The BNA Internet Law Newsletter (recommended free subscription here) reports that a German court has ruled that pop-up ads triggered by a user leaving a website are illegal, as they force users to take notice without consent. Case number 2a0 186/02 (landegericht).
All Grokster, All The Time
If you haven’t heard of or read about this decision by 10 AM Monday morning, then you’re just not trying. Dive into Copyfight for limitless links.
A Comic Book From WIPO on Copyright
No, really, here. Via Matt Rolls A Hoover. Can we expect more comic books from NGOs?
Trademarks and Open Source Licensing
This Slashdot article on MOZILLA branding made me ponder the trademark ramifications of open source licensing, which led me to Dennis Kennedy’s excellent open source law site.
Laugh and the World Laughs With You
Charles Douglass, inventor of the Laugh Track, has died at the age of 93. Here is an article from sciencenews.org reporting an experiment that laugh tracks didn’t affect an audience watching The Simpsons (perhaps becuase that show is actually funny). Those results somewhat contradict this study on canned laughter here where canned laughter increased
Grokster Triumphant
Important case from the Central District of California regarding direct, contributory and/or vicarious liability of peer-to-peer networks. Big win for P2P. Ramifications for record industry spoofers.
Coverage here at the Times, here at Slashdot, and here at Siliconvalley.com.
Further rumination: If these networks are legal, and they are competitors of the record companies’
OECD on ccTLDs
OECD on ccTLD Administration, including review of trademark and whois policies.
VOLVOCARS.COM v. VOLOCARS.COM
If you only read Dave Farber’s list, or this news article or this press release from registrant, then you might agree with the comments that Volvo’s complaint against the Volo Auto Museum of Volo, Illinois does sound like one more of those David/Goliath misguided things. However, you wouldn’t know which domain names were involved.
Steve Jobs Gets It
The front page of today’s Wall Street Journal has “As Apple Stalls, Steve Jobs Looks to Digital Entertainment” which gives some credence to the view that in the end, the computer hardware business will save the recorded music business. But, to show you my skewed view of the world, here is the part that caught
Bubble as a Paid Search Term
Marketwatch on the ‘bubble’ in search stocks such as Overture and Ask Jeeves (registration is required after the story is 24 hours old). In addition to the reasons specified in the article why these stocks are perhaps over-priced, there is another one: legal uncertainty. If keyword sales helps a company sell binoculars more efficently to people