Lauren Gelman's blog

Federal Jury Hands Down First Conviction Under the DMCA in DirecTV Case

In U.S.A. v. Thomas Michael Whitehead, Case No. 2:03CR53 (C.D.C.A. Sept. 19, 2003), the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California alleged that Whitehead purchased software code needed for reprogramming DirecTV access cards, paid a coconspirator to periodically update the code to circumvent current DirecTV security measures, and then used the code to reprogram DirecTV access cards, which he sold nationwide. In addition to charging Whitehead with conspiracy, and sale of devices to illegally decrypt satellite programming under 47 U.S.C. Section 605(e)(4), the U.S. Read more about Federal Jury Hands Down First Conviction Under the DMCA in DirecTV Case

Federal Court Dismisses Hyperphrase Patent Infringement Case Against Microsoft

Hyperphrase Technologies sued Microsoft for patent infringement of three of Hyperphrase’s patents relating to storage and retreival of information in computer systems. The first patent is for automatically storing and retreiving data records in computer systems. The other two are for improvements of the method disclosed in the first patent, such as resolving ambiguity in recognized terms, using a variety of techniques. One of the features of Microsoft Office XP is called Smart Tags. Read more about Federal Court Dismisses Hyperphrase Patent Infringement Case Against Microsoft

Refusal to Establish Hyperlink May Violate First Amendment Rights

Geoffrey Davidian publishes The Putnam Pit, a tabloid and website that monitors corruption in Cookeville, Tennessee. Davidian lives in California but developed an interest in Cookeville after learning of an unsolved murder in the Cookeville area. After years of interacting with city officials, Davidian requested a hyperlink from the city’s website to his online newspaper. In response, the city created and modified a policy on establishing links, finally denying Davidian’s request. Additionally, the city refused Davidian’s request for electronic copies of city parking tickets. Read more about Refusal to Establish Hyperlink May Violate First Amendment Rights

Class Certification Denied in Infringement Action against Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

The District Court of Massachusetts denied plaintiff's motion for class certification in a copyright infringement suit by three freelance photographers against Copyright Clearance Center Inc. Defendant acts as an agent for magazine publishers, licensing rights to photocopy magazine articles. Read more about Class Certification Denied in Infringement Action against Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Although Product Distributor’s Web Activity Did not Create Minimum Contacts with Forum State, Personal Jurisdiction Held Proper

The plaintiff, a New York resident, brought claims under the Lanham Act, Clean Air Act, Kansas state unfair trade law, and common law negligence against several defendants in the District of Kansas. The defendants included the manufacturer (a Kansas resident) and two distributors (the movants here, neither resident in Kansas) of ‘Black Knight,’ a reptile care product. Read more about Although Product Distributor’s Web Activity Did not Create Minimum Contacts with Forum State, Personal Jurisdiction Held Proper

Register.com Settles Class Action Suit

Michael Zurakov filed a lawsuit based on Register.com’s practice of initially pointing newly registered domain names to a “Coming Soon” Page, which informs Internet users that the domain name has been recently registered by Register.com and provides hyperlinks to some of Register.com’s services, as well as the services of others. Plaintiff alleged that Register.com’s pointing of domain names to the Coming Soon Page was not adequately disclosed to him, and improperly deprived him of the benefits of the domain name he registered. Read more about Register.com Settles Class Action Suit

Federal Court Strikes Down FTC’s National Do-not-call List, Allows Other Telemarketer Regulations

Several groups representing telemarketing firms sued the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The suit challenges the FTC’s legal authority to enforce three measures the FTC promulgated under its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR):
1) establishing a national do-not-call registry
2) prohibiting telemarketing calls where the person receiving the call is not connected to a representative within two seconds of the person’s completed greeting Read more about Federal Court Strikes Down FTC’s National Do-not-call List, Allows Other Telemarketer Regulations

Attachmnent of GPS Devices to Private Vehicles Requires a Warrant

William Bradley Jackson reported his daughter Valiree missing on October 18, 1999. Police soon suspected that Jackson was involved in the disappearance and obtained a warrant to search his home and impound and search Jackson’s two vehicles. Police also obtained two 10-day warrants to attach and maintain global positioning system (GPS) devices on Jackson’s vehicles. The data from these devices eventually led police to Valiree’s body. Jackson was tried and convicted of first degree murder and was given an exceptional sentence of 672 months because of aggravating factors. Read more about Attachmnent of GPS Devices to Private Vehicles Requires a Warrant

Headline: Advertisers in the UK Must Get Explicit Permission Before Marketing By E-mail

The UK’s ASA is an independent self-regulatory body responsible for supervising the CAP Code as applied to the advertising industry. The CAP Code is written by the advertising industry via its Committee of Advertising Practices (CAP). The ASA applies sanctions against parties who fail to follow its rulings. Read more about Headline: Advertisers in the UK Must Get Explicit Permission Before Marketing By E-mail

Verisign Settles FTC Complaint for False Advertising to Take Competitors’ Domain Name Registrants

Verisign and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a settlement stemming from charges that Verisign’s Network Solutions unit, the largest domain name registrar, tricked customers of competing domain name registrars into renewing and transferring their domain name with Network Solutions.The FTC action grew out of series of private class actions first filed in California state court on May 28, 2002. Luxenberg v. Verisign, Inc. et al, No. BC274342 (Cal. Jan. 8, 2003). Read more about Verisign Settles FTC Complaint for False Advertising to Take Competitors’ Domain Name Registrants

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