Source
Automatically imported from: http://commons.somewhere.com:80/rre/1997/CyberLex.-.Updated.1.97.html
Content
| | | | --- | --- | | Red Rock Eater Digest | Most Recent Article: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 |
CyberLex - Updated 1/97
``` [Forwarded with permission.]
---
This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help@weber.ucsd.edu
---
Date--Sat, 1 Feb 1997 12:12:59 -0800
From--Jonathan Rosenoer
Dear CyberLaw/CyberLex subscriber:
Here is the latest edition of CyberLex!
Best regards, Jonathan
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CYBERLEX by Jonathan Rosenoer
Notable legal developments reported in December 1996 include the following:
A state court judge ruled that Minnesota may enforce consumer protection
laws against out-of-state businesses operating on the World Wide Web. The decision comes in a case on Internet gambling. __Minnesota v. Granite Gate Resorts__, No. C 6-95-007227 (Dist. Ct. Cty of Ramsey, filed July 18, 1995).Georgia Tech Lorraine, the European platform of the Georgia Institute of
Technology, has been sued for failing to comply with a French law requiring that goods and services be offered in French in addition to any other language in which they may be offered.One third of Internet users provide false demographic data at Internet
sites because they are not told how the information will be used and fear it will end up on a marketing list, according to a new study of 14,000 Web users by the Georgia Institute of Technology.Charles Morrell, 34, a disgruntled former employee of a Connecticut
Internet company (Diversified Technologies Group), was arrested and charged with felony computer crime relating to the erasure of all the company's computer files, including backups.A World Wide Web service company, WebCom in San Francisco, California,
suffered a syn-flood/denial-of-service attack that knocked out more than 3,000 Web sites for 40 hours during the holiday shopping season. WebCom halted the attacks after tracing the source of the attacks to MCI Communications Corp., which, in turn, tracked further back to CANet in Canada and a compromised account on BC.Net in Vancouver, British Columbia. As it could not end the attack, MCI blocked all traffic from CANet.The US Air Force temporarily closed its Web site and the Department of
Defense temporarily shuttered 80 other Internet sites after hackers broke into the Air Force's site and replaced files with prank messages and a sexually-explicit video clip.FBI agents participated in searches in 20 cities as part of a nationwide
investigation into the use of computer online services and the Internet to lure children into illicit sex and to distribute child pornography. The 3-year old investigation has already resulted in 80 arrests, 103 indictments and charges, 66 felony convictions, and 207 searches.The Center for Media Education and the Consumer Federation of America,
both non-profit groups, urged the Federal Communications Commission to set guidelines for children's advertising and marketing on the Internet. The groups find that companies collect personally identifiable information from children without disclosing how the information will be used, or who will have access to it -- all without requesting parental consent.The US Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Communications Decency
Act, which bans the transmission of indecent material to minors, violates the First Amendment.A television industry group announced a rating system that will rank
shows based on appropriateness for age groups, similar to that used for movies. The system, which will determine the shows blocked by the V-chip that will be built into new televisions, is subject to Federal Communications Commission approval. Critics complain the approach is too vague and of little use to parents, particularly regarding shows with violence or sexual themes.A Brooklyn, NY, jury awarded $5.3 million in favor of a former executive
secretary, Patricia Geressy, who claimed she developed carpal tunnel syndrome using keyboards made by Digital Equipment Corp. Two other women, Jill Jackson and Janet Tolo, were awarded $306,000 and $278,000, respectively. No defective keyboard design was found, but Digital was faulted for failing to issue warnings about the dangers of repetitive typing.Labor Secretary Robert Reich said the government is moving ahead with
new regulations to prevent repetitive motion injuries in the workplace.An Australian Federal Court upheld copyright protection for a popular
shareware program, the Trumpet Winsock application. This program allows personal computers to access the Internet. Software developer Trumpet Software International filed suit against OzEmail, the largest Internet service provider in Australia and New Zealand, after learning that 60,000 unauthorized copies had been made. The court also ruled that OzEmail violated the Trade Practices Act by misleading and deceiving people that it had permission to publish the shareware.The California Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors may not solicit
financial assistance from crime victims, as they may create a legally cognizable conflict of interest for the prosecutor." The ruling came in a case involving the alleged theft of trade secret and confidential information from Borland International. The District Attorney accepted more than $13,000 from Borland, after telling the company it needed money for a computer expert and other expenses relating to the case. __People v. Eubanks__, 927 P.2d 310, 59 Cal.Rptr.2d 200, 1996 Cal. LEXIS 6829 (1996).Cyber Promotions, Inc., a purveyor of unsolicited e-mail, agreed to
settle a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Prodigy Services Corp. The settlement followed the issuance of a permanent injunction ordering Cyber Promotions to stop sending unsolicited e-mail advertisements falsely indicating they came from Prodigy.A US District Court Judge in San Francisco ruled that the First
Amendment was violated by a 1993 State Department export ban relating to a software encryption program (Snuffle) written by Dr. Daniel Bernstein.The Business Software Alliance, a group that includes IBM, Microsoft,
Apple Computer, and nine other companies, criticized the Clinton administration on early versions of regulations implementing an October 1 compromise allowing for the export of robust computer-encryption software. A November 15, 1996, executive order provides that the Justice Department will play a consulting role with the Commerce Department, which is viewed as giving law-enforcement to big a role in the export process. The order also indicates that export licenses for 56-bit key encryption software will be considered largely on a case-by-case basis, instead of being automatically allowed. It is further faulted for not accounting in the export review process for the availability of comparable overseas technology. And the order is also criticized for giving the Government the upper hand in developing a key-recovery system that would allow for the legal breaking of encrypted data once a warrant is obtained, as well as for prescribing a system that might enable Government decryption of messaging during transmission.America Online says it has resolved concerns of 19 state Attorneys
General, agreeing to make better pricing disclosures and extending the date that customers can receive automatic refunds relating to its change to new flat-fee pricing of $19.95 per month.The World Trade Organization, a trade pact with 128 member nations,
endorsed the Information Technology Agreement, which will abolish import duties on computers, software, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment between July 1, 1997, and January 1, 2000.Final treaties agreed to by 160 nations, negotiating under the auspices
of the United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organization, will reflect that temporary copies of copyrighted materials automatically made when a user is browsing the Internet will not be considered a copyright violation. A proposed treaty to extend copyright protection to databases was set aside, as many countries were not ready to address the issue.Unauthorized service conversion, commonly known as "slamming," is the
most frequently lodged consumer grievance about long-distance companies, according to the Federal Communications Commission's "Common Carrier Scorecard."Microsoft Corp. has renegotiated license agreements with major computer
makers, blocking them from using Microsoft's Windows operating system unless Microsoft's screen comes up when a user boots up. Several computer makers have provided a copy of the new agreement to the Justice Department for review.The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved technical
standards for advanced digital television.Television broadcasters, including CBS, Fox, and others, filed suit in
federal court in Miami against a satellite programming company, PrimeTime 24 (a unit of Great Universal American Industries Inc.), alleging that illegally provides network shows to certain satellite dish owners. Federal law allows satellite carriers to sell network programming to consumers who cannot obtain decent reception of network programs. The broadcasters complain that PrimeTime 24 crowds out network affiliates and discourages advertisers from buying time on local stations.Sources for CyberLex include the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Marin Independent Journal, The (San Franciso) Recorder, USA Today, and Le Monde.
CyberLex (tm) is published solely as an educational service. The author is a California attorney. He may be contacted at cyberlaw@cyberlaw.com. Questions and comments may be posted at the CyberLaw Internet site (www.cyberlaw.com), hosted by Best Internet Communications, Inc. (www.best.com). ISDN Internet connectivity is provided by InterNex (www.internex.com). Legal research assistance is provided by Lexis-Nexis. CyberLex is a trademark of Jonathan Rosenoer. Copyright (c) 1997 Jonathan Rosenoer; All Rights Reserved.
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| CyberLaw.com Jonathan Rosenoer, Esq. | Kentfield, California, USA cyberlaw@cyberlaw.com | www.cyberlaw.com Ph. 415-461-3108 | Fax 415-461-4013 |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
--- ```
| | | --- | | ProcessTree Network TM For-pay Internet distributed processing. | | Advertising helps support hosting Red Rock Eater Digest @ The Commons. Advertisers are not associated with the list owner. If you have any comments about the advertising, please direct them to the Webmaster @ The Commons. |