Category: Cyberlaw

RIAA Sends “Pre-Litigation” Letters to 400 Students at 13 Universities

February 28, 2007August 19, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

Cd_locked The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) wants to give hundreds of college students an alternative to being sued for copyright infringement. A new site has been setup, P2PLawsuits.com, as a way for the RIAA to interface with these suspected students. The idea is that settlements out of court will be more of a convenience / cheaper for those who might otherwise find themselves in the middle of a lawsuit.

The RIAA is sending letters offering discounted settlements to 400 students at 13 universities. And that’s just the first round: the intention is for hundreds of these pre-litigation letters to go out to university computer users every month.

Cyberlaw, Music, Tech News

The Google Scandal: Keeping $809K of $1.1M of Revenue Generated from Piracy (Allegedly)

February 12, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 1 Comment

Googlelogo_5 So our friends at the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) are running multiple stories on Google today with reference to online video. At the heart of the story is the classic clash between Google’s mantra “Do No Evil” and, well, the evil Google is apparently doing.

Perhaps as a result of this alleged evil, talks are back on among media companies to create a YouTube rival, according to unnamed executives involved in the situation. Another form of pseudo-pressure is coming from MySpace, which is likely to announce today a video-filtering system so as to be on the good side of those copyright protectors.

But back to the Google scandal…

Cyberlaw, Google, Media, Microsoft, Tech News

North Koreans Wish for Internet While Retired People Elsewhere Surf Over Gardening

February 4, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

I came across two pieces of information today, and the juxtaposition was too much to not share. First piece: a new study out by AXA has found that retired people in 11 countries are now spending more time using the Internet over traditional pastimes of gardening, hiking, traveling, etc. Apparently, the term for this new demographic is “silver surfers.”

Second piece: Near North Korea’s northern border, Chinese cell phones and prepaid phone cards are a hot black-market item, regardless of the government trying to ban them. The reason: the new phones have free access to the Chinese Internet, which, even if censored, is a portal to the outside world not available to North Koreans through their regular Intranet.

Cyberlaw, Just For Fun, Privacy, Tech News

Can Viacom Force YouTube to Implement Automatic Blocking of Video Uploads?

February 3, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

So we’ve all heard the news of Viacom demanding YouTube to take down 100,000+ videos of various shows including good stuff from Comedy Central. A Viacom executive is quoted as to saying, “People are waking up to the fact that there is no marketing advantage… There’s no novelty anymore.” Hmm… I love the use of the word “people,” as if Viacom can speak for anyone involved in marketing video content.

You have to be pretty uncreative to come to this conclusion when the fifth most popular Internet site in the world has shown your content over a billion times. Interestingly enough, CBS and NBC have found an advantageous way to partner with YouTube despite Viacom’s claim.

Cyberlaw, Media, Tech News, Web 2.0

Apple Releases iPhone, Changes Name, and Gets Sued: All Smart Moves

January 10, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

So unless you’ve been hiding under a rock the past couple days, you’ve inevitably heard that Apple released its highly anticipated iPhone, fusing the ubiquitous iPod with the even more ubiquitous cellphone. Apple Computer even went as far as changing it’s name to Apple Inc. to illustrate just how serious this move is. The company has officially graduated from computer company to consumer electronics superstar.

But Cisco, the company that owns the iPhone trademark (incidentally, the latest rendition of the Cisco iPhone was hurriedly released three weeks ago: a VOIP phone that was and is talked about more for its name than anything), is now suing Apple.

Apple, Cyberlaw, Gadgets, Music, Tech News

Two Types of Net Neutrality: Good & Evil

June 9, 2006August 19, 2008 Bob Caswell 16 Comments

Lawmakers can’t understand why net neutrality is a good thing, so their only recourse is to turn it into a bad thing. The latest potential bill: If large monopolistic broadband providers that limit your ISP choice are unable to control your Internet surfing, then all websites may be watched and potentially forced to be “neutral” via FCC regulation. Huh?

Cyberlaw, Internet, Tech News