Category: INTERNET LAW

Domains By Proxy Lawsuits: Uncovering A DBP Customer

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Internet Lawyer

Domains By Proxy Lawsuits Have you ever tried to uncover a website owner using ‘Whois’ information, only to find ‘Domains By Proxy’ is the registrant? The discovery can be frustrating – especially if someone defamed you online and you want to go legal on their butt. After all, it’s tough to sue a person for defamation, infringement or dilution if you don’t know who they are. It is possible, however, to uncover anonymous defamers who use privacy intermediaries, like Domains By Proxy. Domains By Proxy 101 Domains By Proxy is a Delaware corporation, headquartered in Arizona and owned by hosting/domain giant, GoDaddy. DBP offers domain registration privacy services that shield customers’ names from public view. When a person uses Domains By Proxy, DBP’s information populates the “Whois” database, thus making it difficult to uncover the registrant’s true identity. Domain By ...

FTC’s Google Antitrust Ruling: Summary of Opinions

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Internet Lawyer

Spin doctors expertly touted tendentious studies, but Google emerged the apparent victor from its U.S. antitrust investigation. Media outlets — both brawny and bitty — technology bloggers, pundits and pirates weighed in with their opinion. Questions abounded: Did Google get off lightly? Would the European Commission consider the FTC’s ruling in their ongoing investigation? Was it a pyrrhic victory? Opinions overflowed: The FTC Sucks! Anyone Who Thinks the FTC Sucks, Sucks! The Google Antitrust Ruling Was A Victory For The Free Market! The Google Antitrust Ruling Killed The Free Market! Not wanting to be a wallflower at the Legal Punditry Ball, we’ve created a Reader’s Digest version of reactions to the Google antitrust outcome. Time Magazine: Did Google’s Antitrust Victory Have To Do With Their Motto? Assuming the role of philosopher, Time Magazine’s David Futrelle asked the question: “Did Google’s Promise ...

Posted in FTC News, Internet Law | Tagged FTC, Google | Leave a comment

The Week In Internet Law: Illegal Downloading, Online Privacy & Gambling, FTC Happenings

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Internet Lawyer

Catch up on the noteworthy, newsworthy and insignificant-but-interesting Internet law news for the week of December 31, 2012 – January 4, 2013. Online Copyright Infringement Prenda’s Legal Tantrum The mystery of Alan Cooper continues to color Prenda’s illegal downloading dragnet. The story is now so sorted, I half expect Hercule Poirot to enter stage left. In the last installment of the copyright troll saga, a new character named Alan Cooper was introduced. A contractor who once worked for John Steele (the corporate plaintiff), Alan Cooper’s name appeared on official documents as being the CEO of AF Holdings (Steele’s company). Alan began to wonder if he was the “Alan Cooper” in the documents. Lawyering ensued and a decision was made: Prenda would have to produce evidence that Alan Cooper is not that Alan Cooper – signature verification too, please; K, thanks. ...

Posted in Hacking News, Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law, Online Privacy Law | Tagged Daily Legal News Briefs | Leave a comment

New Social Media Privacy Laws For 2013

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Internet Lawyer

A new year is here, which means a new set of state Internet laws. A number of bills dealing with social media privacy are set to hit the books — which isn’t surprising since online privacy was a hot topic, both abroad and at home, in 2012. Don’t expect the trend to slow this year, either; online privacy is likely to remain a big Internet law debate in 2013. New Social Media Privacy Law In Michigan On December 28, 2012, Michigan enacted the Internet Privacy Protection Act – House Bill 5523. It means that from now on in the Great Lakes State, employers and state schools are not permitted to penalize applicants for refusing to hand over access to their social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Specifically, the law prohibits: “Employers and educational institutions from requiring certain individuals ...

Posted in Internet Law, Online Privacy Law | Tagged Mobile Law, Online Privacy Laws | 1 Comment

Daily Internet Law News Brief: FTC, Facebook, IBM & Instagram

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Facebook to Germany: “Leggo Our Legal Rights!” Lawmakers in a German state aren’t pleased with Facebook’s “no fake name” stance, so they’re demanding that the social networking company change their policies. The Facebook terms of service stipulates that users must use their government name; in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, however, the law books say that citizens are allowed to use pseudonyms “when it’s technically possible and reasonable.” Basically, it’s the same as Arizona petitioning a European company, with a state-side office in New York, to adopt all AZ state laws. Currently, since Facebook’s European Head Quarters are in Ireland, they must adhere to Irish and European Union laws; company attorneys plan to argue that they’re not beholden to German law, especially state law. Did IBM Make A Major Online Privacy Breakthrough? Stock Prices Indicate “Maybe” Big Blue made a big ...

Posted in Business Law, Defamation, Int'l Internet Law, Internet Law, Online Privacy Law | Tagged Daily Legal News Briefs | Leave a comment

Libya Loses Cybersquatting Lawsuit

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

The country of Libya lost a cybersquatting lawsuit against Ahmad Miski. In November 2006, the Embassy of Libya filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court against Ahmad Miski for online trademark violations. Their position was that Miski violated the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act when he created a series of domain names, including embassyoflibya.org, libyaembassy.org, libyaembassy.com and libyanembassy.com. Miski owns an Arab-American Chamber of Commerce that helps people get documents certified – a service not offered by the Arab Embassy. Miski employs a common Internet marketing tactic; he registers domain names and redirects users to his website called arabchamber.com – a practice, he says, that significantly increased his website’s Internet search rankings. According to the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, the trademark owner has to prove they posses a lawful trademark. In this case, the Embassy of Libya had to ...

Posted in Affiliate Marketing Law, Int'l Internet Law, Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Tagged Affiliate Marketing Law, Domain Issues, Intellectual Property Law | Leave a comment

Biz Opp Alert: The FTC Is Watching

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

The nation’s consumer protection agency is actively enforcing their new Biz Opp rules. On October 31, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission, in conjunction with other federal task forces, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Attorneys General in Arizona, Colorado, California and Indiana filed 108 new legal actions against Biz Opp companies that authorities allege are unfairly scamming would-be entrepreneurs. Operation Lost Opportunity: The FTC’s Latest Crackdown On Biz Opps With a 3-0-2 vote, the FTC put operation lost opportunity into action. Seventy civilian actions and 38 criminal actions were filed in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida against a slew of companies offering “be your own boss” prospects. Specifically, a group of companies that offer mystery shopping, credit card processing, website operation, and government insurance refund processing opportunities are being charged with violating various consumer protection rules. ...

Posted in Affiliate Marketing Law, FTC News, Government Regulations, Internet Law | Tagged Affiliate Marketing Law, Bizopps, FTC, Internet Law, Internet Marketing Law | Leave a comment

Reddit v. Gawker: Is “Doxing” Illegal?

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

First it was Reddit v. Digg, now it’s Reddit v. Gawker. Over the past several weeks, the two websites have been at war over an online privacy kerfuffle. Redditors are upset that a Gawker author outed the identity of a redditor who actively participated in a section on the website called “jailbait”; the folks over at Gawker are upset that Reddit has some questionable sub-sections, like “jailbait.” And now a lot of people are asking “is doxing illegal?” r/Jailbait and r/creepshots: Online Privacy v. Fighting Misogyny The question of what constitutes free speech on the Internet is a hotly debated topic. And for Web platforms that rely on user generated content, it’s a tough call. On the one hand, no respectable platform wants to be associated with certain undesirable communities – like ones that take scandalous pictures of unsuspecting women ...

Posted in Internet Defamation Law, Internet Law, Online Privacy Law | Tagged Censorship, Defamation, Online Privacy Laws | Leave a comment

Introducing The Cloud Computing Act of 2012

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Don’t you love it when politicians decide to become superheros of consumer Internet protection? Ramifications of poorly worded laws, be damned! No? Not your thing? Well, prepare to be irritated by the Cloud Computing Act of 2012. Introduced last month by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, The Cloud Computing Act of 2012 is a group of proposed amendments to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that aim to “protect cloud-based businesses.” But as Eric Goldman adroitly pointed out in this Forbes.com article, the Cloud Computing Act of 2012 could actually cause many more problems than it would provide protection. Goldman rightly, in my opinion, points out how poorly the draft proposal defines “cloud computing account” and “cloud computing service”. To put it bluntly, the definitions, as they now stand in the act, could describe nearly every interactive website on the Internet. If ...

Posted in Government Regulations, Internet Law | Tagged International Internet Law | Leave a comment

Google to Consider DMCA Takedown Notices when Ranking Websites

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

If you’re 100% sure that the content on your website is unique and does not violate copyright laws, give yourself a pat on the back and breathe a sigh a relief. If you’re on the other side of the fence and wondering whether or not your content violates someone else’s copyright, keep reading — because it looks like DMCA takedown notices will play an even bigger role in your business pretty soon. DMCA Takedown Notices Matter More Now Google recently announced they will factor the number of valid DMCA takedowns associated with your site when ranking it. Meaning, your website ranking will take a hit for having valid DMCA complaints of copyright infringement against you in your website. Google is doing this to reward websites whose content is unique and legitimate, and punish sites with content that infringes on someone ...

Posted in Internet Law | Tagged Copyright Infringement, DMCA, Google, Intellectual Property Law | Leave a comment

TESTIMONIAL

Find Out What Our Clients Say

I had a domain name issue, and a friend referred Aaron to me. I am so thankful Aaron was able to help me with my

Liz Illg - The Ultimate Box

The Kelly Law Firm is an invaluable tool when it comes to all Internet dealings. Their knowledge and experience in Internet law has given my

Tucker Blalock -ladiesloop.com

Me and my business partner called Aaron Kelly seeking some legal counsel to defend us against a pending defamation case and were blown away with

John Danger-Internet Law Client

Aaron’s knowledge of all things Internet has helped me personally on numerous occasions, and he’s the Internet lawyer I recommend 100% of the time. If

Brian Evans-Daily Conversions

Aaron is one of the best suits I’d trust for legal advice. He’s one of those few that all of the bigger players use but

Jon Fisher-Wickedfire.com

Aaron solved our dispute painlessly and cost-effectively, and did a fantastic job in communicating with us throughout the entire process.

Matt Mickiewicz-Flippa.com

When it comes to Internet Law, Aaron Kelly is our go-to guy. He’s one of the few people I trust 100%. He genuinely has passion

Jake-Naughty Dog Marketing

My budding affiliate marketing biz needed to be right, so the first thing I did was find an Internet lawyer to make sure I did

T. Grossman-Affiliate Marketer

The Kelly Law Firm really helped our business out in it’s time of need. He’s fast, effective, no-BS and will not only tell it how

Rob-TheLinkBuilders.com

Aaron is very knowledgeable in Internet marketing law, which is what I needed. I had to get a professional contract written up for my new

Ubaid-Internet Marketing Client

Also Practicing In:

internet-law

business-law

international-law

mobile-law

Kelly / Warner International Defamation Law Database

Defamation is a world-wide legal issue. Nearly every country, at one point in their history, struggles to create slander and libel laws that reflect their national zeitgeist. For convenience, we've complied information about the defamation laws of nearly every country in the world. Please be aware that it's a work in progress.

Nevertheless, our defamation law database is chock full of good international slander and libel law information. We've also made sure to compile "further reading" links to pertinent information relating to the defamation statutes of each country.

Click the button below to access the Kelly / Warner International Defamation Law Database.