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1 March 2003
Features:
Copyright -
In Sony Music Entertainment Ltd v easyinternetcafe Ltd the court granted summary judgment for the claimants. easyinternetcafe was liable for breach of copyright in respect of a CD burning service if provided in circumstances where the owner of the copyright in the relevant sound recording had not licensed the defendant to make a CD-R copy of its work.
ISP liability -
The District Court of Columbia ordered the identity of an anonymous user of internet services provided by Verizon Internet Services should be released to the Recording Institute Association of America.
Hacking -
In the Matter of Regina v Simon Vallor Southwark Crown Court sentenced the author of a computer virus to two years imprisonment.
Data Protection -
On 10 February 2003, US District Judge Barbara Rothstein granted Verizon a preliminary injunction suspending the rules adopted by the Utilities and Transportation Commission of Washington state, USA which govern how telecommunications companies may use the information they collect about the telecommunications services used by their customers.
Spamming -
In the People of the State of New York v Monsterhut Inc the Court granted the Petitioner’s request for relief on the basis that the Respondents had been engaged in deceptive business practices and false advertising.
Online gambling -
In Stichting de Nationale Sporttotalisator (De Lotto) v Ladbrokes Ltd the Antwerp Court held that Ladbrokes was acting in violation of Article 1 AGC in offering games of chance to Dutch residents without a permit. The Court also held that the AGC does not violate European laws on the free movement of goods and services and there was no reason to grant Ladbrokes’ request for a preliminary ruling on this question to the ECJ.
Copyright -
Congressional extension of the copyright term was considered by the Supreme Court after a challenge to its constitutionality by public domain publishers. The Court ruled by a 7-2 majority that the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) was constitutional.
Domain names -
In a dispute between Aventis, Espace Européen de l´Entreprise and S. Priost c/o Lark Computer Ltd over the domain name aventis.eu.com the WIPO Panelist held that it had not been proved that the UDRP applied to the domain name.
Patents -
MercExchange LLC commenced proceedings for patent infringement against eBay Inc Half.com and ReturnBuy in September 2001. The Patents cover a system facilitating public auctions over the internet. This report looks at the outcome of the Markman hearings for the purpose of construing the claims in the three Patents in Suit.
Patents -
Both eBay and MercExchange both applied for summary judgement following the Markham hearings. This report looks at the Court’s rulings.
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1 March 2003