According to Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has the power to protect the exclusive rights of “authors and inventors” in order to support scientific and artistic innovation. As such, Congress enacted the Copyright Act under Title 17 of the United States Code outlining the legal…
With a growing concern for national security and expanding information sharing networks, the government is making efforts to establish legislation protecting the American cyber community. Most recently, in February 2012 Congress considered the Cybersecurity Act (“Act”) as a means to provide for information sharing across different industries to establish cybersecurity.…
The lawsuit between Apple, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. over issues of patent infringement finally came to a close with a judgment in Apple’s favor. The judgment found Samsung guilty of infringing six Apple patents, including the quick search box, structure detection feature, slide-to-unlock, and auto-correct feature. The jury…
Avenues of social media such as YouTube and Facebook allow users to contribute to individual pages with self-generated content that may infringe upon intellectual property rights. Accordingly, as social media continues to thrive, so do potential trademark infringement disputes. In attempting to resolve these disputes, it is helpful to consider…
The United States District Court in the Northern District of California has issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Apple, Inc. that prevents Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. from manufacturing or distributing its Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the United States. A preliminary injunction is a court order that temporarily prevents or…
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) contains a “safe harbor” provision that protects internet service providers that feature user-directed content from liability for copyright infringement. In UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Shelter Capital Partners, L.L.C., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the requirements for “safe harbor” protection, upholding the broad…
The list of generic top-level domains (gTLD’s), such as “.com” or “.edu,” has changed very little over the history of the internet, until recently. Between January and May of 2012, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accepted applications for new gTLD’s. It reportedly received more than two…
The internet and social media have allowed people, businesses, and brands to communicate and interact more than ever before. As much benefit as that brings, it also brings significant risks to the reputation of both people and brands. The internet allows people to post using a pseudonym, or to appropriate…
We have submitted a petition to ask Congress to review and modify section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in order to limit the protection granted to interactive online services, such as news websites, blogs, forums, and listservs. Also, Congress should set new policies and procedures for interactive online services…
In general, small businesses are often a labor of love for their owners. They require a massive commitment of time and energy to build, nurture, and grow, but along the way, small businesses can get caught in a wide variety of legal quagmires. Understanding these risks, and knowing how to…