Eric Sinrod's Cyberlaw Columns
FindLawBy Eric Sinrod,
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September 25, 2007
Patriot Video-Gate: Peeling Back The Legal Layers
Unless you live on a deserted island, you probably have learned that the New England Patriots have been embroiled in controversy with respect to videotaping opposing team defensive signals. Was the punishment levied the right result? Does the result hold up as a matter of law? Let's peel back the legal layers to explore.
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September 11, 2007
FEC Determines That Political Blogs Are Exempt From Campaign Finance Regulation
The Internet offers a variety of ways for the public to express views and take part in elections. Indeed, in my last column, I told you about how a federal appellate court has blessed vote-swapping sites. Now I am here to report that political bloggers can breathe a sigh of relief, as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has just determined that Internet blogging activities are not within FEC regulation.
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September 04, 2007
Court Blesses Vote-Swapping Sites
Just as the 2008 presidential race is kicking into high gear, a federal appellate court has just ruled that the then California Secretary of State improperly threatened criminal prosecution with respect to two vote-swapping sites pertaining to the Bush-Gore 2000 presidential election.
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August 28, 2007
BARBIE Comes Out Swinging
It is not a good idea to offend BARBIE. Case in point - Mattel has just filed a federal lawsuit in New York against a company called Global China Networks (GCN) for infringing on the BARBIE trademark by way of the domain name chinabarbie.com for a pornographic Web site.
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August 21, 2007
MySpace Defeats Spammer
We all know that MySpace.com is a social networking service that allows members to create unique personal profiles online to find and communicate with other people. However, did you know that MySpace is out there in Cyberspace seeking to root out spammers? A recent court victory shows this to be true. Read on.
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August 14, 2007
Waging War Against Cybersquatting
There appears to be a new sheriff in town when it comes to cybersquatting - the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA). A non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., the CADNA has just announced the launch of a national campaign against the fraudulent abuse of domain name registration that is at the core of cybersquatting and that the CADNA says threatens the future viability of Internet commerce.
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August 07, 2007
Cyberbullying Hits Teens
I recently covered a report that indicates that teenagers generally are taking some privacy steps to protect themselves from online risks. [Are The Online Kids Alright?, 07/24/07.] Nevertheless, a recent data memo from the Pew Internet & American Life Project suggests that Cyberbulling truly is a problem for teens.
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July 31, 2007
Potential Violations of Presidential Records Act Uncovered
Did White House officials violate the Presidential Records Act by using email accounts maintained by the Republican National Committee and the Bush Cheney '04 Campaign for official White House communications?
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July 24, 2007
Are The Online Kids Alright?
Some people believe that teenagers are reckless in protecting their private information on the Internet. Others are of the belief that teens are Net-savvy and are at least as smart as adults when it comes to safeguarding themselves in Cyberspace. So, what is the truth?
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July 17, 2007
Court Reduces Burden When Logging Privileged Emails
In litigation, parties and their attorneys are not required to produce to the other side documents that contain privileged communications between attorney and client or confidential work product created by an attorney when representing a client. However, the decision not to produce such materials must be documented in what is called a privilege log.
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July 10, 2007
New Web Site Offers Access to Information About Foreign Agents In The US
The National Security Division of the Department of Justice recently announced the launch and availability of the next generation of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) Web site. The enhanced Web site is claimed to greatly improve access to public information about foreign agents and their activities within the United States.
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July 03, 2007
Fantasy Sports Leagues Participation Is Not Illegal Gambling, Judge Rules
The many fantasy sports leagues enthusiasts can breathe a deep sigh of relief, as a federal judge in New Jersey has just ruled that their activities do not constitute illegal gambling.
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June 26, 2007
Wake Up To Your E-Discovery Obligations, Corporate America!
Failure to produce required electronic discovery can have serious consequences, but it appears that many companies are not in a position to effectively comply with electronic discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that went into effect late last year, according to a recent survey.
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June 19, 2007
Paying For Privacy
There have been countless studies in which consumers respond that they care about their privacy on the Internet. However, simply stating concern about privacy is a far cry from actually taking steps to protect one's own privacy in cyberspace.
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June 12, 2007
Virtual World Litigation Arrives In The Real World
More and more people are participating in virtual worlds on the Internet, and where people go, litigation follows. A recent case, Bragg v. Linden Research, raises a number of real world legal issues that are now cropping up in virtual worlds.
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June 05, 2007
States Crossing The Line In Regulating Internet Conduct?
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has just ordered an online lender to stop issuing loans to Illinois residents and has fined the lender $234,000 for charging excessive interests rates under Illinois' law. While the IDFPR paints a nasty picture with respect to the lender's conduct, the question remains whether states should regulate Internet conduct that necessarily crosses state lines.
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May 29, 2007
Dismissal Upheld Despite Employer's Google Search for Employee's Prior Work History
An employee recently argued that he was improperly terminated based on his employer's Google search relating to his prior work background. Should such an argument stick? Well, it did not in this particular case, Mullins v. Department of Commerce, just decided on a non-precedential basis by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
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May 22, 2007
Computer Security Breaches Impact The Bottom Line
The impact of computer security breaches is not hypothetical. When such a breach occurs, the financial consequences are real and can be immediate. Thus, it is better to be penny-wise rather than pound-foolish, and companies would be smart on the front-end to take steps to prevent breaches from occurring.
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May 15, 2007
All iPod, All The Time
The iPod has become such a ubiquitous tool in everyday life that the time has come for iPod.pedia, a book that refers to itself as The Ultimate iPod and iTunes Resource. While I was skeptical at first, upon reading, I must admit that this book, by a non-Apple insider, contains a treasure trove of useful and fun information for iPod junkies like me.
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May 08, 2007
Court Permits Search of Personal Computer in Workplace
While the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides broad protections when it comes to state-sponsored searches and seizures, there certainly are exceptions to this general rule. Indeed, a federal court has just held that an employee did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his personal computer he brought to work.
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May 01, 2007
DontSueThere.com
You may have heard of the Web site DontDateHimGirl.com. The purpose of the site is to allow women to make anonymous postings about specific men. A defamation lawsuit was filed with respect to statements made on the site about a particular man. While the name of the case is Hollis v. Joseph, as owner and operator of DontDateHimGirl.com, et al., perhaps the case should be referred to as DontSueThere.Com.
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April 24, 2007
The Fight Over The Beatles' Money Appears Resolved
It's been more than four decades since The Beatles, aka The Fab Four, burst onto the international music scene. And ironically, while these boys from Liverpool once sang "all you need is love," the battle over money they have generated has continued well into the 21st Century.
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April 13, 2007
IRS Not Adequately Protecting Sensitive Data
First, the IRS takes your money, and now it seems that the IRS may not be adequately protecting your private information, according to a recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Curious? You should be.
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April 03, 2007
Trespass - An Ancient Legal Doctrine Gains Traction In Cyberspace
The ancient legal doctrine of trespass to chattels establishes liability when one person dispossesses or causes physical harm to the chattel (private property) of another person. What does that doctrine have to do with conduct in Cyberspace? Quite a lot, actually.
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March 27, 2007
E-FOIA: Uncle Sam, Get It Right!
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) enables the public to obtain information from the federal government to ascertain, as stated by the Supreme Court, "what the government is up to." After all, a government shrouded in secrecy is not a government by the people and for the people.
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March 19, 2007
Attacking Software Piracy Overseas
Software piracy certainly is not unheard of in the United States. Indeed, industry groups, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA), have brought actions against and have negotiated settlements with a variety of companies that have been alleged to have used pirated software. While audits do not always reveal true instances of piracy (sometimes there is smoke but not fire), other times they do.
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March 12, 2007
On The Internet, Everyone Might Find Out That You Are A Dog
Long ago and far away (less than a decade go, in fact) when the Internet first became a widely accessed medium for communication, the potentially anonymous nature of Cyberspace was highlighted by a famous cartoon depicting a dog surfing the Net with a caption that read, "On the Internet, nobody knows that you are a dog." Well, those days may be coming to an end on at least a couple of fronts, and the days of assured Cyber anonymity may be a thing of the past.
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March 05, 2007
Freedom to Disallow Speech in Cyberspace
Most of us are aware of the freedom of speech protection provided for in the First Amendment of the Constitution. You may also know that courts have held that such freedom extends to anonymous speech on the Internet. But what about the freedom not to speak?
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February 23, 2007
Trademark Disputes A Go-Go
In a previous column, I told you about how domain registrants have been trying to fight off trademark holders when they can show legitimate uses for their domain names and lack of bad faith. Now I am here to tell you that recent data indicates that there has been proliferation of such domain name disputes.
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February 20, 2007
Domain Name Disputes – The Battle Is Joined
There was a time when it seemed that powerful trademark holders generally prevailed when they sought the transfer of Internet domain names that contained their trademarks. However, recent decisions show that domain name registrants have a fighting chance under certain circumstances.
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February 12, 2007
Apple CEO Encourages Music Companies To Move Away From DRM
The former Boy Wonder is at it again. In an open letter titled “Thoughts On Music,” dated, February 6, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc., encourages the big four record companies to allow their music to be sold free of digital rights management (DRM), and he states that Apple would embrace such a move “wholeheartedly.”
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February 06, 2007
Is Identity Fraud Decreasing?
It seems that we constantly are hearing horror stories about the perils of rampant identity fraud. A recent survey report seeks to set the record straight, however, with findings that identity fraud in the United States is actually dropping.
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January 30, 2007
Antitrust Claims By StreamCast Against Skype Dismissed By Federal Court
A federal judge in Los Angeles has just dismissed the antitrust claims of StreamCast Networks, a peer-to-peer software vendor, against Skype Technologies, a successful Internet VoIP company, and other defendants. While these federal claims have been deemed to lack merit, StreamCast has leave to file other claims in state court.
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January 22, 2007
Court Holds That ISPs Are Not Liable For Objectionable User Content
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) naturally are concerned about circumstances under which they potentially could be liable for content posted by users. ISPs can breath a sigh of relief after a recent decision by a Texas federal judge who just dismissed an ISP as a defendant in the case of Doe v. Bates, even though the offending conduct at issue was alleged to be in violation of criminal law.
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January 16, 2007
The Cresting Telecommuting Wave - Employers Are Paying For Employees' Home High-Speed Internet Services
Employees telecommuting from home for work is becoming a fact of life in the Internet age. Employers are embracing such arrangements, such that they now are beginning to reimburse employees for the Internet services they use at home for work purposes.
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December 19, 2006
Web Sites Not Deemed Liable For Content Posted By Others
Web site providers can take a deep breath - the California Supreme Court has ruled that they are not legally responsible for content posted by third-parties on their sites.
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December 11, 2006
Privacy - Do As You Say, Not As You Do
It sounds good: a great majority of Internet users in the United States report that they know how - and actually take active steps - to protect their privacy when they are online. Yet, a bit of drilling down reveals that most American Internet users are not truly safeguarding their personal information.
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December 04, 2006
Green Thumb - Good; Blackberry Thumb - Bad
These days, when you pull out a BlackBerry, you may mutter "what a sore thumb have I." Indeed, "Blackberry thumb" may be joining our modern day vocabulary as did "tennis elbow" some time back.
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November 27, 2006
Motion Picture Studios File Suit To Stop Ripping of DVDS to Portable Video Players
Just when you thought it might be safe to rip DVDs for use on your personal video player, such as an iPod Video, the motion picture studios have just filed a federal lawsuit in New York to put an end to such practices. While the motion picture studios certainly have financial and legal might behind them, the question remains as to whether they will prevail in their lawsuit.
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November 14, 2006
Rushing Into Court To Stop Offensive Internet Conduct Not Always The Best Idea
So there you are – a reputable company or person, and someone else is using your trademarks to direct Internet users to graphic pornographic Web sites. You file a lawsuit and rush into court seeking immediate relief, right?
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November 07, 2006
Failing To Preserve Electronic Evidence Can Gut Your Case
If you want to succeed in litigation these days, it is imperative that relevant electronic data be preserved. The destruction of such data can lead to serious adverse evidentiary inferences, as illuminated by a very recent case.
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October 30, 2006
Elections A Go-Go; Every Vote Counts, Right?
Here we go again, another election cycle brings the political rock stars to the fore. Will Arnold, the Governator, be reelected in California? Obama has come out swinging, and may steal the start of Hillary's Presidential campaign thunder. But such political-celebrity hype begs the real question - do we have the mechanisms in place to ensure accurate election results?
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October 23, 2006
E-Discovery - Do The Right Thing!
December 1 is almost here. Why is that date significant in the legal world? Because, on that date, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will be taking effect. The rules will govern electronic discovery - and, in theory, are supposed to reduce litigation costs.
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October 17, 2006
Automaton Nation
Do you ever feel like a robot - responding on mindless autopilot to a constant and wide array of wired and wireless stimuli?
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October 10, 2006
Parents Legally Liable For Kids' Internet Misconduct?
Many parents have worried about their children spending too much time online, viewing Internet content that might be inappropriate, or being contacted by unsavory characters in Cyberspace. However, very few parents likely have considered the prospect that they may be sued for the online misbehavior of their kids.
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October 02, 2006
Court Rules Google's Use of Trademarks As Keywords Is Non-Infringing
A federal judge in New York has just ruled that Google's practice of selling trademarks as keywords that trigger links to particular Web sites other than those of the trademark holders does not constitute infringement because Google does not actually "use" the trademarks within the meaning of the law.
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September 25, 2006
The Government Seeks To Crack Down On Identity Theft
Recognizing the growing problem of identity theft in the United States, the Department of Justice has just issued a document titled “Fact Sheet: The Work of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force.” So, is the government getting the job done? Read on and draw your own conclusions.
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September 19, 2006
Threat from Within: Managing Insider Data Security Risks
The Ponemon Institute hits just keep on coming! Another report provided first to this columnist exposes troubling data security facts, including that notwithstanding all the news reports about breaches, 78% of US IT professionals claim that their companies have suffered unreported insider-related security breaches.
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September 11, 2006
Uncle Sam Can't Shield Data under FOIA Without Due Diligence
The recent case of Davis v. Department of Justice falls under the "gimme a break" or "you gotta be kidding" categories when it comes to the federal government's rationale for not producing information under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 (FOIA).
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September 05, 2006
Data Security: Wake Up Corporate America!
Corporate America, if you are not awake yet, you will be after reading this. Notwithstanding ample attention and effort focused on data security, an unbelievable but true 63% of U.S. corporations do not think that they can prevent data breaches, according to a recent report provided exclusively first to this columnist.
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August 28, 2006
Creative Commons – Seeking To Build A Layer of “Reasonable Copyright”
Have you heard of Creative Commons? If not yet, you may soon. Creative Commons consists of a US charitable corporation and a UK not-for-profit company that has the underlying message that “some people may not want to exercise all of the intellectual property rights the law affords them.”
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August 22, 2006
Whoa – Confidential Data Really Is At Risk!
We all have been hearing and reading about how confidential data can be at risk. Well, a brand new U.S. survey by the Ponemon Institute, sponsored by Vontu, and exclusively provided first to your author, really drives this point home.
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August 15, 2006
Electronic Voting Systems Are Vulnerable
In the wake of the hanging and dimpled chads debacle of the 2000 Presidential election, there has been a movement afoot to embrace electronic voting systems. Good news, right? Perhaps not quite yet.
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August 07, 2006
E-Discovery: The Times, They Are A Changing
Fasten your seatbelts legal mavens – in less than six months electronic discovery as we know it will undergo some important changes. These changes are being driven by amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) that become effective on December 1, 2006.
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August 01, 2006
Employees May Have Privacy Expectations In Company Laptops
Yes, it is true, the great weight of law holds that employees generally do not have privacy expectations when it comes to their work-related electronic communications, especially when they have signed computer policies that explicitly state this to be the case. However, in a recent twist, a federal court recently has held that employees may be able to assert that the attorney-client privilege applies to their communications with their attorneys on company laptops under certain circumstances.
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July 25, 2006
Employers Resort To Firing Employees Who Abuse Electronic Communications
In one of my recent columns, I wrote about how employers have considerable worries as to how employees handle their electronic communications by way of blogging and instant messaging. Well, it turns out that employers are so concerned about their legal and financial risks caused by inappropriate employee electronic communications, they are terminating employees who violate workplace computer policies.
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July 11, 2006
Protecting Data On Government Laptops
In the past couple of months, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade Commission have grappled with laptops that have gone missing that contained large amounts of private data.
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July 05, 2006
Let Global Online Freedom Ring?
At this time of year in the United States, we celebrate freedom and independence with parades and fireworks. The Internet is not bounded by national borders, but there certainly are differing levels of online freedom for Netizens around the world. A bill which seeks to foster global online freedom, recently was passed by a unanimous voice vote by a Congressional subcommittee that addresses international human rights.
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June 19, 2006
Pirated Software: Cracking Down On Internet Fraud
Unwitting consumers at times are duped into purchasing pirated software online. This results in substantial lost revenue to the true developers of the software and can lead to consumers obtaining less desirable software than promised.
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April 01, 2006
Universities and Colleges Need Privacy Education
Unbelievable but true – while most higher educational institutions engage in ecommerce activities, most of them engage in practices that present potential privacy risks, while less than 30% of them even post privacy notices on their web site home pages, according to a recently released survey. Plainly, universities and colleges need to go back to school when it comes to privacy.
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April 01, 2006
Employers Empowered By Computer Crime Law Against Departing And Disloyal Employees
One of the biggest fears employers have is that departing and disloyal employees will take advantage of access to the employers’ computer systems as they are heading out the door. To deal with this problem, employers now are resorting to relief under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which originally was a criminal statute designed to combat unauthorized access to government computers. Over time, the CFAA has been amended to allow for civil liability and to provide for remedies such as monetary damages and injunctive relief.
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March 01, 2006
It’s My Internet, I Can Do What I Want!
According to a recent survey of more than 10,000 employees by Burstek, a provider of employee Internet management solutions, employees are roaming free on the Internet for their own personal use while at work. Their anthem in the workplace seems to be “It's My Internet, I Can Do What I Want” (perhaps sung to the tune of The Who’s “It’s My Life, I Can Do What I Want”).
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March 01, 2006
Beware Of The FTC When It Comes To Financial Data Security Breaches
The FTC currently has little tolerance for companies that fail to take appropriate security measures to protect the financial data of their customers. Indeed, the FTC just settled charges it brought against CardSystems Solutions, Inc. and its successor, Soldius Networks, Inc., doing business as Pay By Touch Solutions, for allegedly not taking adequate security measures to protect the sensitive information of tens of millions of consumers.
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February 01, 2006
A Federal Court Rules That A Financial Institution Has No Duty To Encrypt A Customer Database
In a legal decision that could have broad implications for financial institutions, a court has ruled recently that a student loan company was not negligent and did not have a duty under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley statute to encrypt a customer database on a laptop computer that fell into the wrong hands. Intrigued? Read on.
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February 01, 2006
RIM Comes Out Swinging With BlackBerry Workarounde
Unless you have been living on a deserted island, you already are aware that Research In Motion (RIM) has been grappling with a patent infringement lawsuit filed by NTP, Inc. (NTP) with respect to RIM’s BlackBerry service.
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January 01, 2006
Google Talk VoIP Services Alleged To Infringe Patents
As technology companies become established and financially successful, it is not uncommon for smaller companies and individuals to allege that the larger companies have infringed and trampled on intellectual property rights during the rise to the top.
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January 01, 2006
Reducing Software Piracy Equals More Jobs and a Stronger Economy
You might think that obtaining software from a friend or colleague without paying for that software is fairly benign and a way to get something for nothing. Think again, especially when considering the global, collective ramifications of software piracy.
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December 01, 2005
I Want My BlackBerry
I have a confession to make. I am addicted to my BlackBerry. So for me, it really is a "CrackBerry." Is it true that a recent court ruling threatens Berry junkies like me with a possible shutdown of BlackBerry wireless email service? Perhaps each junkie soon will be howling to the wind: "I want my BlackBerry" (sung to Dire Straits’ 80s melody "I want my MTV"). Let's explore.
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November 01, 2005
Legal Woes Mount for Sony BMG Resulting From Its CD Software
Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Sony BMG) is feeling some recent legal heat with respect to software it included in millions of music CDs. Last week alone, Sony BMG was sued in Texas and in California.
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November 01, 2005
Trick Or . . . Trick – Coping With Internet Risks This Halloween Season
The goblins you face this Halloween season may not be costumed children at your front door. Instead, you very well might be the online victim of viruses, phish, spam or denial of service (DoS) attacks. These attacks provide tricks only, and no treats.
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October 01, 2005
Potential Liability For Cellular SMS Messages Under The Telephone Consumer Protection Act
In the recent case of Joffe v. Acacia Mortgage Corp., the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that cellular Short Message Service (SMS) messages fall under the purview of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). While arguments were and can be made against this construction of the TCPA, if other courts adopt this approach, there could be a real impact on companies that seek to send SMS messages. No doubt, this fight is not over, and efforts will be made to convince courts to construe the TCPA differently.
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