USPTO Releases Complete Collection on DVD
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is making available for sale the complete collection of 65 million U.S. patents that were granted from 1790 to today, on a set of 423 DVDs.
NueStar's Vast Database of Telephone Numbers
NeuStar.com, manager of the “.kids.us” domain, has another government contract that highlights its competitive edge in the realm of data collection, according to a July 8, 2002 article in Forbes. The company owns a database of 160 million telephone numbers for North American customers, and it routinely updates telecom companies when changes and additions occur. …
Judge v. Anonymous Web Critic
A three year old web defamation case is in the news again. It began when Judge Joan Orie Melvin of the Pennsylvania Superior Court filed a defamation suit in Loudon County, Virginia in 1999 against an anonymous webmaster who published comments to his site, hosted by AOL. The AOL legal department posted copies of decisions …
New Guidance from Archives on Email and Attachments
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) issued a guidance detailing the procedures necessary for the transfer of email messages and attachments to the agency.
Local Government and the Power of E-Mail
Today the Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report, How local officials use the Internet and the civic benefits they cite from dealing with constituents online. The report states “that local officials have embraced the Internet as part of their official lives and most now use email to communicate with constituents.”
The Digital Choice and Freedom Act of 2002
Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California has introduced legislation that seeks to balance the right of copyrightholders of digital content, with the right of consumers who purchase and make personal copies of materials including CDs, DVDs and e-books. A press release on the legislation is available on her website, as well as a link to …
New Blog Focused on the Supreme Court
The three attorney law firm of Goldstein Howe PC in Washington, D.C. whose practice is focused on Supreme Court litigation, introduced their new blog, SCOUTSBlog, on October 1. According to the firm founder Tom Goldstein, “We intend to cover the Supreme Court comprehensively — all of its opinions and orders — but we want to …
Piracy and Peer-to Peer Networking
The House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, held an oversight hearing on “Piracy Of Intellectual Property On Peer-to-Peer Networks,” September 26, 2002. The Statement of Gigi B. Sohn, President, Public Knowledge, is here. The Statement of Hilary Rosen, Chairman and CEO, Recording Industry Association of America, is here.
Save Internet Radio Campaign
An advocacy group, the Save Internet Radio Campaign, is rallying supporters of streaming media to support passage of H.R. 5469, introduced by Rep. Sensenbrenner.
What Are CyberSLAPP Lawsuits?
Cyber-critics, free speech and online anonymous web postings have become a combustable combination. The result is cyberSLAPP law suits, which seek to force ISPs to reveal the names of those who have posted anonymous statements critical of high profile individuals. An example of just such a case involves a Pennsylvania judge and a now defunct …
North Carolina Identity Theft Bill Wins Approval
North Carolina State Attorney General Roy Cooper has secured the support of the state Senate, and now the House, for an identity theft bill. See House Bill 1100 for the text of the legislation.
Verizon in Privacy Battle With RIAA
Internet Community Supports Verizon’s User Privacy Defense. See my previous related posting which provides background on this case.