Japan's Dominant Mobile Phone Carrier Wins Fight Against Spam E-mailers Japan's Dominant Mobile Phone Carrier Wins Fight Against Spam E-mailers

Mobile
April 10, 2003April 10, 20032015-07-08
In Japan's first court decision under its anti-spam legislation, Japan's dominant mobile phone carrier, NTT DoCoMo Corp., was awarded 6.57 million yen against a Tokyo company for flooding its wireless e-mail network with spam. Japan's recently enacted anti-spam legislation requires spam e-mail to be labeled in the subject heading as "unsolicited advertising".
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/japans-dominant-mobile-phone-carrier-wins-fight-against-spam-emailers

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative Focuses on Developing New Treatments for Overlooked Diseases Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative Focuses on Developing New Treatments for Overlooked Diseases

Food and Drug
April 4, 2003April 4, 20032015-09-23
© 2003, Deeth Williams Wall LLP. All Rights Reserved. By: Heather Watts (April 4, 2003) An initiative headed by the Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), called the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (or DNDI), was begun in early 2002, and more recently put into action by linking in the support of the World Health Organisation, France's Pasteur Institute, Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Malaysian Health Ministry.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/drugs-for-neglected-diseases-initiative-focuses-on-developing-new-treatments-for

Supreme Court of Canada Releases Decision Affecting Arbitration of IP Disputes Supreme Court of Canada Releases Decision Affecting Arbitration of IP Disputes

Litigation
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
The Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") has released its decision in Editions Chouette (1987) Inc. v. Desputeaux. This decision will have a significant impact on the future use of arbitration in the resolution of intellectual property rights disputes. This case arose out of a dispute concerning the ownership of copyright in the Caillou character appearing in a popular series of children's books. A motion was brought seeking to have the parties referred to an arbitrator by virtue of section 37 of the Quebec Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, arts and crafts and literature, and their contracts with promoters (the "ARPSA"). Section 37 of the ARPSA provides that every dispute arising from the interpretation of a contract between an artist and a promoter shall be submitted to an arbitrator. The Quebec Superior Court found that the existence of the contract was not at issue and that there were no allegations relating to its validity and therefore, referred the case to arbitration. After the arbitrator made his decision, a motion for annulment of the arbitration award was brought before the Quebec Superior Court, which was subsequently dismissed.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/supreme-court-of-canada-releases-decision-affecting-arbitration-of-ip-disputes

Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Appeal of Online Lottery Case Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Appeal of Online Lottery Case

Litigation
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently dismissed the appeal of the Earth Fund Lottery case and upheld the decision of the Prince Edward Island ("P.E.I.") Court of Appeal. The P.E.I. government had originally provided the Earth Fund Internet Lottery with a license to operate a lottery over the Internet. This decision met with protests from other provincial lottery administrators who were worried about Internet based lotteries drawing away their customers.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/supreme-court-of-canada-dismisses-appeal-of-online-lottery-case

Study Released on Spam Study Released on Spam

Information Technology
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
The Centre for Democracy & Technology (the "Centre") conducted a study seeking to determine the sources of spam. In particular, in the summer of 2002, the Centre set up hundreds of different email addresses. After waiting six months, the Centre sought to establish what kind of email those addresses received. The Centre concluded that, depending on where the email addresses were used, different volumes of spam were received and different methods were used by those sending the spam.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/study-released-on-spam

Companies Receive Warning From RIAA Regarding File-Sharing on Corporate Networks Companies Receive Warning From RIAA Regarding File-Sharing on Corporate Networks

Copyright
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
In an attempt to reduce piracy and on-line file-sharing, the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") sent letters to 300 large U.S. companies alleging that company employees were using corporate computer networks to "illegally distribute copyrighted music on the Internet". The letter referred to specific instances where employees used corporate Internet connections to access file-sharing software like Kazaa and iMesh to download pirated songs and movies.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/companies-receive-warning-from-riaa-regarding-filesharing-on-corporate-networks

U.S. Court of Appeals Finds Copyright in Photographs Not Infringed U.S. Court of Appeals Finds Copyright in Photographs Not Infringed

Copyright
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
In Ets-Hokin v. Skyy Spirits Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) found that the copyright protection in photographs of a vodka bottle was limited by the doctrines of merger and scenes a faire because of the narrow range of artistic expression available in the context of a photographs of commercial product such as a vodka bottle. The plaintiff had taken a series of photographs of a blue vodka bottle for use in a marketing campaign. Years later, the defendant had other photographers take more photographs of the bottle for other marketing material. The plaintiff argued that these photographs infringed the copyright in his photographs.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-court-of-appeals-finds-copyright-photographs-not-infringed

New U.S. Study Reveals Economic Crisis Over Lost On-Line Sales Tax is Overstated New U.S. Study Reveals Economic Crisis Over Lost On-Line Sales Tax is Overstated

Information Technology
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
The Direct Marketing Association ("DMA"), in conjunction with on-line, off-line and catalogue companies, released a new study entitled, "A Current Calculation of Uncollected State Sales Tax Arising from Internet Growth". The study was based on U.S. Department of Commerce data and showed that the amount of potential sales tax lost as a result of on-line sales is about 85% less than the numbers stated in previous studies.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/new-us-study-reveals-economic-crisis-over-lost-online-sales-tax-overstated

Canadian Federal Court of Appeal Releases Decision on Patent Fees Canadian Federal Court of Appeal Releases Decision on Patent Fees

Patents
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
In the recent case of Barton No-Till Disk Inc. and Flexi-Coil Ltd. v. Dutch Industries Ltd. and The Commissioner of Patents ("Dutch Industries"), the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against a Federal trial court's decision concerning the determination of entity status for the purpose of fees relating to patents and patent applications.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/canadian-federal-court-of-appeal-releases-decision-on-patent-fees

U.S. Court of Appeal Decides A Copyright Interest Can Be Transferred Without Using the Word "Copyright" U.S. Court of Appeal Decides A Copyright Interest Can Be Transferred Without Using the Word "Copyright"

Copyright
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
In a copyright infringement suit, the U.S. Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) recently affirmed the District Court's grant of summary judgment to the defendant MetaTrans Logistics ("MetaTrans"). At issue was the copyright interest in a computer program first developed by the plaintiff, ITOFCA, which had been involved in various corporate transfers. MetaTrans claimed that it acquired copyright in the program in a bankruptcy proceeding; ITOFCA claimed that it still retained copyright in the program.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-court-of-appeal-decides-a-copyright-interest-can-be-transferred-without-using-word

Final Proposed W3C Royalty-Free Patent Policy Released Final Proposed W3C Royalty-Free Patent Policy Released

Patents
March 27, 2003March 27, 20032015-07-08
On March 19, 2003, the World Wide Web Consortium ("W3C") released a final proposed draft of its patent policy ("Proposed Policy"). The W3C is a consortium of stakeholders in the Internet and its development with the aim of establishing and promoting standards relating to the web's overall structure. Its members include commercial, educational and governmental entities.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/final-proposed-w3c-royaltyfree-patent-policy-released

The Supreme Court of Canada Finds Higher Life Forms Not Patentable Subject Matter The Supreme Court of Canada Finds Higher Life Forms Not Patentable Subject Matter

Patents
March 19, 2003March 19, 20032015-09-23
© 2003, Deeth Williams Wall LLP. All Rights Reserved. By: Lenni Carreiro (March 19, 2003) In a 5:4 split decision, the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled in Harvard College v. Canada (Commissioner of Patents) i that a genetically altered mouse ("the oncomouse") was not patentable subject matter. Canada is now one of the few jurisdictions which have refused to provide patent protection to the oncomouse.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/supreme-court-of-canada-finds-higher-life-forms-not-patentable-subject-matter

U.S. Supreme Court Releases Decision in Victoria Secret U.S. Supreme Court Releases Decision in Victoria Secret

Litigation
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-07-08
In a reversal of the conclusions of two lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court (USSC) recently held that a party's use of the mark VICTOR'S SECRET did not dilute the quality of the mark VICTORIA'S SECRET for the purpose of relief under the U.S. Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA). The USSC based its decision on the requirement that actual dilution must be established by evidence, holding that there was a complete absence of evidence of any lessening of the capacity of the VICTORIA'S SECRET mark to identify and distinguish goods or services sold in Victoria's Secret stores or advertised in its catalogues.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-supreme-court-releases-decision-victoria-secret

Google Fights to Protect Trade-mark from Becoming Generic Google Fights to Protect Trade-mark from Becoming Generic

Trademarks
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-07-08
Trade-mark counsel for Google recently sent "wordspy.com" ("Wordspy") a letter asking it to "make sure that when people use "˜Google,' they are referring to the services our company provides and not to Internet searching in general." Wordspy is an online dictionary that references newly coined words used in the media. It had defined "google" as a verb meaning "to search information on the Web, particularly using the Google search engine." In response, Wordspy added a trademark designation so that the term now appears as "Google™" to satisfy the company.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/google-fights-to-protect-trademark-from-becoming-generic

Ontario Privacy Commissioner Calls on Businesses to Pay Closer Attention to Their Privacy Policies Ontario Privacy Commissioner Calls on Businesses to Pay Closer Attention to Their Privacy Policies

Privacy
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-07-08
The Ontario Privacy Commissioner, Ann Cavoukian, has urged companies to review their policies and procedures for the handling and destruction of personal information records. This recommendation comes in the wake of the unintentional release of the highly sensitive health information of an Ontario woman.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/ontario-privacy-commissioner-calls-on-businesses-to-pay-closer-attention-to-their-privacy

Heavy Penalty for Mrs. Fields Cookies and Hershey Foods for COPPA Violation Heavy Penalty for Mrs. Fields Cookies and Hershey Foods for COPPA Violation

Privacy
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-09-23
Mrs. Fields Cookies and the Hershey Food Corporation have settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the alleged violation of a Rule enacted by the FTC pursuant to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Rule). This Rule prohibits operators of commercial websites from collecting personal information from children under 13 without having first obtained the verifiable consent of a parent or guardian first.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/heavy-penalty-for-mrs-fields-cookies-and-hershey-foods-for-coppa-violation

Zi Corporation Granted Patent for Chinese Input Instant Messaging Technology Zi Corporation Granted Patent for Chinese Input Instant Messaging Technology

Patents
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-09-23
Last month, the Canadian-based Zi Corporation was granted a Chinese patent for its Chinese text input system. The patent covers a method of offering Chinese characters or partial Chinese characters, and word associations by inputting Chinese stroke or phonetic elements. This technology allows Chinese characters to be inputted into a cellular phone for instant messaging more easily.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/zi-corporation-granted-patent-for-chinese-input-instant-messaging-technology

U.S. Government Seizes Domain Name U.S. Government Seizes Domain Name

Domain Names
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-09-23
Following David M. Rocci's guilty plea for conspiring to import, market and sell circumvention devices in December 2002, the U.S. Department of Justice recently seized the website, www.iSONEWS.com, which was a website dedicated to online copyright piracy. In particular, Mr. Rocci was involved in the marketing and sale of the "mod" chips, which were designed to circumvent copyright protections built into games consoles.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-government-seizes-domain-name

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds "Megan's Law" (Online Sex Offender Registry) U.S. Supreme Court Upholds "Megan's Law" (Online Sex Offender Registry)

Litigation
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-07-08
In Connecticut Department of Public Safety et al. v. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit's decision that online sex offender registries violate the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The respondent, a sex offender subject to this law, argued that under procedural due process, he and those similarly situated were denied a liberty interest where the state refused to grant them an opportunity to contest the fact that they are "currently dangerous".
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-supreme-court-upholds-megans-law-online-sex-offender-registry

Google Granted U.S. Patent for Determining Relevance for Web Page Searches Google Granted U.S. Patent for Determining Relevance for Web Page Searches

Patents
March 13, 2003March 13, 20032015-07-08
Recently, Google was granted a United States Patent for a method of determining the relevance ranking of web pages found as a result of entering search queries. The grant of US Patent 6,529,903 to Google may affect other companies that are in the process of developing technology to search web pages and intelligently rank the results in relation to the queries.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/google-granted-us-patent-for-determining-relevance-for-web-page-searches

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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