Trademark Owners Can't Control Your Desktop
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a
decision this week that promises to prevent trademark
owners from asserting control over the computers of
consumers who visit the trademark owners' websites. The
case, 1-800 Contacts v. WhenU, questioned whether it was a
trademark violation for Internet "adware" company WhenU to
provide users with software that gives them advertisements
related to keywords found in their online searches.
Full story, The decision
[PDF], More about the case
June 29, 2005
AcompliaReport.com Sues for Right to Use Trademark to
Report on New Drug
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis Group on behalf
of Medical Week News, publishers of the medical news
website AcompliaReport.com.
Full story, More about the case, EFF's Complaint
June 29, 2005
Supreme Court Ruling Will Chill Technology Innovation
Today the Supreme Court issued a ruling
that could impede makers of all kinds of technologies with
expensive lawsuits. The long-awaited decision in MGM v.
Grokster states that P2P software manufacturers can be held
liable for the infringing activities of people who use
their software.
Full story, MGM v. Grokster case
page
June 27, 2005
MGM v. Grokster Decision Press Conference Today
At noon Eastern time, there will be a post-Grokster press conference,
with members of the StreamCast (Morpheus) and Grokster legal team
along with representatives from the technology industry and public
interest groups. Call in number available to press.
More info on
conference, MGM v. Grokster case
page
June 27, 2005
Internet Entrepreneur Joe Kraus Joins EFF Board
This week, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) welcomes the newest member of its
executive board, Internet entrepreneur Joe Kraus. The
founder of DigitalConsumer.org, a grassroots organization
devoted to helping consumers get fair use access to digital
media, Kraus has more than a decade of experience working
on Internet-related ventures.
Full story
June 21, 2005
Judges Weigh Issues in Eighth Circuit Videogame Case
Judges in the Eighth Circuit Court of
Appeals heard oral arguments this morning in Blizzard v.
BnetD, a case that pits the large videogame corporation
against three game-loving software developers. The
developers were sued because they created an open source
program called BnetD, which lets gamers play popular
Blizzard titles like Warcraft with other gamers online.
Blizzard, which maintains its own game server called
Battle.net, claims that these programmers violated its end
user license agreements (EULAs) and the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA). The developers reverse-engineered a
protocol used in Blizzard's Battle.net service in order to
develop their program.
Full story, Audio file of
arguments (available June 21), More on Blizzard v. BnetD
June 20, 2005
EFF Announces its New Legal Guide for Bloggers
We are pleased to release a document that informs
bloggers of their legal rights. EFF's "Legal Guide for
Bloggers" is a collection of frequently asked questions
(FAQs) designed to educate bloggers about their legal
rights in a number of areas, including libel law, copyright
law, and political advocacy.
Full story, Legal Guide for Bloggers, More on Blogging
June 13, 2005
