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Two new articles on e-filing that address issues of technology standards, e-courts (there are currently 20 accepting such filings), security, and contracting with service providers: E-Filing – Coming to a Court Near You e-Filing and Issues Relating to Electronic Filing Service Providers
From the press release: “The U.S. Department of Commerces United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that effective June 30, 2003, all newly filed patent applications will be converted to electronic applications and processed electronically. Additionally, over the next 15 months, the USPTO will scan more than a half million pending applications into …
A new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project involves the deployment of innovative data collection software that would provide law enforcement with the ability to track, monitor and “identify vehicles by size, color, shape and license tag, or drivers and passengers by face,” according to this AP article. The DARPA contracting document for Combat …
For those with access to the print or online version of today’s WSJ, see this article, Law Firm Cubicles and Libraries Give Way to Team Rooms, Lounges. Law firm office designs are “scaling back offices, the number of secretarial and paralegal cubicles, libraries, computer-servers and data-storage areas. Meanwhile, they are adding more communal spaces, from …
Consumer Web Watch published a new report, 66 pages in pdf – False Oracles: Consumer Reaction to Learning the Truth About How Search Engines Work Results of an Ethnographic Study. From the abstract: “Many online consumers think of search engines as online tools that help them to quickly find Web sites most relevant to their …
From Boston.internet.com: “In a blow for chipmaker Intel, the California Supreme Court Monday found that senders of spam e-mails cannot be sued under state law forbidding property trespass. The 4 to 3 ruling reversed a lower court injunction preventing former Intel engineer Ken Hamidi from sending e-mails critical of Intel to thousands of its employees.” …
From the RIAA press release: In a unanimous opinion today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction against the peer-to-peer service Aimster (now called Madster) and its principle, John Deep. The district court initially issued a preliminary injunction last December which was subsequently appealed. The decision, in pdf, is …
New cellphones used in “digital shoplifting” “Tokyo – Japanese publishers said on Monday they will launch a campaign this week to stop digital shoplifters – people who visit bookstores to photograph magazine pages with their cellphones rather than make a purchase.” [[email protected]]
Doe v. Chao, 02-1377. “The Supreme Court agreed Friday to join the debate over consumers’ privacy rights in a case that will decide how the government can be punished for revealing Social Security numbers and other personal information.”
A Citizen’s Guide on Using The Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records (text version, pdf version), First Report by the Committee on Government Reform, June 23, 2003, House Report 108-172. The Freedom of Information Act Privacy Act of 1974
On June 26, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation, S. 1350 (the Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act) “to require businesses or government agencies to notify individuals if a database has been broken into and personal data has been compromised, including Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and credit cards. The bill is modeled, in …
Perk, and peril, in employees’ attachment to e-mail: “For much of the working population, e-mail is not only available but indispensable, a tool not just for work but for maintaining personal bonds….many workers are accustomed to using a work computer and e-mail address to stay in touch with friends and family in the course of …