Category: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

A Pinterest-ing Copyright Infringement Situation

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Pinterest, a new-ish social network, like Facebook and Google before them, Pinterest is settling in for, what looks like, a long ride on the copyright infringement controversy train . Long and bumpy though it may be, the ride is sure to be fraught with less-than-positive publicity — but as they say in the business: there’s no such thing as bad publicity. What is Pinterest? Pinterest is sorta like the Internet’s refrigerator door. People can “pin” their pictures, recipes, artwork and homemade homilies for all to see. Think of it, also, as your own virtual bulletin board where you can “pin” things found online. Say you see a recipe on a recipe website or a picture of a unicorn that you want to save. With the Pinterest pin, which becomes attached to your browser toolbar after signing up, you pin the ...

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

Comparing DMCA and SOPA

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

SOPA is the big online copyright legal story of the year thus far. Which got me thinking about the good ‘ole Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) – the current work-horse of Internet intellectual property law. In this article we’ll briefly review each bill. So grab a cold one and settle in as we de-construct the various intellectual property laws currently in the news and try to make sense of it all in plain English. Comparing DMCA and SOPA: What the Heck is DMCA, Anyway? DMCA, for those of you who don’t obsessively follow the law, is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Thanks to anti-circumvention statues in the bill, the DMCA is the US copyright law that makes it illegal for you or I to manufacture devices or services meant to access or reproduce copyrighted material. It’s also the law that ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Tagged BitTorrents, Censorship, DMCA, Domain Issues, Downloading, Google, Hacktivists, Intellectual Property Law, SOPA | Leave a comment

DMCA Definition: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act Explained

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Lately, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has stepped into the spotlight as a result of the ongoing SOPA and PIPA debates. Passed unanimously on October 12, 1998, the DMCA is the current law of the land when it comes to various online copyright legalities. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act amended Title 17 of the United States Code, extended copyright reach, established new anti-circumvention laws, limited the liability of online service providers (OSPs), and made boat hull designs a protected class. The bill was broken out into five sections — below is a summary of each. DMCA Title I: WIPO Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act The first section of the DMCA changed the law so U.S. Code complied with the WIPO Treaty. It’s the portion of the act that addresses various anti-circumvention statues. Anti-circumvention laws dictate what one can and cannot ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Tagged Blogging, DMCA, Intellectual Property Law, SOPA | 2 Comments

Online Marketing Laws: What You Need To Know

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Online Marketing Laws Introduction More than ever, it is imperative that businesses tread the line between successful marketing campaigns and misuse of marketing techniques that may border or cross into illegality. The best defense is to establish standards of online marketing well within the realm of the law — and familiarization with current online marketing laws is the first step. Online Marketing Laws: Terms of Use and Privacy Policy If you don’t have them already, get yourself a privacy policy and terms of service contract for your website ASAP. More and more people are suing (and winning) for various Internet privacy issues. The catch 22 is that when an entity collects data from consumers in the U.S., the standard is that the entity owns the data, or in more precise terms, “the right to store and utilize it.” Such a ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law, Online Privacy Law | Tagged Affiliate Marketing Law, Blogging, COPPA, False Advertising, Intellectual Property Law, International Internet Law, Internet Marketing Law, Online Privacy Laws | Leave a comment

Sued For Downloading? What You Should Do.

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Have you been sued for downloading? Don’t mortgage your home just yet. There are legal avenues you can take that won’t break the bank. What? Keep reading. Even though much of the hype has died down over the thousands of people being sued for downloading and file sharing, recording artists and movie makers are still on the lookout for individuals and entities pirating their works and selling them for monetary gain. Fair enough. However, there are some people who take Internet swashbuckling to the extreme by offering their services to troll the Internet looking for websites that pirate, peddle, and profit from infringing on their clients’ copyrighted or trademarked works. These trolls, as many have come to find out, are after hefty sums of money — sometimes as much as $150,000 — for infringing on their clients’ copyright. In a ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Tagged BitTorrents, Class Actions, Downloading, Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Leave a comment

MegaUpload Website Has MegaProblems

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

On January 19, 2012, MegaUpload.com, one of the Internet world’s largest file-sharing websites was shut down by federal agents. Several executives and the popular website’s founder have been charged with violating piracy laws. The feds aren’t finished, either; they’ve prepared indictments and are ready to round up as many pirates as possible. Many of the swashbucklers fear having their timbers shivered with heavy fines and possible brig sentences. Yarrgh. The indictment accuses Megaupload.com of taking in excess of $500 million from copyright holders. The lost revenue is attributed to piracy of films and other downloadable content. The indictment was unceremoniously unsealed the day after Craigslist, Wikipedia and other protesting sites had closed down in protest of SOPA and PIPA, two wild and crazy congressional proposals designed with the intention of putting the kibosh on online piracy. The problem with PIPA ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Leave a comment

Internet Law Bills Currently Making Their Way Through The US Federal Government

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

It’s Internet law time! Below is a chart of Internet laws currently being reviewed in both the House and Senate. Bookmark this page and check back for updates. If you have any Internet law needs or questions, contact the Kelly Law Firm — as Internet law is our forte. Bill Sponsor Status Last Action Plain English S. 74: Internet Freedom, Broadband Promotion, and Consumer Protection Act of 2011 A bill to preserve the free and open nature of the Internet, expand the benefits of broadband, and promote universally available and affordable broadband service. Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA] Referred to Committee Jan. 25, 2011 Think “a chicken in every pot.” Everyone should have access to the Internet. H.R. 654: Do Not Track Me Online Act To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe regulations regarding the collection and use of information ...

Posted in Government Regulations, Intellectual Property Law, Internet Defamation Law, Internet Law, Online Privacy Law | 1 Comment

History of U.S. Copyright Law: Early U.S. Copyright Law (Part II of IV)

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Yesterday, we kicked off a series on the history of United States copyright law. The first article focused on a few copyright law facts. Today, we’ll take a look back at the birth of copyright protection in the United States. Early U.S. Copyright Law It’s easy to forget that prior to 1783, the United States was a largely agrarian society, and as such, most folks were generally more concerned about patents as opposed to copyrights. But even then, a copyright lobby existed (albeit much smaller than today’s iteration), who appealed to the Continental Congress’ using what could be described as reasoning by “intellectual property manifest destiny”. If you agreed to a dinner with an 18th century copyright law lobbyist, they’d undoubtedly tell you that “nothing is more properly a man’s own than the fruit of his study” and would most ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law | Leave a comment

History of U.S. Copyright Law: Copyright Basics (Part I of IV)

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

Taking A Look Back At U.S. Copyright Law Recent debates over pending new Internet copyright laws got me thinking about the history of American copyright law. Traditionally, changes in copyright statutes often mirror the technological growing pains of our nation. And as we stand here now, in the looming shadow of SOPA, and look back at our nation’s intellectual property track-record, it’s apparent that we have yet to break our reactionary, knee-jerk habit when it comes to rights’ protection. This week, we’ll be posting a series of articles looking back at the history of copyright law in the United States. We’ll start off today with a brief overview of a few copyright law facts; on Thursday, we’ll delve into early U.S. copyright law (1790 – 1909); on Friday, we’ll take a look at international copyright standards enacted starting in 1976; ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law | Tagged Constitution, Intellectual Property Law, SOPA | Leave a comment

Why Is Wikipedia Down Today? Blame SOPA

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Internet Lawyer

If you’re just settling at your computer, set to do a little research, you may be frantically searching the Web right now wondering, “Why is Wikipedia down?” You may then head over to Reddit.com or Boing Boing and start scratching your head even more. Even Google has a special message today! Don’t worry, The Internet hasn’t broke. It’s anti-SOPA day — and many high-profile websites are “going dark” for the day to protest against the far-reaching online intellectual property bill currently (and swiftly) making its way through the government. Like most political issues, there are two sides to the SOPA story — those that fiercely defend the measures, and those who fiercely oppose. But unlike many political issues, SOPA is not a fight being fought along party lines. Instead, it breaks down to Internet businesses, Constitutional watchdogs, the general public, ...

Posted in Intellectual Property Law, Internet Law | Tagged Censorship, First Amendment, Free Speech, Intellectual Property Law, SOPA | 1 Comment

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