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Will Our Law Be Competitive? Some Data Protection Requirements Considered, Jay Forder Aug 2009

Will Our Law Be Competitive? Some Data Protection Requirements Considered, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] In a previous issue, we alluded to the analogy between the development of the Law Merchant and modern "cyberlaw". To be competitive and attract merchants in the Middle Ages, a Trade Fair organiser would have to adopt the best trade rules, or develop more efficient ones. The similarities are obvious. Since electronic commerce knows no boundaries, modern merchants will site their businesses where the legal infrastructure is most supportive. Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor is an example of an early attempt to provide such a supportive infrastructure? Any country wishing to be a major player in the digital marketplace will …


Limiting Parody Sites And Metatags, Jay Forder Aug 2009

Limiting Parody Sites And Metatags, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] What action can be taken to limit the activities of a parody website? Are there remedies in passing off, copyright or trade mark law? Can one stop such a site from manipulating search results through the use of metatags?


Will Domain Problems Split The Internet?, Jay Forder Feb 2009

Will Domain Problems Split The Internet?, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] The biggest news in the Internet community over the last few months has been the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) move to increase the number of generic top-level domains (gTLDs). ICANN has also implemented support for Chinese characters in domain names and suggested a number of administrative changes. These activities have not met with universal approval.


When The E-Doctor Calls, Jay Forder Feb 2009

When The E-Doctor Calls, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] Amongst recent reports on problems with the growth of e-commerce, a particularly interesting development to note is the use of the Internet in medicine. How will the Internet affect the practice of medicine?


Permission To Hyperlink?, Jay Forder Feb 2009

Permission To Hyperlink?, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

Information providers on the web are generally delighted when others create links to their information. With growing commercialisation of the Internet, however, a number of recent disputes have raised issues about linking practices. One of the better known was when Microsoft linked to Ticketmaster’s ‘internal’ web pages rather than their home page (‘deep linking’). Ticketmaster alleged dilution of trademark, misrepresentation, misleading statements, unfair competition and unfair business practices, but the dispute was eventually settled out of court. This and other deep linking disputes are discussed, but it is noted they are unlikely to result in early clarification of the law …


Linking And Keywords Revisited., Jay Forder Feb 2009

Linking And Keywords Revisited., Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] In the last issue we discussed the deep linking problem. In September 1999 we talked about keywords being used to control banner ads. No sooner had these issues gone to print when interesting new cases were reported. This note covers these cases.


Is Copyright Outdated?, Jay Forder Feb 2009

Is Copyright Outdated?, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] A thought-provoking article by Stewart Alsop appeared in FORTUNE.com magazine in April - see "Copyright Protection is for Dinosaurs" at http://cgi.pathfinder.com/fortune/technology/alsop/l999/04/26/index.html He notes that the idea behind intellectual property is that it protects a monopoly to exploit certain rights so that people will be encouraged to engage in creative intellectual effort. In the case of copyright, this is based on the assumption that it is relatively easy to prevent copying. He points out that in the digital era this is no longer true. And contrary to expectations, he suggests that in many instances the ease of copying digital material …


Avoiding The Clash Of The Titans: Contractual Compliance With Eu Privacy Protection Requirements, Jay Forder Feb 2009

Avoiding The Clash Of The Titans: Contractual Compliance With Eu Privacy Protection Requirements, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] We have mentioned the EU Privacy Directive in previous issues. It takes a strong stand in prohibiting the transfer of electronic data from EU member countries to countries that do not have "adequate" privacy protection’ for personal data? The provisions come into effect this month (October 1998). Since the Directive was adopted in July 1995, commentators have speculated that it could disrupt the transfer of electronic data between the EU and countries such as the USA, Australia, Japan, and Canada. The Directive certainly reflects a major difference in approach between the European Union and other countries. The International Chamber …


The Iia Code Of Practice: 'Co-Regulation' Of The Internet Starts Here, Jay Forder Feb 2009

The Iia Code Of Practice: 'Co-Regulation' Of The Internet Starts Here, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] The "Publication for Adoption" version of the lnternet Industry Association's ("IIA") Code of Practice was released on 9 December 1998. It has since undergone minor revisions and the latest version (4.2) is dated 12 February 1999. The IIA has worked on this Code since 1996, making drafts public and seeking feedback. With this version (4.2) they feel that the time has come to invite industry players to subscribe. But the Code isn't fixed in concrete - IIA contemplates that it will continue to evolve. The Code is intended to apply to content providers, Internet service providers (ISPs), programmers, vendors …


Email Policies Considered, Jay Forder, Patrick Quirk Feb 2009

Email Policies Considered, Jay Forder, Patrick Quirk

Jay Forder

[Extract] The worldwide electronic mail system is a part of, and yet quite distinct from, the Internet. It has a broader coverage than the Internet and has capabilities beyond mere communication between humans (e.g. it can be used to produce automatic responses between computers). The previous issue of "Law & Technology" considered legal liability for e-mail and highlighted the need for a corporate policy. We now consider what a sensible policy might contain.


Could The Internet Be Brought To A Standstill? The Internet Governance Fight And How It Could Affect You, Jay Forder Feb 2009

Could The Internet Be Brought To A Standstill? The Internet Governance Fight And How It Could Affect You, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract]Did anyone notice that the Internet came close to falling over at the end of September? It wasn’t highly publicised, but we witnessed an impressive example of brinkmanship in negotiations. On 29 September 1998, the day before its contract with Network Solutions, Inc (NSI) expired, the US Government announced it had extended the contract for a week while negotiations continued. Then on 6 October it announced that agreement had been reached on modifications to the contract and NSI would continue to administer the top-level domain name system for two years. NSI had previously issued veiled threats to "pull the plug" …


Email Liability: Postcards From The Edge, Jay Forder, Patrick Quirk Feb 2009

Email Liability: Postcards From The Edge, Jay Forder, Patrick Quirk

Jay Forder

[Extract] Is an e-mail as private as a phone call or as public as a postcard? What are the legal implications of the wide use of this medium in the coming age of telecommuting? For various reasons when one compares "snail" mail with "e-mail", the latter seems far more dangerous.


New Species - 'Domain Name' Or 'Cybermark', Jay Forder Feb 2009

New Species - 'Domain Name' Or 'Cybermark', Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] There is a growing realisation amongst lawyers that we are witnessing the development of a new species of intellectual property.


The Dilemmas Of Globalisation, Jay Forder Feb 2009

The Dilemmas Of Globalisation, Jay Forder

Jay Forder

[Extract] The Internet merely highlights the clash of cultures by enabling efficient cross-border advertising on a massive scale. ...The difficulties arise because, until now, legal systems have depended on the concept of sovereignty within defined geographical borders. The Internet has changed all that - truly global markets require a different approach. Is there enough international goodwill for modern society to be able to solve these problems?