A long simmering feud between Authors and Google resulting from its library scanning project was resolved when the US District Court in New York decided in Google’s favor dismissing the authors’ lawsuit. The scanning involved whole materials, but only made snippets available to the public through Google search. The Court found this mechanism to be … More Google Scans Win Court Approval
In the recent IRS vs. Worldcom decision, the Court of Appeals Second Circuit reversed the denial of a $38 Million communications excise tax the IRS previously collected. In Worldcom’s bankruptcy proceeding, the IRS had been ordered to refund the excise tax to Worldcom’s bankruptcy estate. The issue for the Court of Appeals: Whether Worldcom’s purchase … More Cyberlaw: 2nd Circuit Oks IRS Modem Excise Tax
Clients of my practice usually either have a website or are planning to get one. From an intellectual property “IP” standpoint, the developer agreement is critical to ensure the right content and code necessary for your business to attract clients and customers. There are many terms to consider including project scope, testing, hosting, ownership, payment … More Essential Points of Web Developer Agreements
According to the Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, Plaintiff did not have standing, the legal jurisdictional requirement necessary to sue the alleged copyright infringing Defendants in the case of Righthaven LLC v. Hoehn. Plaintiff Righthaven LLC was founded, according to its charter, to identify copyright infringements on behalf of third parties, receive “limited, revocable assignments” … More Limited Copyright Assignment For Lawsuit Not Valid
The Federal District Court in New York has ruled that the resale of digital music infringed the copyrights held by the music rights-holders’ in Capitol Records LLC v. ReDigi Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-00095. The Defendant ReDigi provided a service allowing purchasers of songs from iTunes to upload their … More Digital Content Not Subject to First Sale Doctrine
Today, I’ll address a concept in business that I’ve labeled negative goodwill. An important concept in trademark law and business, goodwill is that intangible benefit a business derives from its reputation for providing quality products and services that consistently deliver the value promised. An added feature of the branded product or service is the goodwill … More Negative Goodwill: The Law Of Unintended Consequences
The saying used to be during my time at Andersen, then a Big 5 Global Professional Services firm, that the most valuable assets walked out the door every evening. With companies transitioning to our service economy at warp speed, this truism has never been more pervasive. Given the threats from a variety of sources including … More Social Media Data: The New Frontier
An interesting Electronic Commerce “EC” patent case was recently decided by the Court of Appeals Federal Circuit “CAFC” overturning a patent infringement verdict and vacating a $2.5 M damage jury award. The Plaintiff, Soverain, bought the patents and all rights to the Transact software electronic commerce platform “Transact” in a bankruptcy sale and sought to … More Prior Art Defeats Electronic Commerce Patent Claims
William Tennant 