U.S. Appeals Court Limits Earlier Prohibition On Trade-marks in Metatags U.S. Appeals Court Limits Earlier Prohibition On Trade-marks in Metatags

Trademarks
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
A recent order from the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals clarifies that court's earlier opinion in Promatek v. Equitrak (see E-tips article, August 15, 2002), by limiting, in two ways, the prohibition on one party's use of another's trademark in its HTML metatags.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-appeals-court-limits-earlier-prohibition-on-trademarks-metatags

The First Dot-Ca Decision The First Dot-Ca Decision

Domain Names
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
The first dot-ca dispute decided under Canadian Internet Registration Authority's ("CIRA") new dispute resolution policy has been released. The domain name at issue was "redrobin.ca". The domain had been registered, but had not been used by the Registrant. The Registrant did, however, exchange letters with Red Robin International, Inc. ("Red Robin") offering to sell them the domain name.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/first-dotca-decision

Websites Not Subject to Americans With Disabilities Act Websites Not Subject to Americans With Disabilities Act

Information Technology
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
In an October 18, 2002 order, the Federal Court in Florida has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit brought against Southwest Airlines to force the airline to make its website compatible with accessibility software for the blind. As summarized in the October 10, 2002 E-tips issue, this proceeding involved the question of whether the definition of a "place of public accommodation" in the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) applied to a digital venue as well as a physical one.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/websites-not-subject-to-americans-disabilities-act

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Disclosure of Consumer Personal Information Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Disclosure of Consumer Personal Information

Privacy
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
On October 16, 2002, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner ("CPC") released a series of findings based on complaints that a number of companies had disclosed customer information without consent, for secondary marketing purposes. The complaints also alleged that the companies had failed to notify customers that personal data would be shared with affiliates and did not provide customers with an opportunity to opt-out of such disclosures. The complaints were brought by the consumer advocacy group, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre ("PIAC").
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/canadian-privacy-commissioner-releases-findings-on-disclosure-of-consumer-personal

Internet Jurisdiction — U.S. Court of Appeals Endorses Use of "Effects Test" Internet Jurisdiction — U.S. Court of Appeals Endorses Use of "Effects Test"

Litigation
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
Where do you sue when the damages were incurred over the Internet? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has recently put its mind to the thorny issue of forum in the unpublished case of Northwest Healthcare Alliance Inc. v. Healthgrades.com Inc.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/internet-jurisdiction-%E2%80%94-us-court-of-appeals-endorses-use-of-effects-test

Open Source Software Gets Boost in UK Open Source Software Gets Boost in UK

Information Technology
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
The government of the United Kingdom has given Open Source Software (OSS) a boost with the release of a new policy endorsing its use alongside traditional proprietary software. Open Source software is not free. It makes source code publicly available under a licence defined by the Open Source Initiative. The license allows the software to be freely modified and improved, so long as it is redistributed under the same open source licence terms. The Linux operating system is perhaps the most successful and best-known OSS product.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/open-source-software-gets-boost-uk

Intel Loses Itanium Patent Ruling Intel Loses Itanium Patent Ruling

Patents
October 24, 2002October 24, 20022015-07-08
On October 11, 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled that Intel's 64-bit Itanium and Itanium 2 processors infringed two of Intergraph's U.S. patents for Parallel Instruction Computing technology ("PIC"). In his decision, Judge T. John Ward found both of Intergraph's patents to be "valid and enforceable" and held that Intergraph was entitled to an injunction on the sale of Itanium processors.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/intel-loses-itanium-patent-ruling

Ontario Government Introduces E-Consumer Protection Bill Ontario Government Introduces E-Consumer Protection Bill

Information Technology
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-09-23
On September 26, 2002, the Minister of Consumer and Business Services introduced Bill 180, to provide a more comprehensive legislative regime for consumer protection in Ontario. Bill 180 will consolidate and update six existing consumer protection laws to provide efficient consumer protection to meet the realities of the digital economy.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/ontario-government-introduces-econsumer-protection-bill

U.S. Appeals Court Rules Against Netscape on End-User License Agreement U.S. Appeals Court Rules Against Netscape on End-User License Agreement

Litigation
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-09-23
The U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Cir.) recently considered whether Netscape customers were bound by the arbitration clause in an end-user license agreement. In Specht v. Netscape, Netscape customers sued the company alleging that AOL's plug-in software, Smart Download, invaded their privacy by transmitting personal information back to the software provider when the plug-in was used to browse the Internet.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-appeals-court-rules-against-netscape-on-enduser-license-agreement

WIPO Releases First Decision on .Name Generic Top Level Domains WIPO Releases First Decision on .Name Generic Top Level Domains

Domain Names
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-09-23
The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") recently released the first decision pursuant to the new policy on .name generic top level domains ("TLDs"). The Eligibility Requirements Dispute Resolution Policy for .name ("ERDRP") was approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") on August 1, 2001 and governs the .name generic TLDs and related disputes.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/wipo-releases-first-decision-on-name-generic-top-level-domains

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Electronic Signature Canadian Privacy Commissioner Releases Findings on Electronic Signature

Privacy
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
Recently, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner released his findings on a complaint by two individuals that a courier company had improperly collected and posted their electronic signatures on the company's website without their consent. The Commissioner found that the courier company had breached the Personal Information and Electric Documents Act (PIPEDA) when it collected electronic signatures by requiring recipients to sign electronically as a condition for receiving their parcels.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/canadian-privacy-commissioner-releases-findings-on-electronic-signature

Airlines Face Lawsuit for Website Incompatible with Americans With Disability Act Airlines Face Lawsuit for Website Incompatible with Americans With Disability Act

Information Technology
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
A blind man, Robert Gumson, and a Florida based disability rights group, Access Now, have filed lawsuits against Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. Gumson and Access Now are claiming that the airline companies' websites do not comply with the Americans With Disability Act (ADA). The airlines' websites are incompatible with the screen reader software program that blind individuals use to convert website contents into speech.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/airlines-face-lawsuit-for-website-incompatible-americans-disability-act

U.S. Court Releases Trademark Decision on Limits of Anti-dilution Law U.S. Court Releases Trademark Decision on Limits of Anti-dilution Law

Litigation
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
The U.S. Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) recently vacated an injunction against Ruth Perryman, which prohibited her from using the term "BEANIE" or "BEANIES" or any colorable imitation. Ty Inc., the manufacturer of Beanie Babies brought the suit for trademark infringement against Perryman who sells second-hand beanbag stuffed animals - including Ty's Beanie Babies – on her Web site (http://www.bargainbeanies.com).
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/us-court-releases-trademark-decision-on-limits-of-antidilution-law

Digital Rights Management Report Released by Ontario Privacy Commission Digital Rights Management Report Released by Ontario Privacy Commission

Privacy
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
Recently, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario released a report entitled: Privacy and the Digital Rights Management (DRM): An Oxymoron? The report details the advent of DRM and discusses how DRM has evolved.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/digital-rights-management-report-released-by-ontario-privacy-commission

KaZaa's International Structure May Save it From U.S. Copyright Law KaZaa's International Structure May Save it From U.S. Copyright Law

Copyright
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued Sharman Networks Ltd. (Sharman), for contributory copyright infringement for distributing its popular Kazaa file exchange software. This case presents two unique aspects which were not present in the Napster case. First, KaZaa does not control users through a central registry of all files on all computers, a fact which could provide Sharman with a defense to the U.S. action and distinguish it from Napster and other such cases.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/kazaas-international-structure-may-save-it-from-us-copyright-law

Canadian Government Releases Report on Copyright Act Canadian Government Releases Report on Copyright Act

Copyright
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
On October 3rd, 2002, the Canadian Ministry of Industry released its much anticipated report on the Copyright Act. The comprehensive report assesses the operation of the Act and identifies outstanding and emerging issues that need to be addressed.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/canadian-government-releases-report-on-copyright-act

Internet Standards Body Considering Policy of Solely Endorsing Royalty-Free Technology Internet Standards Body Considering Policy of Solely Endorsing Royalty-Free Technology

Information Technology
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
In a meeting held last week, the Patent Policy Working Group ("PPWG") of the Internet standards body, World Wide Web Consortium ("W3C"), voted to recommend to W3C a royalty-free policy. The policy takes the position that W3C will not approve a Recommendation (effectively, a standard) on a web-related technology if it is aware that a patent exists covering the technology, which patent is not available for licensing on royalty-free terms.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/internet-standards-body-considering-policy-of-solely-endorsing-royaltyfree-technology

Online Drugs — A Prescription for Problems? Online Drugs — A Prescription for Problems?

Food and Drug
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
As the popularity of online pharmacies grows, so do the concerns surrounding them. Poor customer service is often cited by consumers when using online stores. A larger concern to regulators, however, is the ease with which one can order drugs online without a prescription.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/online-drugs-%E2%80%94-a-prescription-for-problems

Technology@work: Emailing in Excuses for Traffic Infractions Technology@work: Emailing in Excuses for Traffic Infractions

Information Technology
October 10, 2002October 10, 20022015-07-08
Court officials in Yakima, Washington have turned to technology in an effort to reduce court backlog. The Yakima County District Court, whose local court rules allow for the submission of a written statement instead of appearing at a hearing, has implemented a program which allows people to respond to public infraction tickets (such as traffic tickets) by emailing their explanations and excuses to a judge.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/technologywork-emailing-excuses-for-traffic-infractions

Non-European E-Businesses Must Charge Sales Tax Non-European E-Businesses Must Charge Sales Tax

Information Technology
September 26, 2002September 26, 20022015-07-08
Effective July 1, 2003, non-EU companies delivering electronic services over the Internet will have to collect value added tax (VAT) from their EU customers. Under European Council Directive 2002/38/EC, suppliers of electronic services will have to register with a Member State of their choice through a simplified registration scheme. Tax collected from EU customers will then be remitted to the Member State, who will re-allocate the VAT revenue to the country of the customer. The measures are designed to level the playing field between EU and non-EU suppliers.
Deeth Williams Wall https://www.dww.com/articles/noneuropean-ebusinesses-must-charge-sales-tax

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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