Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! The domain name news is supported by auDA. And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for regular updates. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lack of space may force world wide web to implode http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5-2566681,00.html Why the .xxx would anyone want a top-level domain for porn? by Seth Finkelstein http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1997492,00.html Unused Domain Name for U.S. Isles Gone http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/25/1169594375822.html fr: (nearly) All registrars violate French consumer law! http://domaine.blogspot.com/2007/01/nearly-all-registrars-violate-french.html GoDaddy pulls security site after MySpace complaints http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6153607.html Firms helped to make PCs greener http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6294799.stm More energy-efficient computers on the horizon http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/25/business/compute.php *************** RESEARCH PAPERS *************** Names as Domains, Names as Marks: Issues Concerning the Interface Between Internet Domain Names and Trademark Rights by ZOHAR EFRONI (INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INFORMATION WEALTH: ISSUES AND PRACTICES IN THE DIGITAL AGE, Peter K. Yu, ed) Abstract: This book chapter addresses various domain name issues and the interface between registration of domain names and trademark rights. It provides technical and historical background to domain names disputes and moves to focus on particular matters of interest such as regulation in the U.S. and via ICANN, conflict of laws, international aspects, potential abuse of regulatory mechanisms, litigation strategies and freedom of speech issues. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=957750 Distributed Denial of Service: Law, Technology & Policy by MEIRING DE VILLIERS (World Jurist Law/Technology Journal) Abstract: A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack aims to deprive legitimate users of a resource or service provided by a system, by overloading the system with a flood of data packets, thus preventing it from processing legitimate requests. This article analyzes the doctrines governing the allocation of liability among key players in a DDoS attack. The doctrines are well established and based on common law tort principles and policy considerations. The main contribution of the article is the adaptation of these principles to the novel technological environment in which DDoS attacks occur. The analysis shows that detailed understanding of the technologies and analysis of their role in DDoS attacks are essential to effective judicial decisionmaking. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=952177 Addressing the Issues of Internet Governance for Development: A Framework for Setting an Agenda for Effective Coordination by William H. Dutton (Oxford Internet Institute) This paper outlines a framework for agenda setting that could help the Forum to ensure these processes identify and attend to the key substantive issues that merit discussion at the Forum. It is anchored on the view that most issues of Internet governance for development are being grappled with by many separate but interdependent actors and agencies at various levels. However, this creates a need to identify issues that are not ?owned?, or not well understood, in order to facilitate the creation of bridges between actors and agencies trying to tackle the same or similar issues. It draws on various research initiatives at Oxford University?s Oxford Internet Institute (OII), particularly an international forum on Internet governance (see Dutton and Peltu 2005) and a series of seminars reflecting on civil society participation in the WSIS. http://www.intgovforum.org/Substantive_1st_IGF/Dutton-IG4D-30July06.pdf ***************** GOVERNANCE ***************** Lack of space may force world wide web to implode Massive demands being placed on the internet could soon see the network run out of web addresses, technology experts, including Vint Cerf, said yesterday at Davos. The internet was being threatened by mounting technological challenges, including increasingly malign software viruses and ?botnets?. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5-2566681,00.html http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=133872007 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** Why the .xxx would anyone want a top-level domain for porn? by Seth Finkelstein The idea of a ".xxx" web suffix for porn sites is the internet's vampire: it seems nothing can kill it. Censors often oppose it because they believe anything that can be construed as legitimisation of pornography will hinder their efforts against it. Civil libertarians oppose it on grounds such as the threat of it being used to marginalise a wide range of material having to do with sexuality. Adult webmasters widely view it with suspicion, as anyone who has a ghettoisation scheme to "help" them usually isn't doing them a favour. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1997492,00.html http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/27/0348223 Unused Domain Name for U.S. Isles Gone The list of Internet domain names just got shorter. ICANN decided recently to yank ".um" - for U.S. "minor outlying islands." No one was using it anyhow, and the organization that has run ".um" - the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute - no longer wanted to bother. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/25/1169594375822.html http://www.examiner.com/a-525885~Unused_Domain_Name_for_U_S__Isles_Gone.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16788293/ http://linuxinsider.com/story/55342.html http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=1833 http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/01/25/um.domain.ap/ Um, It's Gone, Vint Cerf Did It David A. Utter Surprising news comes from ICANN; they have removed the top-level domain .um, for United States "minor outlying islands," from the list of available domains. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20070124UmItsGoneVintCerfDidIt.html uk: Goodbye No 10, hello world Domain names are beginning to be the predictor of what someone, say a politician, will be doing when they finish in office. The Daily Telegraph reports that one of Cheris Blair's "closest confidantes is setting up a charitable foundation in the Prime Minister's name. The American restaurateur Martha Greene, who helped the Blairs find their London home in Connaught Square, registered the domain name www.blairfoundation.org.uk in November. The foundation will pay Blair a salary and act as a vehicle for all his commercial and political activities." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/20/nblair20.xml fr: (nearly) All registrars violate French consumer law! This blog article concludes that "All registrars which do not let their French customers use a payment tool which is not free of charge, are subject to fines, as Sony UK was." http://domaine.blogspot.com/2007/01/nearly-all-registrars-violate-french.html GoDaddy pulls security site after MySpace complaints A popular computer security Web site was abruptly yanked offline this week by MySpace.com and GoDaddy raising questions about free speech and Internet governance. http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6153607.html http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=viewarticle&type=news&ID=33949 GoDaddy Faces PR Nightmare Over Domain Suspension GoDaddy chief Bob Parsons is a big supporter of free speech. He?s also a big supporter of privacy as a way to do this by promoting domain whois privacy services. That?s why the internet world was shocked today to learn that GoDaddy suspended a domain name, seclists.org, based on the content on that site. MySpace contacted GoDaddy to suspend the registration because the site had information about MySpace users including their usernames and passwords. GoDaddy complied. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/01/26/godaddy-faces-pr-nightmare-over-domain-suspension/ Registrar Deletes Domain Name Sua Sponte, Sort Of Registrars reserve powerful rights to de-register domain names belonging to registrants who have violated the terms of service agreement. They tend not to, in the absence of a court order. It turns out that GoDaddy does, here in the case of a website that was making available lists of MySpace usernames and passwords. http://www.schwimmerlegal.com/2007/01/registrar_delet.html ICANN Posts Summary of Responses On Accountability and Transparency On October 16 2006 ICANN asked the community for their input on improving accountability and transparency within ICANN. This was the first phase of consultation in the development of a set of Management Operating Principles with a request for comment by 31 December 2006. The attached is a summary of the responses received. Thank you to everyone who contributed. These comments will be used to develop a draft set of Management Operating Principles. It is anticipated that this draft will be available before ICANN's Lisbon meeting with a consultation to take place at the meeting. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-26jan07.htm Web users warned to be vigilant against pharming Security software companies are warning Internet users to be vigilant against one of the latest forms of cybercrime, pharming. Pharming misdirects users to fraudulent sites or proxy servers, typically through Domain Name System (DNS) hijacking or cache poisoning, to either steal information or expose the user to infection. Pharming can trick a user into entering sensitive data such as a password or credit card number into a malicious Web site that impersonates a legitimate one. http://khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/business/2007/January/business_January704.xml§ion=business&col= Total Number of Registered CO.JP Domain Names Exceeds 300,000 (news release) JPRS announced on January 17, 2007 that the cumulative number of registered CO.JP domain names (e.g., EXAMPLE.CO.JP) exceeded 300,000, hitting 300,899, as of January 1, 2007. The total number of JP domain name registration including CO.JP is 882,325 as of the same date, indicating that 34% of the JP domain names are CO.JP names. http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/070118.html CNNIC: Chinese Netizen Number Reaches 137 Million and 4.11 million domain names By the end of 2006, China had about 4.11 million domain names, of which 1.8 million were .CN domain names, up 64.4% compared with the same period of last year. 1.94 million were .COM domain names, accounting for 47% of China's total domain names. At the end of 2006, China had 843000 websites and 98 million IPv4 addresses, and all of these were seeing stable growth. http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/01/25/4907-cnnic-chinese-netizen-number-reaches-137-million/ nz: IDNs - Expressions of Interest for Working Group The .nz Oversight Committee (NZOC) is establishing a working group to consider the implementation of IDNs into the .nz domain name space. http://dnc.org.nz/story/30269.html uk: Replacing 'tag holder' with 'registrar' (news release) Nominet has rewritten terms and conditions for tag holders. The new Registrar Agreement replaces the existing Tag Holder Agreement from 01 March 2007. This re-draft of the contract has been used as an opportunity to replace the terms 'tag holder' and 'registration agent' with the single term 'registrar'. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=3537 IE Namespace: We Need Personal Domains! by Michele Neylon In my day job I run one of the largest registrars/resellers of IE domains (the IE ccTLD is the domain name for Ireland). In the course of doing that I have spent quite a lot of time becoming accustomed to the rules and regulations that govern both the naming and general registration criteria of IE domains. In some cases I can understand why rules are the way they are, whereas in others I am completely baffled. http://www.circleid.com/posts/ie_need_personal_domains/ Stockpickr: Picking at Domain-Name Stocks by James Altucher Following the fortunes of companies that are stockpiling domain names -- the "arms merchants" of the domain name business -- is well worth your while, regardless of the state of the economy. [NB: a link to this article appeared in a previous edition of the news] http://www.thestreet.com/newsanalysis/techstockupdate/10331607.html Domain Names Back In Business As Big Money Seeks Hot Property You might not think of generic Internet addresses like Carbs.com as the beachfront property of the Web, but plenty of financial heavy-hitters do, and they're snapping up such real estate -- fast. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/16552993.htm Internet domains in high demand Housing prices may be fizzling in the real world, but a virtual land grab is under way on the Internet, with financial heavy hitters snapping up what they see as the Web's beachfront properties: generic Internet addresses such as Carbs.com. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/16560153.htm ICANN formalises relationship with ccTLD Manager, Belgium ICANN has signed an exchange of letters with the ccTLD manager for .be - Belgium, DNS BE. http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?articleID=21530 ICANN Formalizes Relationship with ccTLD Manager for Belgium http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-25jan07.htm DNS BE and ICANN formalise their relationship http://www.dns.be/en/home.php?n=396 ICANN Opens Public Comment Period on ICANN Fee Amendment from .MOBI On 16 January 2007, ICANN's Board of Directors approved the posting for public comment of an amendment proposed by mTLD to the .MOBI Registry Agreement. If approved by the ICANN Board, the amendment would change the amount of fees paid by mTLD to ICANN. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-26jan07.htm sk: SL Attorney in ICANN leadership position Sri Lankan Attorney-at-Law Jayantha Fernando has been selected as a member of the Panel of Experts of ICANN. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070128/News/116news.html Celebrity Domain Names Set for Auction on TDNAM.com (news release) Popular celebrity domain names such as HillaryRodhamClinton.mobi and TerrellOwens.tv are now available for public auction on www.TDNAM.com, a re-seller of popular domain names. http://prweb.com/releases/2007/1/prweb500209.htm NetNames Manages Unilever Domains UK domain name management provider NetNames announced it has signed a contract to protect Unilever's (unilever.com) global trademark portfolio of domain names, which includes Dove, Surf, Cif, Knorr and Vaseline. http://thewhir.com/marketwatch/012507_NetNames_Manages_Unilever_Domains.cfm Cyperspace Land Grab: Domain Names Back In Business As Big Money Seeks Hot Property You might not think of generic Internet addresses like Carbs.com as the beachfront property of the Web, but plenty of financial heavy-hitters do, and they're snapping up such real estate -- fast. Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, billionaire Ross Perot and Richard Rosenblatt, former chief executive of MySpace and its parent, Intermix Media, are just three of those attempting to build sprawling businesses around Web domains. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/16552993.htm http://redorbit.com/news/technology/816185/cyperspace_land_grab_domain_names_back_in_business_as_big/ us: Geiger sues for name-branded Web addresses Pop star-actor-product pitchman Teddy Geiger is now a plaintiff. The Pittsford singer-songwriter filed a suit in federal court in Rochester on Tuesday, claiming a Minnesota man is violating the trademark status of Geiger's name by claiming ownership of www.teddygeiger.com and www.teddygeiger.net. http://democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070125/LIVING/701250365 Second Highest .Mobi Sale To Date Heads New DN Journal Top 20 A lot of jaws hit the floor when Flowers.mobi sold for $200,000 in an auction at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East conference in October. This time it was Sportsbook.mobi commanding the big bucks - a whopping $129,800. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales01-23-07.htm ********************** OTHER RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Anticipatory Electronic Surveillance in Anglo-American Law (Stanford Technology Law Review) The principles behind the Fourth Amendment's Search and Seizure clause are found throughout Anglo-American jurisprudence. This body of law reflects a history of attempting to harmonize the seemingly conflicting governmental goals of communication privacy on the one hand, and protecting the public safety and national security on the other. Nations adopt surveillance doctrines, driven largely by the realities of the technology. As technologies change, assumptions behind doctrines can become outdated. http://stlr.stanford.edu/2007/01/anticipatory_electronic_survei.html Does Power Grow Out of the Barrel of a Modem? Some Thoughts on Jack Gold Smith and Tim Wu's Who Controls the Internet? by GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS (Stanford Law and Policy Review) Abstract: This review of Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu's Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World, notes that Goldsmith and Wu are correct in concluding that events in recent years undercut cyber-utopian theories of an Internet that is beyond the reach of national sovereignty. It argues, however, that the failure to achieve such goals does not mean that the Internet is unimportant as a source of expanded freedom and power on the part of ordinary people, and suggests that this trend of individual empowerment is likely to continue. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=959297 Keeping the Internet Neutral?: Christopher S. Yoo and Timothy Wu Debate (Vanderbilt Public Law Research Paper...) Abstract: Network neutrality has emerged as one of the highest profile issues in telecommunications and Internet policy last year. Not only did it play a pivotal role in both houses of Congress during debates over proposed communications reform legislation; it also emerged as a key consideration during the Federal Communications Commission consideration of the recent SBC-AT&T, Verizon-MCI, and AT&T-BellSouth mergers. In the following exchange, Professors Christopher Yoo and Tim Wu engage in a lively debate over the merits of network neutrality that reviews the leading arguments on both sides of the issue. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=953989 China's Network Justice by BENJAMIN L. LIEBMAN & TIM WU Abstract: This article, the product of extensive interviews across China, asks the following question: What has China's internet revolution meant for its legal system? What does cheaper if not free speech mean for Chinese judges? http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=956310 Current Responses to Sexual Grooming: Implication for Prevention by SAMANTHA CRAVEN, SARAH BROWN & ELIZABETH GILCHRIST (Howard Journal of Criminal Justice) Abstract: This article aims to outline current responses to sexual grooming; specific attention will be given to new legislation introduced in England and Wales under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Following an outline of this new legislation, consideration will be given to its effectiveness, including practical difficulties that are likely to restrict its scope. Issues to be discussed include: poor definition and understanding of sexual grooming, scope of legislation in relation to non-Internet grooming, difficulties in identifying sexual grooming, and a failure of the new legislation to be truly preventative. The article concludes by supporting Richard Laws's suggestion that the most effective prevention of child sexual abuse would result from adopting a public health approach. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=958140 Internet Defamation and Choice of Law in Dow Jones & Company Inc. v. Gutnick by GARY K Y CHAN (Singapore Journal of Legal Studies) Abstract: This article focuses on choice of law in the context of Internet defamation with reference to a recent Australian High Court decision, Dow Jones v. Gutnick. The case raised a myriad of issues ranging from comparative defamation laws (and value systems) of the United States versus Australia, the meaning of ?publication? and the need for Internet-specific legal reforms. These issues interact with and have an impact upon the choice of law problem. This article discusses the various alternatives for resolving the choice of law problem. It concludes by tentatively recommending some choice of law rules in the context of Internet defamation. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=954305 Defamatory Internet Speech: A Defense of the Status Quo by ANTHONY MICHAEL CIOLLI (Quinnipiac Law Review) Abstract: This brief essay is a critique of Glenn Reynold's paper Libel in the Blogosphere: Some Preliminary Thoughts. I conclude that Reynolds's proposal to treat defamatory internet and blog speech as slander, while well-intentioned, would have a devastating impact on defamation victims' ability to recover due to the interplay between Reynold's proposal and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=947148 Applicable Law Aspects of Copyright Infringement on the Internet: What Principles Should Apply? by ANDREA ANTONELLI (Singapore Journal of Legal Studies) Abstract: Digital technology, and particularly the Internet, is reducing the cost of publishing works, but has also made the unauthorised copying and distributing of works virtually costless. Despite the level of harmonisation of copyright laws worldwide, achieved through the Berne Convention, the TRIPs Agreement and WIPO Copyright Treaty, such copyright infringements on the Internet still give rise to a number of relevant conflict of laws issues. This article focuses on the analysis of the applicable law rules provided under the Berne Convention in relation to economic and moral rights in the light of the various technical scenarios of copyright infringement in cyberspace. From this perspective, it also attempts to assess if and to what extent it is possible to attribute a new meaning to too often datable applicable law principles. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=954531 Why phishing works by Rachna Dhamija, J. D. Tygar & Marti Hearst To build systems shielding users from fraudulent (or phishing) websites, designers need to know which attack strategies work and why. This paper provides the first empirical evidence about which malicious strategies are successful at deceiving general users. We first analyzed a large set of captured phishing attacks and developed a set of hypotheses about why these strategies might work. We then assessed these hypotheses with a usability study in which 22 participants were shown 20 web sites and asked to determine which ones were fraudulent. We found that 23% of the participants did not look at browser-based cues such as the address bar, status bar and the security indicators, leading to incorrect choices 40% of the time. We also found that some visual deception attacks can fool even the most sophisticated users. These results illustrate that standard security indicators are not effective for a substantial fraction of users, and suggest that alternative approaches are needed. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1124772.1124861 ******************* OTHER INTERNET NEWS ******************* Internet giants bow to human rights protests Campaigners for freedom of speech on the internet have hailed a major breakthrough after Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! agreed to join a working group to draw up a code of conduct for protecting human rights online. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2000524,00.html China's Hu vows to 'purify' Internet (Reuters) Chinese Communist Party chief Hu Jintao has vowed to "purify" the Internet, state media reported Wednesday, describing a top-level meeting that discussed ways to master the country's sprawling, unruly online population. http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6153081.html Google links hitches in China to local rivals China?s efforts to ?purify? the internet by cracking down on websites such as Google may be as much driven by protectionism as ideology, the founders of the US search engine said on Friday. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4a7781a4-ad6a-11db-8709-0000779e2340.html Peter Gabriel wants "YouTube for human rights" (Reuters) Peter Gabriel would like you to see unpleasant things on the likes of YouTube -- human rights abuses. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-01-27T233750Z_01_L27925157_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-DAVOS-GABRIEL.XML Building a Safer MySpace News Corp.'s online social network has come a long way in setting safeguards to protect minors, but the work is only starting http://businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070124_376307.htm Church hosts 'porn and pancakes' event (AP) It's not your typical church breakfast. An event billed as "Porn and Pancakes" is being hosted by a church in rural upstate New York. ... Organizers told a Rochester TV station that the event on February 10th will be an honest discussion about pornography and its impact on society. http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-01-27-porn-pancakes-event_x.htm?csp=34 Revealed: how eBay sellers fix auctions Customers of the internet auction site eBay are being defrauded by unscrupulous dealers who secretly bid up the price of items http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2570050,00.html nz: Police investigate bully sites Greymouth police are investigating several internet sites which aim to humiliate and threaten local high school students. Constable Rose Green says a group of teenage girls have gone to great lengths to make the sites, creating domain names and web addresses out of their victims' names. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/970068 Criminals 'may overwhelm the web' Criminals controlling millions of personal computers are threatening the internet's future, experts have warned. Up to a quarter of computers on the net may be used by cyber criminals in so-called botnets, said Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet. Technology writer John Markoff said: "It's as bad as you can imagine, it puts the whole internet at risk." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6298641.stm uk: Online fraud 'now major concern' Britons fear being ripped-off online more than gun crime, climate change or even contracting MRSA in hospital, a survey has suggested. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6293907.stm uk: UK police 'not prioritising cybercrime', Microsoft says The Home Office is not taking cybercrime and related fraud seriously enough, Microsoft says. The software giant says that cybercrime reporting mechanisms in the UK have been inadequate, since the closure of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), whose operations were folded into the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) last year. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/26/uk_cybercrime_criticism/ uk: Damages for misuse of internet - Microsoft Corporation v McDonald at Chancery Division An internet service provider, as well as internet users, had a right of action to seek damages and an injunction against the sender of unsolicited electronic communications. Mr Justice Lewison so held in the Chancery Division on December 12, 2006, when allowing the application of Microsoft Corporation for damages and an injunction for damage it claimed had been caused by the transmission of unsolicited electronic communications by Paul McDonald. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,30589-2567705,00.html us: Why ISPs can breathe easier after a porno decision Internet service providers naturally are concerned about circumstances under which they potentially could be held liable for content posted by users. But after a recent decision by a Texas federal judge, ISPs can breathe a collective sigh of relief. The judge dismissed an ISP as a defendant in the case of Doe v. Bates, even though the offending conduct at issue was alleged to be in violation of criminal law. http://news.com.com/2010-1028_3-6152830.html us: Trade Dress Protection In A Web Page Why are there not more decisions regarding the trade dress of a web page? Is it because copyright preempts most such claims? Magazine covers have been awarded trade dress protection,Time Inc. v. Globe Communications Corp., 712 F.Supp. 1103 (S.D.N.Y. 1989), why not web pages? (I've been puzzling about the trade dress of magazine covers for a while). Any way, the Western District Court of Washington has upheld a Motion to Dismiss a trade dress claim for a webpage, ruling that at this stage of the litigation, the copyright claim will not preempt the trade dress claim. http://www.schwimmerlegal.com/2007/01/trade_dress_pro.html us: Fox takes on YouTube in case that pits network against net YouTube has been subpoenaed by Twentieth Century Fox following the posting of what were at the time unbroadcast episodes of the hit TV series 24 and The Simpsons on the video-sharing website. The subpoena, filed in a California court on January 18, demands that YouTube provide information identifying the subscriber who posted the clips on the site so that Fox can prevent further infringement of its copyright. http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1999878,00.html us: Bill would stiffen penalties for crimes posted online Criminals who post images or videos to the Internet of their violent exploits could face stiffer penalties under a new bill in Congress. http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6153568.html Anti-Spyware Coalition Offers Best Practices, Conflict Resolution The Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) today unveiled a comprehensive set of "best practices" for identifying potentially unwanted technology. Based on more than a year of consultations and building on all of the coalition's previous work, the Best Practices document provides the clearest description yet of how anti-spyware companies determine whether software may be "unwanted." Coordinated by CDT, the ASC is comprised of companies, academics and public interest groups working together in the fight against spyware. The ASC also today released its Conflict Identification and Resolution Process. http://www.antispywarecoalition.org/documents/BestPractices.htm ca: The Case for Fair Use in Canada Last week Professor Michael Geist delivered an invited talk to Canadian Heritage's Copyright Policy Branch on fair use. The talk, which is apparently one of several they have planned on the issue, was in response to the increasing attention being paid to the limitations of fair dealing and the benefits of expanding fair dealing or adopting a U.S. style fair use provision. There is no podcast version of the talk, though you can view it here: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1637/125/ Google's founding duo say net will not kill newspapers Newspapers will not be killed off by the internet, say Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google. Mr Page, who declared at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "I think that newspapers have a good future," said his company was working "really hard" on helping advertisers using Google to also put their adverts in newspapers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/01/27/cndavosgoogle127.xml Gates: Internet to revolutionize TV in 5 years The Internet is set to revolutionize television within five years, due to an explosion of online video content and the merging of PCs and TV sets, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said on Saturday. http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-6154009.html Active Home Internet Users by Country, December 2006 Active home Internet usage experienced its largest growth in Spain as the year closed out, according to data from Nielsen//NetRatings. http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3624740 us: Families Entrenched in Technology Technology has worked its way into the daily lives of both parents and children. A study conducted by Nickelodeon, "The Digital Family," finds technology adoption in the family is both top down and bottom up. http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3624719 Popularity of Web brands signals power shift (Reuters) A consumer poll on Friday exposed the worst kept secret in the business world: Internet companies are becoming more important to people than firms that operate in the real world. Google retained its title as the world's most influential brand, and video-sharing site YouTube and online encyclopaedia Wikipedia were catapulted into the top five at the No. 3 and 4 spots, according to the annual survey by online branding magazine brandchannel.com. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-01-26T171327Z_01_L26570473_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-BRANDS-GLOBAL-INTERNET.XML Mobiles linked to tumours Long-term mobile phone users are more likely to develop a particular type of brain tumour on the side of the head where they hold their handsets, research suggests. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/25/1169788694585.html The Digital Divide: Issues And Possible Solutions How can this phenomenon be reduced? In this article the author reviews the three aspects we must take in consideration when analyzing the digital divide, along with its possible solutions. These are the economy, usability and empowerment. http://masternewmedia.org/news/2007/01/27/the_digital_divide_issues_and.htm us: New bid to close ?digital divide? San Francisco is on pace to offer a free wireless Internet network in two years but a faster and superior technology, a city-wide fibre network, may come on its heels that could better close the so-called digital divide. http://www.examiner.com/a-532208~New_bid_to_close__digital_divide_.html Cell Phones Vital in Developing World (AP) Nguyen Huu Truc's trusty cell phone has revolutionized his small embroidery business - and his life. When he bought his first mobile phone in 1995, Vietnam had just one fixed-line phone for every 100 people, and cell phones were a pricey novelty. Communication was difficult, forcing Truc to make time-consuming trips to suppliers and buyers. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CELL_PHONE_REVOLUTION Netherlands joins European rebellion against iTunes restrictions (AP) The Dutch consumer protection agency became the latest in Europe on Thursday to pressure Apple Inc. into changing restrictions that tie songs bought on iTunes to its market-leading iPod players. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/16544785.htm us: Study: Most don't see downloading movies as 'very serious' Most Americans know where to draw the line when it comes to leaving a store without paying for a DVD, but downloading copyright movies is a different matter, according to a study released Thursday. http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6153472.html YouTubers to get ad money share YouTube's founder says people who upload their own videos to the site will get a share of the ad revenue. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6305957.stm Firms helped to make PCs greener A single PC left on overnight and at weekends racks up an annual electricity bill of ?53. In addition a typical PC left on for 24 hours a day, 220 days of the year, is responsible for up to a tonne of CO2 over a 3-year period. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6294799.stm More energy-efficient computers on the horizon Prodded by fears of global warming and surging electric bills, corporate computer users are demanding more energy-efficient machines, and the U.S. government is preparing to issue tough new standards for greener machines. http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/25/business/compute.php Wikipedia, you are the strongest link John Naughton examines the loop between Wikipedia and the major search engines and asks whether the encyclopedia is now as dominant as Google: There are two kinds of people in the world - those who think Wikipedia is amazing, wonderful, or inspiring; and those who simply cannot understand how a reference work compiled by thousands of 'amateurs' (and capable of being edited by any Tom, Dick or Harry) should be taken seriously. Brisk, vigorous and enjoyable arguments rage between these two camps, and provide useful diversion on long winter evenings. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1999649,00.html Regulatory trends: New enabling environment The ITU New Initiatives workshop The Future of Voice (15-16 January 2007, Geneva) discussed, inter alia, the regulatory implications of the development of voice communications. A background report Regulatory Trends: New enabling environment framed the debate. Authors of the paper are Andy Banerjee from Analysis Group Inc, Gary Madden and Joachim Tan from CEEM at Curtin University of Technology, Australia. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Regulatory+Trends+New+Enabling+Environment.aspx NEC develops technology to prevent VoIP spam NEC today said that it has made first steps to bring a new technology to market that promises to protect VoIP from "Spam over IP" . In first test, the technology has achieved a 99% success rate, the company claims. http://www.tgdaily.com/2007/01/26/nec_voip/ uk: Full jails change child porn term A man who downloaded child pornography to his computer has avoided jail after the home secretary asked judges to limit prison terms due to overcrowding. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6299727.stm http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/25/npaedo125.xml uk: Child pornography case ruling angers critics John Reid was under renewed pressure last night after a judge gave a man who downloaded child pornography a suspended prison sentence, citing overcrowded prisons and the home secretary's appeal to the courts to spare less serious offenders a jail term. http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1999244,00.html au: Erectile dysfunction 'led to PC child porn images' A BRISBANE electrician trying to cure his erectile dysfunction by downloading internet porn found himself before court yesterday after inadvertently storing images involving young children. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21111504-2,00.html au: Child porn lawyer admits guilt The former NSW Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor, Patrick Power, SC, will plead guilty to a charge of possessing child pornography. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/25/1169594400415.html http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21120857%5E15319%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.comReceived on Wed Jan 31 2007 - 11:21:03 UTC
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