Though overshadowed by the December 1st release of the FTC’s Privacy Framework, we wanted to at least give a nod before the year runs out to the Department of Commerce’s own report, entitled Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework, and less formally known as the Internet Policy Task […]
Ninth Circuit Highlights the Importance of Well-Drafted Software Licenses and Terms of Use
While World of Warcraft (“Wow”) is a massive virtual role-playing game, where over 12 million players around the globe ply the hills, dales and alleys of the WoW virtual landscape, back in the real world Bizzard Entertainment, Inc., the makers of WoW, have been involved in numerous lawsuits over the years dealing with various aspects […]
FTC Issues Guide for Businesses on Securing Digital Copiers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a new publication in the wake of numerous news accounts highlighting the potential data security issues posed by modern digital copiers. (See, e.g., Digital Copy Machines Pose Security Concerns, Alburquerque News, July 28, 2010, available here; Digital Photocopiers Loaded with Secrets, CBS Evening News, April 15, 2010, available […]
Review of FTC’s Proposed Privacy Framework
Last week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its anticipated 122-page staff report on Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers (the “Report”), which we covered in brief here immediately following its release. In this part of our review, and in following parts, we dig into […]
2 Million Online Fraud Complaints – And Growing…
A dubious milestone was recently reached at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). IC3, which sounds like an arthritis and sore muscle liniment, was formerly known as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, and is a U.S. governmental partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center, FBI, and Bureau of Justice Assistance. Sadly, however, November 9, 2010 […]
Surprising Cybersquatting Domain Name Dispute in the Ninth Circuit
A panel of the Ninth Circuit last week released an opinion in DSPT Int’l, Inc. v. Nahum, 2010 WL 4227883, (CV-06-00308-ODW)(Oct. 27, 2010), opinion here, that’s worth a brief review for its various holdings in a “cybersquatting” trademark and domain name dispute. What’s interesting about this case? For starters the result the Court reached […]
White House CIO Council Releases Draft Guidance on U.S. Govt Cloud Computing
A draft release of a 90-page Proposed Security Assessment and Authorization for U.S. Government Cloud Computing was distributed by the White House CIO Council yesterday, curiously numbered a 0.96 release. A product of FedRAMP (the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), the guidance draft is the result of an 18-month inter-agency effort by the National Institute […]
Is Social Networking Disclosing Your Trade Secret Customer Lists?
It was inevitable. First came social networks, then came the lawsuits: In the e-discovery context, in impeachment situations (Ledbetter v Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(06-cv-01958-WYD-MJW) (D Colo April 21, 2009); Mackelprang v. Fidelity Nat’l Title Agency of Nevada, Inc. (D. Nev. 2007); and Beye v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield (D. N.J. 2006)), in the tort context […]
Amendment to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act Would Shift Risk of Loss to Banks
Just a step below widows and orphans on the sympathy scale, at least when it comes to ripoffs and theft, sit school districts, boards and local municipalities. And in a era of tight budgets, when school districts are robbed of tax monies from halfway around the world via ACH/wire fraud, state and federal politicians take […]
Webinar on “The Legal Issues of Social Networking”
Richard Santalesa, recently hosted an hour long live webinar on The Legal Issues of Social Networking for IT Managed Service Providers (“MSPs”), in conjunction with Zenith Infotech, Ltd. and Redmond Channel Partner MSPtv. While ostensibly targeted at the MSP community, Rich’s coverage of the general legal issues are applicable to any company that has or […]
Can’t Contractually Limit Liability for Willful or Grossly Negligence Conduct in NY
As a big fan of the late Paul Harvey, who’s signature closing catch-phrase was “and now you know the rest of the story,” there are times that posts analyzing cases, statutes or developments are held until additional information is in. The opinion early this year by U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in the hijacked domain […]
New York’s Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act
Little covered other than by environmental and waste industry trade journals, New York’s legislature earlier this year passed the NYS Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act (the “Act”), which was signed into law by Governor Paterson. The Act amended various provisions of the NY Tax Law as well as adding Article 27, Title 26, Electronic […]
FAQ on the New Indiana “Abandoned Health Records” Act
Recently the Indiana legislature passed, and Indiana’s governor signed into law, Senate Enrolled Act No. 356 (a/k/a Public Law 84 of Second Regular Session 116th General Assembly 2010), a wide-ranging 71-page bill that, in addition to setting out practices and requirements for barbers, cosmetologists, well pump installers, mental health counselors and numerous other state licensed […]
Clickwrap forum selection clauses – a summer refresher
Despite the apparently unending deluge of regulations, rules and legislation flowing from the swamps of Washington, D.C., the dog days of August are usually time for lounging around the pool with family while catching up on that yard-high backlog of cases, articles and bills you piled up in the past few months. Summer’s also a […]
Health Net Agrees to $250,000 Fine and “Corrective Action Plan” to Settle Loss of PHI
It didn’t take long for an Attorney General to latch onto Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (a/k/a the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act [the HITECH Act]) in order to convince a covered entity to enter a data loss-related settlement. Indeed, Heath Net of the North […]
