Paid Placements in Internet Search Result in Action by FTC Paid Placements in Internet Search Result in Action by FTC

Information Technology
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-09-23
After an 11-month investigation, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has declared that search engine companies must clearly disclose to consumers the presence of paid placements displayed within search results. A number of search engine companies have been selling the top spots on search result lists. In many cases, it was not clear whether these paid placements were part of the actual results of the search. The FTC began its investigation after a complaint was received from the U.S.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/paid-placements-internet-search-result-action-by-ftc

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Online Database Leak Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Online Database Leak

Privacy
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
The Canadian Privacy Commissioner released his findings on the complaint by an individual that a company was not using appropriate security safeguards to protect information collected from participants in online contests. The Commissioner found the company in breach of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/canadian-privacy-commissioner-releases-findings-on-online-database-leak

Future Make-up of the ICANN Board Future Make-up of the ICANN Board

Domain Names
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
ICANN, the organization that oversees the Internet's domain name system, may soon have a very different face. During the ICANN annual meeting in Bucharest, the ICANN Chief Executive, Stuart Lynn, proposed limiting board members to representatives of business and government, which basically ends the appointment of members of technical and citizen groups. Adoption of this proposal would leave the ICANN board with no representation by Internet users.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/future-makeup-of-icann-board

Cyber Security Insurance Coverage Cyber Security Insurance Coverage

Cybersecurity
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
Companies operating in the U.S. may soon find it difficult to operate without cyber security insurance.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/cyber-security-insurance-coverage

Ontario Considering New Legislation on Retail Tax on Software and Services Ontario Considering New Legislation on Retail Tax on Software and Services

Information Technology
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
The Ontario Government is considering drafting new legislation to address the issue of the applicability of the Ontario Retail Sales Tax to software and related services. At present, the government is going through a consultation process with industry organizations such as the Information Technology Association of Canada for Ontario. A copy of the draft legislation will be posted on the Website of the Ministry of Finance.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/ontario-considering-new-legislation-on-retail-tax-on-software-and-services

California Court of Appeal Issues Decision on What Constitutes an "Offer" in an Online Auction California Court of Appeal Issues Decision on What Constitutes an "Offer" in an Online Auction

Litigation
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
The California Court of Appeal recently issued a decision on the issue of what constitutes an "offer" in an online auction. The dispute centered around the domain name Golf.tv, which was being offered in an auction by the defendant, dotTV Corporation (TVC). TVC registers .tv domain names for a fee.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/california-court-of-appeal-issues-decision-on-what-constitutes-an-offer-an-online-auction

Molson Wins Dispute Over Canadian.biz Molson Wins Dispute Over Canadian.biz

Domain Names
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
A recent decision of the National Arbitration Forum ("Forum") has concluded that only Molson Canada is entitled to use the domain "canadian.biz". Molson Canada is the registered owner of the trademark "Canadian" in Canada.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/molson-wins-dispute-over-canadianbiz

B.C. Securities Commission Exerts Jurisdiction Over Internet Communications B.C. Securities Commission Exerts Jurisdiction Over Internet Communications

Information Technology
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
In a recent decision, the British Columbia Securities Commission has ruled that B.C. resident Jesse J. Hogan contravened that province's Securities Act by intentionally distributing false information on five NASDAQ companies using email, chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/bc-securities-commission-exerts-jurisdiction-over-internet-communications

Supreme Court of Canada Affirms Access to Information in Federal Investigations Supreme Court of Canada Affirms Access to Information in Federal Investigations

Litigation
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
The Supreme Court of Canada in the recent decision of Lavigne v. Canada (Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages) confirmed that exceptions to the general duty of federal institutions to disclose personal information must be interpreted narrowly.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/supreme-court-of-canada-affirms-access-to-information-federal-investigations

Major U.S. Media Outlets Sue Adware Pioneer, Gator Corporation Major U.S. Media Outlets Sue Adware Pioneer, Gator Corporation

Information Technology
July 4, 2002July 4, 20022015-07-08
A number of major U.S. media companies, including the parent companies of The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have filed a lawsuit against Gator Corporation, a leading provider of adware, in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Adware is software that triggers pop-up ads when web surfers visit a particular website. The media companies claim that Gator is selling ads on their Websites without authorization and profiting from the media companies' investment in their own web sites.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/major-us-media-outlets-sue-adware-pioneer-gator-corporation

Parliament Passes Internet Retransmission Bill Parliament Passes Internet Retransmission Bill

Information Technology
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
On June 18th, the Canadian House of Commons passed legislation (Bill C-48) that would require Internet retransmitters to obtain a licence when retransmitting copyrighted material over the Internet.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/parliament-passes-internet-retransmission-bill

Recent U.S. Report on E-government Recent U.S. Report on E-government

Information Technology
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), a U.S. based think tank, recently released a report entitled "The Best States for E-Commerce". In the report, the PPI examined the 50 States and the District of Columbia and ranked them in order of their friendliness to e-commerce.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/recent-us-report-on-egovernment

Technology @Work: Air Canada Uses Wireless Device to Check-in Tardy Passengers Technology @Work: Air Canada Uses Wireless Device to Check-in Tardy Passengers

Intellectual Property
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
Air Canada, in partnership with IBM, is piloting a wireless system to help ticket agents check-in late passengers as they wait in the queue at Toronto's Pearson airport. The system is based on the partnership's electronic kiosks, in use since 1998 by Air Canada.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/technology-work-air-canada-uses-wireless-device-to-checkin-tardy-passengers

Two Important Decisions by U.S. Appellate Courts on Internet Jurisdiction Two Important Decisions by U.S. Appellate Courts on Internet Jurisdiction

Litigation
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
There were two recent decisions released by U.S. Appellate Courts regarding jurisdiction online. In the first decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals (4th Cir) in ALS Scan v. Digital Service Consultants held that the District Court in Maryland could not exercise personal jurisdiction over an ISP based in Georgia in a copyright infringement case on the sole basis that the ISP provided web hosting services to the alleged infringers who had posted copyrighted pictures on their website.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/two-important-decisions-by-us-appellate-courts-on-internet-jurisdiction

The Recording Industry Reaches Settlement with File Swapping company, Audiogalaxy.com The Recording Industry Reaches Settlement with File Swapping company, Audiogalaxy.com

Copyright
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
Audiogalaxy.com and owner Michael Merhej have settled the claims by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) that Audiogalaxy and Mr. Merhej were guilty of vicarious and contributory copyright infringement in allowing copyrighted materials to be exchanged over their peer-to-peer file exchange web service. Unlike Napster, the Audiogalaxy site allows filtering of materials to prevent infringement. Until now, this feature was largely unused.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/recording-industry-reaches-settlement-file-swapping-company-audiogalaxycom

California Fines Internet Pharmacy $88 MILLION California Fines Internet Pharmacy $88 MILLION

Food and Drug
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
The State of California has fined a Los Angeles pharmacy and its principals $88.7 million(U.S.) for violating a law that makes it illegal for Internet based pharmacies to fill prescriptions for patients without a proper examination by a licensed physician.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/california-fines-internet-pharmacy-88-million

The Popularity of Phone Calls Over the Internet Leading to Regulation The Popularity of Phone Calls Over the Internet Leading to Regulation

Information Technology
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
Analysts estimate that up to 8 percent of all international long-distance calls are made using the Internet. State controlled telecommunications companies around the world feel threatened by this popularity to the extent that more than a dozen countries have banned the practice.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/popularity-of-phone-calls-over-internet-leading-to-regulation

RIM Sues Good Technology for Patent Infringement RIM Sues Good Technology for Patent Infringement

Patents
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
On June 19, 2002, Research In Motion (RIM) announced that it had filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Good Technology, Inc. The Complaint alleges that Good Technology's wireless goods and services infringe on four of RIM's patents.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/rim-sues-good-technology-for-patent-infringement

Amazon.com settles with U.S. Securities Exchange Commission Amazon.com settles with U.S. Securities Exchange Commission

Information Technology
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
Amazon.com has settled with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for its part in a misstatement of accounts by former partner Ashford.com. The SEC suit against Amazon.com, Ashford.com and two of Ashford.com's executives, Kenneth E. Kurtzman and Brian E. Bergeron alleged that Amazon.com helped Ashford.com misstate its financial results in 2000 by resolving a payment dispute using two separate documents each declaring a different settlement time. Ashford.com executives only disclosed one of the documents to the company's auditors, and thereby deferred a $1.5 Million loss.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/amazoncom-settles-us-securities-exchange-commission

Legal Assistance Using Video Kiosk Legal Assistance Using Video Kiosk

Information Technology
June 20, 2002June 20, 20022015-07-08
In an effort to provide legal assistance to low income litigants and to reduce court workloads, the state of California has introduced computerized video kiosks that dispense legal advice and assist litigants in preparing common court filings.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/legal-assistance-using-video-kiosk

Disclaimer: This Newsletter is intended to provide readers with general information on legal developments in the areas of e-commerce, information technology and intellectual property. It is not intended to be a complete statement of the law, nor is it intended to provide legal advice. No person should act or rely upon the information contained in this newsletter without seeking legal advice.

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