World of Work Report 2009 - The Global Jobs Crisis and Beyond,
International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour
Studies)... Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 4:35 pm

Crime in the United States: Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime
Report (January to June) "Preliminary figures indicate that, as a
whole,... Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 2:56 pm

Robin Wauters: "Italian writer, blogger and photographer Vincenzo
Cosenza has for the second time put together a visualization that
shows... Posted on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 2:52 pm

The British Library plans to make more than 65,000 19th century works
of fiction available as free downloads for the public this spring. Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 12:46 pm

Finnish Member of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala has added her
voice to the concerns over ACTA, calling for greater transparency. Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 12:46 pm

The UK Digital Economy Bill is facing mounting criticism, as an
influential group of MPs has expressed concern the bill may violate
human rights. Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 12:46 pm

As part of our Terms of Ab(use) project, we pay close attention to the
fine print of online agreements for provisions that are potentially
dangerous to consumers. We've noticed a troubling change in the way
event planners restrict the rights of individuals who attend their
shows. Where once these limitations had to fit on the back of a
ticket, increasingly event organizers have moved their fine print
online, where they are able to use even more contract law to avoid the
limits of trademark and copyright law Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has won
reexamination of an illegitimate patent on voice-over-Internet
protocol (VoIP) that could cripple the adoption of new VoIP
technologies. A company named Acceris Communications Technologies, now
C2 Communications Technologies, was awarded the bogus patent for
hardware, software, and processes for implementing VoIP using analog
telephones as endpoints -- covering many telephone calls made over the
Internet. EFF and the law firm Fenwick & Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm

Philadelphia - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will be
arguing this Thursday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd
Circuit in Philadelphia, urging the court to block a government
attempt to seize telephone company records detailing a cell phone
user's past locations without first getting a search warrant. EFF is
serving as a friend of the court or "amicus," joined by co-amici the
ACLU, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and the Center for Democracy &
Technology. Professor Susan Freiwald of the Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 12:59 pm

Volume3 Number 1 January 2010 From the Desk of David Badertscher As we
begin the new year, it's an opportune time to assess the cyber
security landscape and prepare for what new challenges may lie ahead,
as well as what current threats may continue. What Are the Cyber
Trends for 2010? · Malware, worms, and Trojan horses: These will
continue to spread by email, instant messaging, malicious websites,
and infected non-malicious websites. Some websites will automatically
download the malware without the user's Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 7:14 pm

SigInt Technologies, LLC seeks a Senior Level Digital Library
Programmer Analyst to support a US Government Agency. Salary range:
$125,000.00 - $135,000.00 We are growing our hardcopy-centric
collection to include a substantial amount of digital content. You
will have the opportunity to chart the course as we incorporate a
variety of electronic data sources into the collection and make them
available to our users. You will have the freedom to select the tools
you deem best and implement them as you see fit. Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 7:14 pm

As almost everyone knows, the 2011 U.S. Budget was submitted on
February 1. Since this is such a huge budget, in terms of both bulk
and scope, we have decided to limit this posting largely to links to
some " Budget Fact Sheets" prepared by the Office of Management and
Budget. Each separately linked fact sheet focuses on a particular
priority or group of priorities related to this budget request, thus
enabling you to quickly "pick and choose" those areas that interest
and concern you without devoting Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 7:14 pm

Vodafone has been forced to issue a grovelling apology to its
thousands of followers on Twitter after one of its customer­service
staff broadcast an obscene message on the micro-blogging service. The
message appeared on Vodafone's official Twitter account, which is used
by the company to deal with customer complaints. Read the article: The
Guardian Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 3:54 pm

A tiny electronics company in southern China is claiming that Apple
didn't steal just the name of its iPad product, but also its design.
Wu Xiaolong, executive director of Shenzhen Great Loong Industrial,
says that last July, his company released a tablet computer called the
P88. Read the article: The New York Times Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 3:54 pm

The International Olympic Committee made it clear that athletes should
feel free to share their experiences via Twitter at the upcoming Games
in Vancouver. In a post on its own Twitter feed, the IOC pointed to
its detailed rules for bloggers, but summarized its position with the
succinctness called for in a tweet. Read the article: CNET News Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 3:54 pm

Relator da proposta quer ouvir a Polícia Federal, donos de lan houses
e representantes dos ministérios da Justiça e de Ciência e
Tecnologia A atividade das casas de jogos e diversões eletrônicas em
rede ou que oferecem acesso � internet pode ganhar regulamentação
nacional. A Câmara instalou comissão especial para analisar projetos
(PL 4361/04 e outros oito apensados) que tratam do funcionamento das
chamadas lan houses. De acordo com o relator da comissão, deputado
Otávio Leite (PSDB-RJ), o principal Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:36 am

Os desembargadores da 4ª Câmara Cível do TJ/BA precisaram de apenas
1 minuto e 45 segundos para julgar 68 processos, após a instalação
do Acórdão Digital, que permite a apreciação e voto dos feitos por
meio eletrônico, em sessão ordinária realizada dia 03/02. O
Acórdão Digital, que tem como base o Sistema Themis utilizado com
sucesso no Rio Grande do Sul, agiliza o trabalho dos magistrados e
pode ser acessado de qualquer lugar para se proferir voto e outras
intervenções. Amplia em cerca de 400% a Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:36 am

Fazer com que a maioria dos brasileiros tenha acesso � internet de
forma rápida e por um preço justo será uma das prioridades da
Comissão de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação, Comunicação e
Informática (CCT) em 2010. A proposta foi feita pelo presidente da
comissão, senador Flexa Ribeiro (PSDB-PA), na primeira reunião do
ano, realizada quarta-feira (03). Ele informou que a discussão do
tema será norteada pelo projeto de lei a ser encaminhado pelo governo
nos próximos dias e que institui o Plano Nacional de Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:36 am

Recently, an ex-Microsoft executive, Dick Brass, in a New York Times
Op Ed piece, Microsoft's Creative Destruction, asked the question, why
didn't iPad come from Microsoft? Why doesn't it lead the way in
innovation? But the much more important question is why Microsoft,
America's most famous and prosperous technology company, no longer
brings us the future, whether it's tablet computers like the iPad,
e-books like Amazon's Kindle, smartphones like the BlackBerry and
iPhone, search engines like Google, Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 10:15 am

Novell has filed its first motion in limine [PDF], the full title of
which is Motion in Limine No. 1 to Exclude Evidence and Argument
Concerning Claims Not Included in SCO's Appeal or the Tenth Circuit's
Limited Mandate. It's making me chuckle. Ah! The mandate rule. Since
the judge, the Hon. Ted Stewart, highlighted it in one of his recent
orders, as had Judge Cahn before him, Novell's response is, Fine.
Let's all live by the mandate rule. Judge Stewart denied one of
Novell's summary judgment motions, Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 10:15 am

There is an article by Mark Webbink, Esq., "Packaging Open Source", in
the International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Vol 1, No
2 (2009) that I think you'll find interesting. It compares various
FOSS licenses and how they handle compilations and collective works.
The context of the article is specifically packaging Linux with an
application into a software appliance, but the descriptions of the
licenses and how they work are broadly useful in other contexts as
well. I am republishing the Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 12:09 am

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked
to 82 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including
our Post of the Week. Here's a sample: Review: Thunderbird 3.0: Good
Email Solution for Law Firms? A Bankruptcy Lawyer's Move From Palm to
Droid Checklists in Law Practice What is All the Hoopla Over Avvo
Reviews? Don't miss this issue or future issues. How to Receive
BlawgWorld Our newsletters provide the most comprehensive coverage of
legal technology, practice Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 10:21 am

Watch the Video TechnoScore: 4.5 1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 =
Highest Possible Score Texas criminal defense lawyer Tyler Flood
handles drunk driving cases. He is affable, personable, sharply
dressed and speaks well. He introduces himself, and in fact, the
headline of his video says "Meet Attorney Tyler Flood." He tells a
story about his most memorable case, albeit in the second half of the
video. He's sincere and from his demeanor, I get the sense that he
believes in his cases and fights the good fight, Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 10:21 am

Coming today to Fat Friday: Diedre Braverman reviews AdvologixPM, Tom
Trottier discusses laptop security and passwords, Steve Pena shares
his thoughts on forced obsolescence and online music subscriptions, Ed
Detlie provides some ideas for making calls using a MiFi, Harry
Steinmetz has a few words for Smart Invoice's pricing plan, and our
publisher lays out a use case for Apple's new iPad. Don't miss this
issue. How to Receive Fat Friday Our most serendipitous offering, Fat
Friday consists of unsolicited Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 10:25 am

By Eric Goldman [Introductory note: I have repeatedly criticized the
FTC on this blog, and this post may implicitly criticize them as well.
At the same time, I want to share a couple of compliments for the FTC.
First, the FTC did a terrific job preparing for this event. For the
panel I participated on, we had two official group organizing calls,
plus I had at least 3 individual calls as well. I can't recall another
event which had more pre-event preparation efforts. Second, I remain
consistently impressed Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 7:47 pm

By Eric Goldman Copyright * An English translation of Google's
December loss in France on a Google Book Search lawsuit. * Ed Felten
reports on a survey of files available via BitTorrent. Acknowledging
some methodological limits, he estimates ~99% were likely copyright
infringing. * Elsevier B.V. v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., 2010 WL
150167 (S.D.N.Y. Jan 14, 2010). Denying copyright statutory damages
and attorneys' fees to unregistered foreign works is constitutional
because the Berne Convention (which Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 11:23 pm

By Eric Goldman Boring v. Google Inc., 2010 WL 318281 (3rd Cir. Jan.
28, 2010). You may recall the book project A Day in the Life of
America [Amazon affiliates link], which published what 200
photojournalists saw on May 2, 1986. The book provided a great
snapshot of Americana, both sensational and banal. As a dataset,
Google's Street View reminds me a lot of that book. The Google camera
cars automatically capture whatever they see, which in some cases can
lead to unintentionally amusing results. See, for Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 11:23 pm

The BC Government has appointed an interim Information and Privacy
Commissioner to fill the role until the legislature resumes in the
spring: Interim privacy commissioner appointed - The Globe and Mail
... Instead, Paul Fraser, B.C.'s Conflict of Interest Commissioner, is
taking over as acting commissioner. Mr. Barisoff said Ms. Carlson's
letter didn't make it to him on Friday because it was sent after
business hours. However he downplayed the delay, saying the government
needed time to find the right Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 1:11 pm

I posted earlier this week that David Loukidelis has resigned as
Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia to take on
the post of Deputy Attorney General for the province. He resigned
effective January 19, 2010. This has apparently left a significant
gap, as there was no interim Commissioner appointed. Without a
commissioner, the operations of the office have ground to a halt: CBC
News - British Columbia - Privacy official sounds 'urgent' alarm Work
at the office of B.C.'s Information and Posted on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 10:54 am

According to documents obtained by EPIC and made available to CNN,
body scanners procured by the TSA are designed to be able to record
and transmit images, whcih appears to contradict assurances given by
the agency: Body scanners can store, send images, group says - CNN.com
Washington (CNN) -- A privacy group says the Transportation Security
Administration is misleading the public with claims that full-body
scanners at airports cannot store or send their graphic images. The
TSA specified in 2008 documents Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 10:46 am

We'll be back soon with more full episodes of Radio Berkman. In the
meantime, we'd like to share a clip from a short interview we did not
long ago with Lawrence Liang of the Alternative Law Forum on piracy,
media, and culture. Excerpt: "When culture reaches the point of
ephemerality which allows it to flow in the [...] Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 1:44 pm

How could the transparency of personal information available online
erode the rule of law? And what should government be doing about it -
if anything? Joel R. Reidenberg - Professor of Law and the Founding
Academic Director of the Center on Law and Information Policy at
Fordham Law School - explores the erosion of [...] Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:08 am

How could the transparency of personal information available online
erode the rule of law? And what should government be doing about it -
if anything? Joel R. Reidenberg - Professor of Law and the Founding
Academic Director of the Center on Law and Information Policy at
Fordham Law School - explores the erosion of [...] Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:08 am

I'm getting a lot of requests these days for information on and help
with shareholder agreements, so I thought a post explaining what they
are and how they work would be helpful. Background But before I start,
I'd like to introduce you to two guys I suspect wish they'd had a
shareholder agreement in place when they created their company: Craig
Newmark and Jim Buckmaster, two of the three early shareholders of
Craigslist. As I understand the case, the third shareholder decided to
leave the company, and sold Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 8:55 am

If you're not following April Dunford, you should. Her post today
titled "Pre-Launch Marketing for Stealthy Startups" is a good example
of why. April's one of my hohoto colleagues, and spoke at our
inaugural meshmarketing last year - she's a keen observer, and you
should add her blog to your reading list. Similar Posts: None Found Posted on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 1:46 am

I'm often asked whether it's better for the company to work with
people as employees or as independent contractors (also called
contractors or consultants - the differences are of style, not
meaning). Consulting is common in the technology business in Canada,
particularly during any recession, and as businesses staff up it's an
important question to ask. Like most everything else, the answer is
"it depends". If you need occasional help, or a discrete task
performed, using the services of an independent Posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 6:19 am

Numerous news articles and blog posts have commented on the dark side
of Facebook - its disregard for users' privacy, the opportunities it
affords for cyberbullying, and its vulnerability to spam, phishing
exploits and malware. I'd like to alert my readers, particularly those
of you who blog, about a Facebook trap to avoid. I regularly check
search engines for mention of me or my blog, something that all of us
should do routinely, not as an exercise in egotism but as good
business sense, as my colleague Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:51 am

In the February 2010 issue of Harper's Magazine is an essay entitled
"The Serfdom of Crowds", excerpted from You Are Not a Gadget: A
Manifesto, the latest book by computer scientist, web guru, and author
Jaron Lanier. You Are Not a Gadget serves as a bracing rebuttal to the
loud hallelujah chorus of praise for all things internet-related. Of
social networking Lanier writes, An individual who is receiving a flow
of reports about the romantic status of a group of friends must learn
to think in terms of the Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:51 am

It's happened at some point to anyone who drives a motor vehicle. You
inch slowly into the intersection, cautiously looking in all
directions to make sure that the right of way is clear. Convinced that
you can now safely make your turn, you pull forward. Suddenly, out of
nowhere, its horn blaring, appears a car, swerving to avoid you. In a
panic, your heart pounding loudly in your ears, you slam on your
brakes, wondering how in the world you could have missed that car. The
subject of numerous studies, Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:51 am

1984 is so last century. A world without privacy has often been
depicted as part of a dystopian nightmare in various works of
speculative fiction. Yet when we are suddenly thrust upon a world
where the very notion of privacy seems to be melting before our very
eyes, the public's response is not one of shock, but rather of
celebration. At the heart of the modern privacy debate we cannot
ignore the inescapable conclusion that people are perfectly happy to
forego their privacy in exchange for something else. Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 6:37 am

What did you say Skippy? ISPs are not liable for the infringement
committed by their customers? As was mentioned last week, we have been
expecting an important ruling with regards to internet service
provider (ISP) liability from Australia. Behold Roadshow Films Pty Ltd
v iiNet Limited [2010] FCA 24. This is a case of tremendous importance
because it is one of the first skirmishes in the brewing struggle
between content owners and intermediaries (I use the term
intermediaries on purpose, as the wider Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 6:37 am

"These are not the packets you are looking for" Things are heating up
in the fight against piracy in the UK. Virgin Media has announced that
it will use deep packet inspection (DPI) software to analyse whether
its customers are sharing copyright infringing material. Privacy
International has brought this practice to the attention of both the
European Commission and the Information Commissioner, who are looking
into the affair. But most interestingly, Privacy International has
also threatened to report Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 3:39 pm

Imagine that you want to sue someone for what they wrote, anonymously,
in a web-based online forum. To succeed, you'll first have to figure
out who they really are. How hard is that task? It's a question that
Harlan Yu, Ed Felten, and I have been kicking around for several
months. We've come to some tentative answers that surprised us, and
that may surprise you. Until recently, I thought the picture was very
grim for would-be plaintiffs, writing that it should be simple for
"even a non-technical Internet Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Jonathan Zittrain famously argued in his book "The Future of the
Internet, and How to Stop It" that we were headed for a future in
which general purpose computers would be replaced by locked-down
computing appliances. Apple's new iPad will put Zittrain's thesis to
the test. The iPad, as announced, has aspects of both an appliance and
a general purpose computer. (Zittrain would say "generative", but I'll
stick with the standard computer science term "general purpose".) Will
the appliance side kill the Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:31 am

The Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP) at Princeton
University seeks candidates for positions as visiting faculty members
or researchers, or postdoctoral research associates for the 2010-2011
academic year. About CITP Digital technologies and public life are
constantly reshaping each other-from net neutrality and broadband
adoption, to copyright and file sharing, to electronic voting and
beyond. Realizing digital technology's promise requires a constant
sharing of ideas, competencies and norms Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:31 am

Martha Sperry of Advocate's Studio asked me to join her in a
presentation to the Boston Bar Association's Computer & Internet
Law Committee titled: Beyond LinkedIn: Advanced Social Media for
Lawyers. Martha Sperry, OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd., and Doug
Cornelius will lead a brown-bag lunch discussion for lawyers who are
familiar with the various forms of social media but want to take their
use to the next level. Would you like to make better use of social
media in your practice? Are you interested in Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 6:12 pm

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to provide
public companies with interpretive guidance on existing disclosure
requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating
to the issue of climate change. Chairman Mary Schapiro pointed out in
her speech that the SEC is not commenting or opining on the issue of
climate change; rather the guidance is intend to "provide clarity and
enhance consistency" to help companies decide what does and does not
need to be disclosed. There Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 10:47 am

Here is a collection of posts from my professional blog: Compliance
Building. Compliance Bits and Pieces for January 29 January 29, 2010
Here are some interesting stories from the past week: French Supreme
Court Limits the Scope of the Whistleblowing Process by Cecile Martin
in the Privacy law Blog For the first time the French Supreme Court
addressed the issue of the validity of a Code of conducts that had
been implemented by a listed company. Read more » Governing Social
Media: How to Monitor, Manage and Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 9:14 pm

Reproduzo, abaixo, matéria originalmente publicada no web site
Última Instância, a respeito do marco civil da Internet, para a qual
fui entrevistado. MARCO CIVIL Regulação na Internet deve diminuir
insegurança jurídica, diz especialista Disparidade entre decisões e
falta de um arcabouço jurídico consistente na área de direito
eletrônico podem gerar uma situação de insegurança jurídica. O
marco regulatório da Internet, ou marco civil -que deverá tratar dos
direitos fundamentais dos usuários de Internet, Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 3:48 pm

Reproduzo, abaixo, matéria originalmente publicada no portal G1, a
respeito da invasão de web sites governamentais brasileiros no ano de
2009, para a qual fui entrevistado. Hackers invadiram 1.195 páginas
governamentais neste ano, diz site Entre as páginas pichadas, estão
Senado, Ministério da Defesa e Itaipu. Chefe de segurança
cibernética de Lula vê deficiência de gestão de rede. Altieres
Rohr Colunista do G1 Sites governamentais brasileiros (com
terminações "gov.br") sofreram neste ano 1.195 ataques de Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Reproduzo, abaixo, a medida liminar que obtive em mandado de
segurança impetrado para garantir o direito de importar o Kindle,
leitor de livros eletrônicos vendido pela Amazon.com, sem o
recolhimento de impostos, por aplicação da imunidade tributária
prevista na Constituição Federal, artigo 150, inciso VI, alínea
"d". A decisão destaca que "a atinente imunidade tributária deve ser
interpretada de forma teleológica, visando aferir a finalidade da
norma e se adequar � realidade e � s inovações tecnológicas. Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 12:36 pm

Last September we predicted that sometime in 2010 EPA would reverse
its "distinct molecular identity" approach to determining when and
whether nanoscale materials are considered New Chemical Substances
requiring premanufacturing notice and approval under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA). We have been advising clients
accordingly. Inside EPA is now reporting that "EPA toxics chief Steve
Owens" . . . "is expected to announce the shift Feb. 5." Thus,
tomorrow should be an interesting day in Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm

The Nanotechnology Education Act (H.R. 4502), was introduced early
last week by Rep. David Wu (D-1st-OR) and co-sponsored by Rep. Daniel
Lipinski (D-3rd-Ill). The bill has as it's purpose the establishment
of a grant program aimed at helping secondary schools, colleges and
universities to established and improve nanotechnology education
programs and facilities. The bill notes that nanotechnology "is
generating scientific and technological breakthroughs that will
benefit society by improving the way many Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 3:13 am

The Center for the Study of Law, Science & Technology, part of the
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Monash
University Law School, and the Institute of Environmental and Energy
Law jointly created the Nanotech Regulatory Document Archive in 2009.
The archive is a free and easily searchable database of, as the name
implies, documents regarding the regulation of nanotechnology,
nanomaterials and nanoindustry produced by national and state
governments, government agencies, and Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 2:10 am

This post was written by Rachel Cutler Shim, John D. Martini, Dennis
R. Bonessa, William H. Nichols and Laurie S. DuChateau. On January 29,
2010, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the
Treasury jointly issued interim final regulations implementing the
Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction
Equity Act of 2008 ("MHPAEA"). The MHPAEA, as implemented by the
interim final regulations, greatly expands the parity standards of its
predecessor, the Mental Health Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 11:54 pm

This post was written by Elizabeth Carder-Thompson. Last week, in my
capacity as president of the American Health Lawyers Association, I
attended the first National Summit on Health Care Fraud, a joint
undertaking by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and
the U.S. Department of Justice. The conference brought together
private sector leaders, law enforcement personnel, and health care
experts as part of the Obama Administration's coordinated effort to
fight health care fraud. This was the first Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 4:01 am

This post was written by Robert H. Jackson. The Federal Communications
Commission ("FCC") has proposed changes to its Telephone Consumer
Protection Act ("TCPA") rules that would conform to the Federal Trade
Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule ("TSR"). The primary change in
the regulations would affect the sending of prerecorded messages
(a/k/a "robocalls") by barring them even to existing customers without
first obtaining prior written consent. At first blush, this seems
routine, but because of Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 2:04 am

1. In what capacity does your blog serve the legal community? I am a
specialist in organizational development for law firms and law
departments. I have an expertise in lawyer personalities, which in
this industry has a major impact on how their organizations work. (The
comment I usually hear from non-lawyers is "Isn't lawyer personality"
an oxymoron?" So you can see we are up against a difficult market
perception.) 2. What can lawyers/firms learn from reading your blawg
and/or accepting services from your Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 8:52 am

/* /*]]>*/ /* /*]]>*/ Virginia lawyers Dan Frith and Lauren
Ellerman have over 25 years of combined practice experience and are
dedicated to the hard work necessary to bring skilled and experienced
representation to their clients. Dan and Lauren blog frequently about
medical and professional negligence cases, wrongful death claims, and
nursing home abuse and neglect. Dan and I recently had the opportunity
to chat about the intersection of personal injury law and the
internet. Q: In what capacity does Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 1:11 pm

/* /*]]>*/ The stuffy old style of running a library has definitely
changed. In order to keep up with today's fast-paced lifestyle and
technological innovations, law librarians have to continuously be on
the cutting edge. The consequence of falling behind the times could
land your small library in heavy debt and into closing. Of course, in
the current economic climate, the slippery slope to bankruptcy is
shorter than ever for libraries. Bonnie Shucha, the Head of Reference
at the UW Law Library, recently Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 12:31 pm

WASHINGTON - When Peter Boddeart's Lexus lurched forward and
rear-ended another vehicle in Fauquier County, Va., earning him a
police citation, he wrote to federal regulators imploring them to look
into his case 'before someone ends up seriously injured or killed.'
That was in 2003. The years since have seen hundreds of drivers'
complaints about unwanted acceleration of their Toyotas, six
inconclusive federal investigations, multiple reports of deaths and
repeated denials from the automaker that it had a Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:04 am

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai's Shuaa Capital (SHUA.DU) narrowed its net
loss 73 percent in the fourth quarter, as the investment bank's
brokerage and private equity operations returned to profit and its
corporate division curbed losses. The investment bank said in a
statement that it cut its fourth-quarter net loss to 154.3 million
dirhams ($42.02 million) from a loss of 577.4 million dirhams a year
earlier. Shuaa reported a net loss of 529.8 million dirhams for 2009
-- including investment impairment charges of Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:04 am

IQALUIT, Canada (Reuters) - Group of Seven officials agree banks must
contribute toward the cost of dealing with the financial crisis but
have not agreed on what specific instruments the banks should use, a
German official said on Saturday. "There is a consensus that banks
themselves have to contribute to pay for the financial burden of the
crisis," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But he
said there was no agreement on exactly what form this should take. The
British government has Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:04 am

When explaining to lay people what we do, trade secret practitioners
often use the classic examples of the formula for Coca-Cola or KFC's
secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices. Now, we can add as an
illustration the nooks and crannies of Thomas' English Muffins, as
demonstrated by a case filed by Bimbo Bakeries ("BBakeries") in the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. BBakeries, which sells a variety of
different breads and baked goods, brought an action against Chris
Botticella, a high-level BBakeries Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 4:58 am

Tomorrow - January 28, 2010, 10 A.M. PDT Our previous webinars have
covered the basics of trade secrets and trade secret litigation. The
third in our webinar series will focus on claims under the federal
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The CFAA has, over the last decade,
gained traction as a powerful weapon for companies to obtain
injunctive and monetary relief when employees steal their employers'
proprietary information. However, asserting a CFAA claim is not as
straightforward as it seems. Over the years, Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 3:01 am

Can a California corporation with virtually no ties to Rhode Island
nonetheless be sued in Rhode Island federal court for misappropriation
of a Rhode Island company's trade secrets because the California
corporation lured away a Florida employee who had a confidentiality
agreement with the Rhode Island company? Yes, according to the United
States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Astro-Med, Inc. v.
Nihon Kohden America, Inc., Nos. 08-2334 and 08-2335, 2009 WL 3384786,
158 Lab. Cas. ¶60,887, and 29 IER Posted on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 6:32 pm

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) regularly targets small-to-medium
sized businesses for expensive software audits to determine whether
those businesses are in compliance with their BSA-member software
licenses. In furtherance of that effort, the BSA offers cash rewards
to disgruntled current or former employees who provide information
about allegedly unlicensed software installed on their employers'
computers. However, in many cases, businesses targeted by the BSA
discover that there appear to be Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 9:59 am

Many companies choose to pursue an internal audit of software systems
after receiving a request from the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
When it comes to deciding how to proceed with an audit, there are
multiple considerations, including, but not limited to, the size of
the company, amount of computers, type of software at issue, IT
support, and accuracy of a company's records. A small company with few
computers is better suited than a larger corporation to conduct its
own audit either manually or to take Posted on Monday, August 10, 2009 at 7:54 am

When a company receives a letter from the Business Software Alliance
(BSA) questioning the authenticity of software licensing status and
demanding an in-house audit, it is very important to have proofs of
purchase for the licenses in question. Absent sufficient proof of
purchase, the BSA will assume that the associated software
installations are unlicensed and will demand that the company pay a
penalty to resolve claims of alleged copyright infringement. It is
also important to note that the BSA requires Posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 7:54 am

Full video of the 11th Annual Northeast Florida Environmental Summit
is now available online (this link will take you to the agenda, which
links to each panel individually). This interdisciplinary Summit,
hosted by Florida Coastal School of Law and co-sponsored by
Jacksonville University, featured eight panels and three plenary
speakers addressing various issue areas under the broad theme of
sustainability. Many of the presentations may be of interest to Biolaw
readers, including the panles on Land Use, Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:17 pm

For the 10th year in a row, Biodiversity Law is being taught in the
Virgin Islands. Here is the University of Kansas School of Law
Biodiversity Law class' report from Day 1: Today we went to Mermaid's
chair, located in Botany Bay on St. Thomas in the United States Virgin
Islands. First we walked along the beach and observed the native flora
and fauna. We noted a variety of flora, ranging from cactus to sea
grapes, and a variety of fauna, ranging from soldier crabs to
pelicans. We then observed tide pools, Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:17 pm

Today, the University of Kansas School of Law Biodiversity Law class
was invited to Legislative hearings at the Virgin Islands Legislature.
Here is the students' account of what they experienced and learned:
The US Virgin Islands have recently been consumed by a project that
proposes to take combustible waste and petroleum coke (pet coke) and
burn it to produce energy. This project is alternatively styled as a
waste incinerator or waste-to-fuel project, among other terms. The
project was put out to bid by Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:17 pm

Aaron Porter's keynote was good -- very fluent, very political (he's
vice-president (HE) with the National U. of Students), nicely balanced
and with a great last line. What he said about induction and feedback
(re the NSS) was undeniable -- Michael Bromby has summarised some of
it over on Directions. I can't resist joining the debate, partly
because Zeugma is about the research on this & related fields, and
what I've written below is a version of some thoughts I've already set
down elsewhere. Re Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm

[Again, no access so this is being largely written and uploaded much
later] Their study was funded by the ESRC - analysed the training
& education of solicitors, including LPC & GDL and traineeship
- the role of the university vis a vis the sociology of the
professions. Interesting on the issue of transnational 'universities'
hosted by corporate and global firms. Andrew and James called the
process of producing lawyers with a particular view of what it is to
practice law 'identity regulation'. They Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm

I guess that, following on from my last rather downbeat posting of
2009, this is a much more upbeat appraisal of what technologies do
to/for us. I cycle pretty regularly to work, and on a variety of bikes
-- mountain bike, recumbent trike, folder, occasionally my trusty
Mercian roadster. Apart from the occasional bout of manic driving or
unseeing driver the thing that irritates me is the design of the road.
Who was responsible for all these signs, traffic lights, road
markings, most of them telling me the Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 7:19 pm

The class action lawsuit against the Google Books program has receded
from its former prominence in news reports, but there has still been a
lot of activity. The parties retreated into seclusion to negotiate a
settlement last fall and then, faced with objections from the
Department of Justice, negotiated some more and reached a new "Amended
Settlement Agreement," or ASA. (The Public Index at New York Law
School is still the best online source for all the background on
Google Books issues.) Yesterday the Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 9:58 am

An anonymous student at BLS has started a great blog, You Can Wordify
Anything If You Just Verb It. It collects the more… interesting…
things said by both profs and students. I'm already spending
significant cycles trying to guess the provenance of some of these
quotes. Given that certain of them mention Internet Law, I have some
initial suspicions. The runner-up for Internet meme of the week is the
Muppets' "I'm On a Boat." (This clip is not even vaguely SFW.) Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 11:09 pm

BLS is having a great symposium that bears directly on infolaw issues
such as cyber-harassment, defamation, illicit file-sharing, and so
forth. My friends Mike Cahill and Miriam Baer are co-hosting, and my
friend Peter Henning is a panelist in the afternoon. Best of all, it's
free! When: Friday, February 5, 2010, 9:00AM - 4:15PM Where: Subotnick
Center, Brooklyn Law School, 250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY Sign
up This Symposium will discuss the nature, ethics, and law of imposing
punishment on collective Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 3:13 pm

As part of my lecture series for mid-career journalists at the Sri
Lanka College of Journalism, I held a class today on leveraging new
and social media for news managers dealing with provincial news in Sri
Lanka. Noting that the basis of this presentation was the generation
of news from the provinces in a manner that also used new media (most
provincial journalists still file their reports either through voice
calls or by faxing hand written copies), I said that separate from
this, those in Colombo in Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:20 pm

OCHA's ReliefWeb has (a very rough) transcript of my recent podcast
with IRIN on the use of technology in Haiti's January 2010 earthquake
relief effort. Read it here. Read about the podcast and listen to the
original version here. A pertinent excerpt from the interview:
TUNBRIDGE: Did you see what is going on high-tech world here is
unprecedented. Did you think it is going change forever the way we do
respond to disasters? HATTOTUWA: The way we respond to disasters it
will always be the same. It will Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 9:01 pm

I had an interesting interaction this morning with Christina Goodness
and a group of graduate students in New York University on Sri Lanka,
touching upon the challenges it faces post-war and the ways in which
information and technology can play a role in more systemic
peacebuilding and reconciliation. The class wiki (as PDF here),
largely based on Christina's exemplary vision, is a cutting-edge,
interdisciplinary and international syllabus that I wish universities
in Sri Lanka also had. They don't, and it Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 9:01 pm

A federal judge has reduced the verdict in the only file-sharing case
to have gone to trial in the United States. The case has now been
tried twice. In 2007, a $222,000 judgment was awarded against a
Minnesota woman who shared 24 songs over the Internet. Last year,
another judge awarded recording companies $1.92 million. Now, a judge
has reduced that judgment to $2,250 per song, or about $54,000. Each
weekend, E-Commerce Law Briefs provides a brief summary and commentary
on recent legal news affecting Posted on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 9:43 am

We're fairly certain that New York Times Company Chairman Arthur
Sulzberger doesn't read E-Commerce Law, especially after hearing the
he planned to announce that the New York Times will soon begin
charging for its online content. As we indicated last week, 77 percent
of Internet users say they would not pay for online news. Unless every
news outlet makes the same move, the pay-for-content model can't work.
One hundred charities were competing for votes on Facebook to win $1
million. And this week's sign of Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 3:55 am

In Jensen v. Modern Aero, Inc., 2010 WL 88229 (Minn. App. Jan. 12,
2010), the Court of Appeals of Minnesota held that a defendant's
website, which lauded defendant's "worldwide" expertise," listed a
toll-free telephone number for defendant, and provided an electronic
form for customers to contact the defendant, was insufficient to
confer general personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Accordingly,
the Court affirmed the dismissal of negligence claims brought by the
estate of a pilot who died in the crash Posted on Monday, January 25, 2010 at 2:35 am

On Thursday, an agreement on the prospective deal we have been
discussing for months finally was reached: Roche formally agreed to
acquire Genentech for $95 per share at a total price of $46.8 billion.
Who came out the big winner here? Well, while Roche ended up with the
Genentech pipeline prize, it has been suggested that the real winners
are the Genentech employees and of course all of the Genentech
investors. The San Francisco Business Journal reported on the deal as
follows: On paper, Roche appears to Posted on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 11:30 am

Gilead Sciences has agreed to buy Palo Alto-based CV Therapeutics for
$1.4 billion dollars. According to SF Gate, Gilead Sciences will pay
$20 per share for CV Therapeutics, which reported $154.5 million in
revenue in 2008. Most of that revenue comes from Ranexa, a drug from
chronic angina. Is this a good deal for Gilead Sciences? Well, SF Gate
reported that a Citi investment research analyst backed the deal as
making "strategic sense" but described the price as "very steep." The
Mercury News explained the Posted on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 11:30 am

The House and Senate have reached a compromise to extend SBIR through
July 31, 2009, according to a report that broke late this evening by
the SBIR Insider. The SBIR Insider reports that the House will
originate the bill and that the legislation will amend PL 110-235 (the
current CR), which expires on March 20, 2009. The compromise was
announced on the same day that President Obama announced his new plan
to assist small businesses. The President's plan is intended to
unfreeze the credit markets for small Posted on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 11:30 am

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for winning Super Bowl XLIV.
Everyone in New Orleans and the entire Who Dat Nation will forever
remember this moment, which has been a very long time coming. A
special thanks to our quarterback, Drew Brees, for being such a first
class person both on and off of the field. After the last two weeks of
preparation for the Super Bowl, it has perhaps become cliché to speak
of the parallels between the rebirth of this unique city since 2005
and the rebirth of the Saints, Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 2:31 am

I review a lot of apps on iPhone J.D., but often after I review the
app, I don't use it again - not because the app isn't good, but
because it addresses a need that I do not have. But then there are
some apps that I find myself loving even more than I did when I first
reviewed the app. A perfect example of the latter is NotifyMe, an app
I reviewed a few months ago from PoweryBase that you can use to
quickly send yourself reminders. NotifyMe was updated this week to
version 1.5, adding the ability to edit Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 4:13 pm

There has not been much iPhone news of note this week. Partially that
is because Apple's upcoming iPad continues to dominate the
conversations, and while much iPad news has an indirect connection
with the iPhone, some does not. Today, I am starting with the pure
iPhone stories, and then I end up by listing the iPad stories that I
consider newsworthy for iPhone users. Additionally, I don't know what
is in the news where you live, but here in New Orleans the news is
pretty much all Saints, all the time, with Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Looking for when to buy a new Mac laptop, iPod or iPhone? Mac Buyer's
Guide has information on Apple products on when they were last
updated, the average life cycle, when the prodcut is expected to be
renewed and also a collection of news / rumors about the new products.
All on one page. A one stop shopping guide. I'm buying new iMacs now,
but holding off on getting a new laptop. Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 5:05 am

A quick comment about rates insurance companies pay and how much
uninsured people pay. I recently helped a friend out with a few
doctor's bills. I don't do this for a living, but did it to help a
friend. The bulk of it was two Emergency Room visits about two months
apart. She had insurance on the second visit, but was uninsured for
the first visit. Insured ER VIsit She had charges of $2,617. Insurance
paid $370 and there was a contractual adjustment of $2,047.00. That
left her a balance of $200 to pay. Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 11:01 am

I have a case that came in not too long ago. Single car wreck. 11:30
p.m., the car's right tire goes off the edge of the road and the
driver over corrects, swerving back and forth trying to get control of
the car. The car eventually hits a concrete culvert and flips 3-4
times, finally coming to a rest upside down in a cornfield. My client
is the passenger. He was buckled in and looking for the driver. He
came to and was able to drag himself out of the car. Frantically
looking for the driver, he finally Posted on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 10:47 am

Cloud computing raises complex legal issues related to privacy and
information security. As legislators and regulators around the world
grapple with the privacy and data security implications of cloud
computing, companies seeking to implement cloud-based solutions should
closely monitor this rapidly evolving legal landscape for
developments. In an article published on February 3, 2010, Lisa Sotto,
Bridget Treacy and Melinda McLellan explore U.S. and EU legal
requirements applicable to data stored by cloud Posted on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 8:53 pm

On February 3, 2010, Christopher Kuner, a partner in Hunton &
Williams' Brussels office and head of the firm's EU Privacy Practice,
presented to the "Stakeholders' Dialogue on Illegal Uploading and
Downloading," organized by DG Internal Market and Services of the
European Commission. Mr. Kuner presented a study which the Hunton
& Williams Brussels team prepared for the Commission on the
interaction of data protection law and copyright enforcement. The
study covers both the legal framework under EU Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 10:16 am

Pursuant to a public complaint, on January 27, 2010, the Privacy
Commissioner of Canada announced a new investigation into Facebook.
The investigation concerns the social networking site's introduction
of a tool that required its users to review their privacy settings in
December 2009. According to the complaint, Facebook's new default
settings allegedly made some users' information more accessible than
previously had been the case. Elizabeth Denham, the Assistant Privacy
Commissioner, indicated "[s]ome Posted on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 10:16 am

In 2003, Fujitsu released a new device that that let store clerks
check inventory levels and verify item prices. In 2010, Apple released
their next revolution in computing. How are these two related? They're
both called "iPad". As reported originally in the New York Times,
Fujistu registered a trademark for the name iPad, in 2003, for their
multifunction device. When Apple released their new tablet computer,
however, they didn't hesitate to also brand it as the iPad. The
question now becomes: How does Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:54 pm

In the wake of China's hacking attacks against Google, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton recently made a speech condemning "countries or
individuals that engage in cyber attacks." In response, China accused
the United States of hypocrisy with respect to this tough talk,
claiming that the U.S. engaged in cyberwarfare when American citizens
used Twitter and YouTube to keep Iranian protestors in contact with
the outside world following the controversial 2009 Iranian
presidential election. One editorial Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:54 pm

CNet reports that Cathi Paradiso of Pueblo, Colorado had her Internet
service cut off by her Internet Service Provider, Qwest, after being
accused of "illegally downloading 18 films and TV shows." Apparently,
she didn't - it appears from published correspondence between Paradiso
and a Qwest technician that her wireless network was automatically
switched on and unsecured, even though she didn't use the wireless
network at all. Comments by the hosts of CNet's Buzz Out Loud podcast
indicate that it is likely Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:54 pm

Wong v. Partygaming Ltd., - F.3d -, 2009 WL 4893955 (6th Cir. December
21, 2009) The Sixth Circuit's recent opinion in the case of Wong v.
Partygaming is interesting if you're a civil procedure wonk and care
about things like which law applies to determine the enforceability of
forum selection clauses in website terms and conditions and what
factors a court should consider when dismissing a case on the basis of
forum non conveniens. The most intriguing part of the case, however,
comes from Judge Merritt's Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 4:15 am

Autodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemes Solidworks Corp., 2009 WL 5218009
(N.D. Cal. December 31, 2009) One of the issues in the case of
Autodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemes Solidworks was whether Autodesk
could claim trademark rights and the letters "DWG". The .dwg
("drawing") file extension is the native file format for Autodesk's
flagship product AutoCAD. Plaintiff Autodesk moved for summary
judgment on the trademark issue. The defendant pointed out that the
trademark laws do not permit one to claim exclusive Posted on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 4:15 am

The case of Blockowicz v. Williams, - F.Supp.2d -, 2009 WL 4929111
(N.D. Ill. December 21, 2009), which I posted on last week is worthy
of discussion in that it raises the question of whether website
operators like Ripoff Report could get off too easily when they
knowingly host harmful third party content. Immunity under 47 U.S.C.
230 is often criticized for going too far in shielding operators.
Under Section 230, sites cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker
of information provided by third party Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 5:35 am

A new advertising icon was released last week by a privacy advocacy
group in conjunction with a group of advertisers and agencies as part
of an effort to educate consumers about behavioral advertising and
head off federal regulation. The "Power I" icon was released last
Wednesday by the Future of Privacy Forum ("FPF"), a privacy policy
think tank, along with a research report on the potential efficacy of
icons and phrases in providing notice to consumers. The icon was
developed in collaboration with Posted on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 1:49 am

This past week, the Ponemon Institute announced their publication of
the results of their fifth annual study on the costs of data breaches
for U.S.-based companies. The study was sponsored by the PGP
Corporation. A similar report for U.K.-based companies was also
released. This year's report, entitled 2009 Annual Study: Cost of a
Data Breach, displays the results of the Ponemon Institute's research
of data breach incidents occurring in 2009. Overall, as with previous
years, the study found that U.S. Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 11:57 pm

The implementation of codes of conduct and whistleblowing systems is
expanding at the international level. Global companies must pay
attention to local law requirements when rolling out these codes in
foreign countries, in order notably to comply with the rules and
regulations provided by the local data protection authorities to
govern data processing. A recent decision rendered on December 8,
2009, by the French Supreme Court provides a good illustration of
issues that may be raised by local laws in the Posted on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 6:18 pm

Registrants have tried a number of ploys to avoid having the disputed
domain name forfeited to the complainant, including passing themselves
off as the complainant or pretending to be commonly known by the
domain name. The Respondent in Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. v.
Neiman-Marcus, FA 135048 (Nat. Arb. Forum January 13, 2003), for
example, called itself "Neiman-Marcus." The Panel in Alain-Martin
Pierret d/b/a Bordeaux West v. Sierra Technology Group, LLC., FA
0505000472135 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 1, 2005) Posted on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:24 pm

The Policy authorizes either party to petition to consolidate
"multiple disputes … before … the first Administrative Panel
appointed to hear a pending dispute between the parties … provided
that the disputes being consolidated are governed by this Policy or a
later version of this Policy adopted by ICANN" [Paragraph 4(f)]. The
Complainant in Farouk Systems, Inc. v. QYM, D2009-1658 (WIPO January
19, 2010) commenced 11 separate cases; petition for consolidation
granted. The procedure is the twin to a single Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:49 am

There is an interesting choreography between trademark holders and
domain name registrants when the prize is a combination of two or
three dictionary words both covet. The former must set out with
specificity their historical presence in the market place - prove
targeting - and the latter must emphasize the commonness of the words
and their lack of knowledge of the trademark. Slickdeals, Inc. v. Chad
Wright a/k/a WebQuest.com Inc., FA0910001289878 (Nat. Arb. Forum
January 29, 2010) (). The greater the Posted on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 11:49 am

"BeenVerified" is a new mobile Web application that allows users to
conduct background checks on any individual by merely entering the
name or email address of the individual. Users get three free
background checks monthly and unlimited checks for a monthly fee of
only $8. BeenVerified has been a smashing success, with more than one
million checks run to date. HR professionals, recruiters, managers,
and co-workers may find BeenVerified hard to resist. According to the
application, users can check an Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 1:42 am

Employers already face concerns about how to handle employees
trash-talking about them on blogs, Facebook and other social media.
Now, employers must be cautious of the converse - employee
endorsements of their employers' products and services on social media
websites. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued updated
guidelines aimed at protecting consumers from misleading endorsements
and advertising. As these guidelines make clear, employers whose
employees use social media like blogs or Posted on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 5:22 pm

As the Supreme Court prepares to address the question whether public
employees can expect privacy in text messages sent by
government-issued phones through a service provider under contract
with the government, federal district courts continue to reach
conflicting results when addressing whether private employees waive
the attorney-client privilege by communicating with a personal
attorney using their employer's electronic resources. With yet another
federal court recently finding no waiver, employers Posted on Friday, December 25, 2009 at 5:15 am

So, if the trend for 2010 coming from LegalTech is toward efficiency,
can we assume that law firms, finally, are starting to realize they
are just like every other business? Also, does the fact that the legal
industry is just now starting to look at using technology to be more
efficient prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that law firms typically
lag behind other businesses? I think it does, after all the entire
tech/internet revolution is about communicating and sharing
information more effectively. Believe Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 6:53 pm

Many of you may already know this, and to some extent I'm marking this
here for my own purposes, but you can download the Enron data set from
the EDRM website and use it as sample data for testing purposes.
Personally, I'm going to grab some of the data for testing, and for
training. Never hurts to have publicly available documents to use in
training for Summation, Trial Director, or whatever other litigation
tools we're using. It helps avoid the risk of showing people documents
they shouldn't see this way. Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 10:18 pm

I found it somewhat interesting that both of these articles came to my
attention yesterday, as they both deal with something I haven't seen
many people talk about, let alone firms that actually embrace the
idea. They both mention the importance of non-lawyer staff of law
firms in building relationships, networking, and attracting clients to
the firm. Kevin O'Keefe, naturally, looks at it from the Social
Networking aspect in After hours use of social media by law firm
employees key to client development. Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 10:18 pm

Jeffery A. Salter in The New York Times: "In the 1990s, Jaron Lanier
was one of the digital pioneers hailing the wonderful possibilities
that would be realized once the Internet allowed musicians, artists,
scientists and engineers around the world to instantly share their
work. Now, like a lot of us, he is having second thoughts... "Mr.
Lanier, a musician and avant-garde computer scientist - he popularized
the term "virtual reality" - wonders if the Web's structure and
ideology are fostering nasty group Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 1:07 pm

An inside chonicle of the kerfluffle (a.k.a "Tinselgate") over the
White House xmas tree, with an ODR emphasis added: "During the first
three weeks of December, the White House schedule of fetes and
receptions proceeds without incident. The Wish Tree is groaning with
wishes. Oprah and HGTV praise and immortalize our efforts. Everyone is
happy. Even Pat Nixon's old Faberge orbs, polished up and reused in
one of many bipartisan gestures, are happy. DEC. 23: THE BLOGSPLOSION
Some grody little snapshots find Posted on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 7:19 am

Martin Wolf in the Financial Times: "...these views shaped how I have
responded to the financial catastrophe of the past few years. I was
convinced that, without the policy responses we saw, the world would
have experienced a still greater depression. Policymakers could not
stand idly by while such calamities unfolded. We could not, in such
times, even take the survival of civilisation itself for granted.
Never before had I felt more strongly the force of John Maynard
Keynes's toast "to the economists - who Posted on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 4:27 am

Tech businesses may be heavy users of energy so they should be aware
that from 1 April they may need to register for the Government's first
major climate change initiative, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC
- more here). The CRC is a mandatory carbon emissions trading scheme
and aims to give organisations financial and PR incentives to reduce
their energy use. In turn this will help the Government meet the
commitment it signed up to in the Climate Change Act 2008 to reduce
the UK's greenhouse gas Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 3:57 am

IT lawyers have been muttering about the case between BSkyB and EDS
(now HP-owned) for a number of years. Finally, today the judgment is
out - and initial reports (and here) suggest that it doesn't look good
for EDS (though the final decision on damages will come later). In
short, EDS were contracted to provide a CRM solution to BSB in
Scotland for £48m. Things went wrong. BSB terminated the contract,
finished the job itself for £265m and sued EDS for damages. EDS/HP
argued that a £30m liability cap Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 3:57 am

We reported back in November that the ICO had issued draft guidance on
monetary penalties for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act.
The guidance was approved earlier this week by the Secretary of State
for Justice, Jack Straw MP, and is expected to come into force on 6
April 2010. It means that the ICO will have the power to impose
penalties of up to £500,000 on organisations for losses of personal
data. The level of penalty will depend on the gravity of the breach
and whether the breach was Posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 9:39 pm

A conference on nanotechnology will be held in Germany 30 November-2
December. According to the website: We convene actors from Germany,
Europe, and the United States to link previously separated regulatory
debates. Participants will develop regulatory recommendations for
German and European politics in frank and open discussions. This
includes the prioritization of regulatory approaches and principles to
guide the development of compatible regulatory systems on both sides
of the Atlantic. The price is € Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 6:18 pm

EEB calls for premarket registration, stakeholders consultation and
adequate legislative framework before a deeper entrance in nanotech
market is made. In its brochure, it deems voluntary regulation as
unsuccessful. I have yet to see where the failures are, but the EEB
claims for lack of participation on the enactments of these codes. It
appears to me that the EEB stance are 'precautionary' in essence and
relies more on command-and-control approach in nanotech regulation.
The argument may have some merit Posted on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 2:01 pm

As I have written in the previous post, nanotech may be able to
revolutionize drinking water provision. Recently at the 2009 TED, an
engineer demonstrated a non chemical nano-filtration bottle that could
change filthy water into drinking water in a matter of second. The
cost of the bottle is still quite high, around 116-170 GBP depending
on the volume (filtration of up to 4,000 to 6,000 litres). However,
with better manufacturing, the price of the filter may significantly
decrease in the future. If employed Posted on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 8:24 pm

As was reported in the Law Society Gazette last month, "Proposals for
a regulation regime for mediation faltered last week when mediators
told the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) they need more time to consider
ââ'¬Ëœambitious' plans. However members of the organisation,
which represents civil and commercial mediators, approved a scheme to
register workplace mediators to meet the needs of the Department for
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The scheme will go live
early in the new year and be the Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 5:43 am

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes of conflict in the Euro zone: "Workers
are already rising up against the ruling socialists. An angry march by
trade unions in Zaragoza on Sunday is the first shot across the bows.
As yet, no Spanish heavyweight has questioned the orthodoxy of EMU
membership. That may change, as it is changing in Ireland. The euro
system is starting to inflict very grave hardship on ordinary people.
This is exactly what critics always feared. In the end, it will breed
conflict. " We need to Posted on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 5:30 am

Interest in using mediation to resolve conflict at work continues to
grow as HR professionals and business managers face the challenges of
keeping staff motivated (if not happy) as well as satisfying
shareholders desire for profits or growth. Human Law Mediation is
encouraged to see such interest but also concerned. Concerned that for
those inexperienced in mediation mistakes could be made unless some of
the finer details of mediation are understood. I've written before
(Mediation, not for the uninitiated) Posted on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 9:38 am

The Dartmouth Law Journal (DLJ) is a scholarly law review published
three times a year by undergraduate students under the auspices of the
Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College. They are now in their sixth
year of publication and do a... Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 5:26 pm

OnEarth.org points us to a story at Mongabay.com, about the purchase
of environmental services rights in a rainforest in South America by a
private equity firm, Canopy Capital. "How can it be that Google's
services are worth billions, but those... Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 6:28 am

Munich Re has released its 2007 review of natural catastrophe
experience and its announcement of a strategic re-direction to address
climate change, which it describes as "one of the greatest risks
facing mankind." It is especially valuable to remind U.S.... Posted on Friday, April 11, 2008 at 6:27 am

The following legal update is posted on behalf of my colleague Jane
Shea. Despite the temporary relief provided by the six-month extension
to June 1, 2010 of the Identity Theft Red Flags regulations deadline,
businesses that are located in Massachusetts, or who have customers or
employees that are domiciled in Massachusetts, find that they must
maintain their focus on data security for another reason - the
Massachusetts data privacy regulations compliance deadline is March 1,
2010. Like the Red Flags Posted on Monday, February 1, 2010 at 6:09 pm

Was I the only person who saw the headline A view from Microsoft's
disaster central and immediately thought that the following article
would be about Microsoft's efforts to contain the damage from the
explorer weakness that was exploited in the Google hack? Probably. I
guess it's an occupational hazard that comes from being a lawyer who
focuses on computer software. And speaking of software, I wanted to
mention that, in my hiatus from Ephemerallaw, I started up a new blog,
Developer Diary, which is devoted Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 3:10 pm

Quick answer: I don't know, but it's less likely than it might
initially appear. Earlier this month several sources, including Wired,
reported that over 30 large companies, including Google and Adobe, had
been victims of a sophisticated hack, which Microsoft admits was made
possible by a weakness in Internet Explorer 6. Microsoft also admits
that it learned of the flaw in September, and that it was holding back
a patch so that it could be released in a cumulative update that was
due out next month. Given Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 11:51 am