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 […]
For more than a decade one of the world’s most recognized emblems – the red cross on a white background – has been shared amicably between the commercial giant health care company, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), and the non-profit help organization, American Red Cross (ARC). J&J has used the symbol on its commercial products and […]
With respect to software sales, IBM has consistently played second fiddle (perhaps, eightieth!) to Microsoft. IBM has not only had to compete with big players like Microsoft, but also against the “open source community”. This is a community which is often seen as the product of cooperation and purity in technology. Its proponents point to […]
AllofMP3, a music-download site, announced that it will reopen after a Russian court acquitted the site’s former owner of violating IP law. The site was originally forced to close following pressure from the US administration over Russia’s poor protection of IP rights. This case immediately reminds me of the controversial Napster site which was forced […]
Intuitively it feels strange to ask whether consumers have a legal right to unlock iPhones, their own personal property. We don’t ask whether someone has a right to change Internet providers while keeping the same computer. Yet Apple and AT&T are trying to convince the American public that there is something wrong with unlocking the […]