"TechKnowledgy Blog" - 5 new articles
FCC Shuns ISP's to Embrace Net NeutralityA little over two plus years after the FTC took a pass on jumping into the net neutrality battle, the FCC has decided to carry the net neutrality banner. The Wall Street Journal reported that the FCC is proposing new rules embracing equal treatment for all types of internet content. Under the proposed rules, ISPS would be prohibited from blocking or slowing content based on its type or profitability. Winners in this battle would be entrepreneurs who look for fast growth in users but typically don't have the capital to invest in a pay to play system. ISPs would end up on the losing end, giving up some of their autonomy over their content. Although ISP's have yet to engage in widespread blocking or slowing, they have made use of their control over bandwith in instances such as AT&T's blocking of Skype. Also in the losing corner would be businesses with a need to move data faster and the resources to pay for priority. The net neutrality battle will present an intersting dillemma for an information superhighway that cuts its way through everyone's back yard. Peeking Behind the Google ShieldCriticism of a Vogue magazine cover model isn't exactly ground breaking legal news. A judge ruling requiring Google to turn over the name of the defaming blogger may be. ABC News reports that the New York State Supreme Court did not buy a blogger's argument that the Internet is a place for ranting, notwithstanding the facts. The court forced Google to turn over the name of the blogger. Even though a defamation action by model Liskula Cohen might be an uphill battle, her success in peeking behind the Google shield may keep some unscrupulous bloggers in check. Posner Proposal to Save Newspapers: Prohibit Linking/ParaphrasingJudge Richard Posner of the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (and renown legal scholar and blogger) has recently proposed a solution to the decline of newspapers in the U.S. - change the law (specifically copyright law) to prohibit linking, copying small parts of news articles, and paraphrasing online. Such an approach would prohibit me from inserting the following excerpt from Posners blog: Expanding copyright law to bar online access to copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, or to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers from so impairing the incentive to create costly news-gathering operations that news services like Reuters and the Associated Press would become the only professional, nongovernmental sources of news and opinion. And from sharing this tidbit from the article where this first came to my attention (MediaShift): As newsroom staffs continue to shrink and newspapers go out of business at an alarming rate, the difficulty newspapers have experienced in gaining economic traction online has been blamed on blogs and websites that link to content on newspaper sites. According to some, this kind of "free riding" is responsible at least in part for the distress in which newspapers find themselves. A number of proposals have surfaced, in the U.S. and abroad, to change the law to "even the playing field" between new media and old.
Track the developments here: Why Newspapers are Doomed to Fail The Sky is Falling on the Newspaper Industry
Google, Copyrights and Trademarks - An UpdateOver the years, Google has received countless complaints regarding unauthorized use of images. Earlier this month, Google implemented a feature on its Image Search tool that allows users to filter images by usage rights. Users can use this tool to find images that are available for Internet use and in some cases adaption. Copyright owners may benefit through the ability to publish their images on-line while retaining control over scope of use and modifications. Once owners choose to make their work available online under these terms, the Google Image Search tool helps people find and use these images. However, image users should proceed with caution – this tool only identifies which images are available for use. You must make sure your use complies with any license restrictions. Also, you should note that this search feature is not entirely conspicuous – you will need to click on the Advanced Image Search Preferences function which can be accessed through a hyperlink that resides in small text to the right of the Google Image Search box. Google's practices towards trademark right holders may also be shifting, albeit not voluntarily. On the heels of a setback in the Rescuecom v. Google Case, Rosetta Stone, which publishes and sells foreign language tutorial software, recently announced it filed a lawsuit against Google for trademark infringement resulting from its AdWord (also known as "keywords") program. This suit is the latest in a long line of lawsuits that have been filed to combat this practice. What this means for you: While Google has made an effort to filter images in its library based upon whether or not they are available for use, you should make an effort to check with the original owner of the image as Google's system is not fool proof. Likewise, as an owner of an image, you should ensure your images are properly tagged with the appropriate license information (if any) when uploading it to the Internet. Finally, with regard to the Rosetta Stone Ltd.v. Google, Inc. case, the outcome remains to be seen. However, if you choose to purchase trademarks as a keyword to trigger search engine advertising, the practice is a potentially risky proposition as it may subject the keyword buyer to a claim for trademark infringement. On the other hand, if you feel a competitor's use of your trademarks as keywords causes consumer confusion and has negatively impacted your business, you may need to actively enforce your rights. Another EU - US Privacy Gap - IP Addresses Not PIIA Seattle Judge recently ruled in a class action suit against Microsoft that IP Addresses do not constitute Personal Identifiable Information (PII) for purposes of interpreting restrictions in a user agreement. The ruling, recently reported by Online Media Daily, runs counter to decisions and interpretations in both the EU and New Jersey. To avoid litigation on this front, companies should consider specifically addressing the disclosure of IP addresses in privacy policies and contracts with use restrictions or permissions. While some judges may be reluctant to expand the definition of PII, the technological reality that a little information goes a long way in tracking a person will continue to be compelling. More Recent Articles |
