Author archives

FTC Testimony On Program to Fight Spyware

FTC press release: “The Federal Trade Commission today told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development that spyware and other “malware” that is downloaded to consumers’ computers without their consent can cause problems ranging from sluggish computer performance to loss of sensitive personal data. Chairman Deborah Platt …

Subjects: Cybercrime, ID Theft, Privacy

New Orleans Coalition for Disaster Relief and Legal Aid

Another project from Justia.com: “The Coalition seeks to bring together resources from all parts of the legal community (law school faculty, students, and practicing lawyers), as well as non-lawyers, to facilitate the fair distribution of federal, state, and private disaster relief to New Orleanians (wherever they may be) in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We …

Subjects: Legal Research

Justia Launches U.S. Supreme Court Cases & Opinions Beta

From Tim Stanley and his terrific team at Justia.com, this news: “we just put up a new free U.S. Supreme Court site and full decisions database (Volumes 1 – 545+) with oyez.org and uscourtforms.com. The url for the initial beta version is http://www.justia.us…we have links to real audio and canned searches into google, msn and …

Subjects: Courts, E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

ACLU Files Appeal With Supreme Court on Librarian Gag Order

Follow-up to my September 29, 2005 posting, Broad Coalition Pushes to Lift Gag Order Against Librarian, AP reports that yesterday the ACLU filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, the text of which is censored, to release an anonymous Connecticut librarian from a gag order concerning an FBI investigation into his/her organization’s patron records. ALA …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Libraries, Patriot Act, Privacy

Bank Learns to Successfully Combat Phishing Attacks

How to foil a Phish, by Sarah D. Scalet, documents the creation and implementation of a successful anti-phishing response plan by an anonymous financial institution. This case study provides a range of scenarios that confront banks dealing with a bombardment of email attacks, and offers practical resources and solutions. Related references: Data Scandal – Do …

Subjects: Cybercrime, ID Theft

LC Will Conduct Proceedings on DMCA Rule Circumvention

Federal Register, October 3, 2005: Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. Notice of inquiry. “The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress is preparing to conduct proceedings in accordance with section 1201(a)(1) of the Copyright Act, which was added by the Digital Millennium …

Subjects: Copyright, Digital Rights, Legal Research, Libraries

Earthlink Chosen for Wireless Philadelphia Project

Press release: “EarthLink…today announced that it has been selected by Wireless Philadelphia to develop and implement the nation’s largest municipal Wi-Fi broadband network. Wireless Philadelphia expands the City of Philadelphia’s leadership position of using wireless technology to meet the needs of its residents and also enhance the City’s progressive visitor, tourism and business environment.” See …

Subjects: E-Government, Wireless Web

Sun and Google Announce Strategic Agreement

Google press release: “Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Google Inc. today announced an agreement to promote and distribute their software technologies to millions of users around the world. The agreement aims to make it easier for users to freely obtain Sun’s Java™ Runtime Environment (JRE), the Google Toolbar and the OpenOffice.org office productivity suite, helping millions …

Subjects: E-Government, Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines

Environmental and Legal Ramifications of Computer Hardware Disposal

HP Survey Shows Executives Unaware that Improper IT Disposal Can Lead to Fines, Imprisonment Old computers increasingly find new life HP Environment: Product Return and Recycling – this site includes a global online ordering tool to request recycling services.. [“HP’s computer hardware recycling service is a simple and environmentally sound take-back program that offers consumers …

Subjects: Internet, Legal Research

New Book of Essays by Leading Canadian Copyright Experts

Edited by Michael Geist, In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law, “…reviews international copyright norms, assesses dozens of specific Bill C-60 provisions, and identifies potential future copyright reform initiatives.” This book was published under a Creative Commons license, permitting legal downloads for personal use [Slaw.ca, and Connie Crosby]

Subjects: Copyright, Legal Research