I agree that the “predator” patent trolls can be potential lethal to companies who make and sell products, but I do not agree that their function is futile or unethical. The strongest argument against patent trolls is that they have not contributed to the inventions on which they claim patent infringement. They have, however, usually […]
In its October 25th, 2006 Annual Report, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) announced its intention to implement special legislation to protect the Olympic brand and to prevent ambush marketing of its sponsors for the period leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics. As a result, on June 22, 2007, Bill C-47, the Olympic and Paralympic […]
The Uniform Dispute Resolution Process (UDRP) established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has attracted comment from people ranging from specialists in the field to the average curious mind wanting to be heard. In his comment, Oscar S. Cisneros while acknowledging the advantages of setting up a dispute resolution process in […]
The issue in dispute deals with a user of the popular online game, Second Life, who exploited a flaw in Linden Lab’s online auctions. Marc Bragg used the flaw to purchase virtual land at well below market value and as a response Linden Lab seized his virtual land and shut down his account. This case […]
Under traditional legal norms, US patent laws did not extend beyond the territorial bounds of the union. With a quick one-two punch, however, the US court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has expanded the extraterritorial reach of patent law. I tend to agree with the statement above (from the Article The Expanding Reach […]
Advertising plays an ever-increasing part in promoting competition and education for consumers. In such an era, web advertising has gained unprecedented popularity. By web-ad we mean ad forming the part of the web page itself and so is different from the pop-up ads populating like electronic billboards on our computer screen when we visit some […]
I recently discovered that my bank (which will remain anonymous) had been charging me four times as much interest as per our agreement for upwards of a year. Eventually all the money I had erroneously forked out was returned to me, but I was forced to bring the matter to their attention on more than […]
Let me begin by saying that the Information Technology Era has arrived …so as I put down my ‘Most Obvious Statement of the Millennium’ award, I will explain what this means and why I introduce my first ever legal blog with this painfully obvious sentiment. Over the years the world has been getting figuratively smaller […]
Warner Music Group Corp. announced a larger than expected third-quarter loss and attributed the larger loss to more consumers purchasing digital music instead of CDs. While digital revenue increased seven percent from the previous quarter, revenue from recorded music fell four percent. This example provides an opportunity to examine the current business model employed by […]
Paris Hilton filed a complaint against Hallmark on September 6, 2007 for the greeting card pictured above. Hilton alleges Hallmark knowingly and without her consent (i) commercially appropriated her identity; (ii) invaded her privacy by using her name and likeness; (iii) misappropriated publicity, and; (iv) falsely represented that the card was associated with her or […]