Archive for August, 2009

As originally reported by Orin Kerr at The Volokh Conspiracy, a federal district judge in California issued an opinion on Friday overturning the jury verdict finding Lori Drew guilty of a misdemeanor violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).  Judge Wu ruled that accepting the government's theory — and the jury's finding — that Drew ... Full story

As Chris wrote last week, an investigation into the 1991 fire that killed the three children of Cameron Willingham found that it was not intentionally set, and that Willingham, who was charged with arson and subsequently executed in 2004 for the crime, may very well have been innocent. Two notable pieces Full story

Apple is known for the stringent guidelines it applies when deciding which software it allows in their App Store - BitTorrent is one of the things on their ban list. Apple argues that BitTorrent is often used to infringe copyrights and that such applications are a no go for the App Store, forcing developers to go underground. Full story

Facebook will make changes to its privacy policies and practices in a move it says will help users to understand why it collects personal information and to control its use. The changes are the result of an investigation by Canada's privacy watchdog. Full story

Analysis could also affect liability of enterprises using cloud computing technologies. Steinbach v. Village of Forest Park, No. 06-4215, 2009 WL 2605283 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 25, 2009) Local elected official Steinbach had an email account that was issued by the municipality. Third party Hostway provided the technology for the account. Steinbach logged in to her Hostway Full story

Italian newspapers have complained to competition regulators that Google's News service denies them their fair share of online advertising revenue, according to reports. Google has said that dissenting publishers can decline to use the system. Full story

The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent, ‘Bruno’ tops the chart again this week followed by 'Inglourious Basterds'. 'District 9' completes the top three. Full story

Last week I discussed the well-known challenge faced by millions of Canadians as they sort through a myriad of cellphone pricing plans in a marketplace still lacking in robust competition.  The subject of this week's technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) is that previously unreported, however, is Industry Canada officials identified much the same problem and worked for years to ... Full story

For the London Free Press – August 31, 2009 Read this on Canoe TECHNOLOGY: Service cross-references students’ work against a database of essays During recent years, plagiarism has become a serious concern for universities and colleges. The prevalence of websites selling previously written essay papers has made obtaining counterfeit work easier than ever. In 2002, 29 students at Carlton Full story

September 1st will see the start of a new anti-filesharing initiative. The petition called "Share - Do Not Steal" is currently supported by 1,750 copyright holders and 36 groups including record, movie, TV and games companies. It will be publicized in Norway's press tomorrow morning. Full story