two FCC...
(May 15, 2008) - The California Legislature's Enactment of Same-Sex Marriage:
Some defenders of the California Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision have argued that it's actually consistent with the democratic process, because the California legislature had twice enacted same-sex marriage, and the...
(May 15, 2008) - Peggy Noonan on GOP Leaders:
Peggy Noonan has a powerful essay in the Wall Street Journal on how Republican politicos in DC lost their way in the years of the Bush Presidency:...
(May 15, 2008)