Transcript legal_issues

IT Legal Issues
Guest speaker:
Adam Thomas,
Distinguished Internet Law Student
Overview of Legal Issues
Cybersquatting
ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names & Numbers
Privacy Concerns
Downloadable Music Rights
Internet Gambling
Cybersquatting
a cybersquatter is one who registers a
"famous" name or a trademark as a domain
name, often with the goal of reselling it to
the rightful owner of the trademark.
Cybersquatting Sites
www.sammysosa.com
www.etoys.com vs. www.etoy.com
www.nancykerrigan.com
www.micros0ft.com vs. www.microsoft.com
www.USABanc.com vs. www.usbank.com
www.bargainbid.com vs. www.barginbid.com
www.teenmag.com vs. www.teenmagazine.com
Others: Brad Pitt, NFL, New York Yankees, Tommy
Hilfiger, Hardvard University, Denise Richards, Allisa
Milano.
I. Cybersquatting
A. Prevailing Law
1.
Intermatic v. Toeppan,
2.
Panavision v. Toeppan
a.
Website Use in Commerce
• i.
Dilution: The use of a mark by unauthorized parties so when
consumers see the mark, they will be less likely to attribute it to the
rightful owners mark.
b.
Passive website
• i.
Holding: The court held that because he attempted to sell the
URL to the rightful owners, it constituted commerce: his business was
selling URL's.
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) is the non-profit corporation that was formed to
assume responsibility for the IP address sp ace allocation,
protocol parameter assignment, domain name system
management, and root server system management
functions now performed under U.S. Government contract
by IANA and other entities.
UN  WIPO  ICANN
II.
ICANN, Network Solutions, and
domain name registration
A. Current changeover to allow competition in the
registering of domain names.
1.
Should network solutions be compensated
for their proprietary database software?
• B.
Some potential regulations include establishing a list
of protected "famous or well-known" marks, which would
not be available to the average internet user.
•
1.
What constitutes "Famous"?
•
2.
What about on an international scale?
II.
C.
ICANN, Network Solutions, and
domain name registration
Is "Nancy Kerrigan" a famous mark?
1. Current litigation involving Nancy Kerrigan and porn
sites.
a. www.nancykerrigan.com -- where does this take
you?
b. Search Yahoo for Nancy Kerrigan.
2. Almost every female person is being used to sell
pornography!
3. Why can't she go against the ISP which is hosting the
illegal site?
a.
Zeran v. America Online, Inc. (Fed.Ct. 1997): Gives ISP's
immunity from suits, even if they are put on notice that they are
hosting an unlawful material.
i.If this is the future precedent to be followed, who will
you threaten to sue in order to get the site taken
down? Most of the operations are fly-by-night deals,
and are almost judgement proof.
Privacy Concerns
www.doubleclick.com
http://www.msnbc.com/news/363168.asp
http://www.msnbc.com/news/363455.asp
Real Networks…RealJukeBox
PennDOT (Pennsylvania Dept. of Transp.)
settling with eBay
III. Privacy concerns
A. Privacy and fraud concerns are the #1 things holding back the internet.
1. Holding back? Give statistics.
a. 4/98 study placed 100 million people on the internet.
Estimate 1B by 2005
b. traffic is doubling on the internet every 100 days
c. every word in the dictionary has been registered as a
domain name.
d. only 5% of the people on the internet buy items
through e-commerce.
e. By 2002, internet commerce between businesses
should reach more than $400 B
f. Charles Schwab Corp., the largest online brokerage
firm recorded more than 1 B. hits in January 1999.
This included a high of 55 million in one day, and 30
million
on many days. This is up from an average of
6.4 million a day
15 months prior.
g. consumers are projected to spend $9.5 B. this
holiday season online.
III. Privacy concerns
D. Who or What Regulates it, then?
1. The Wire Communications Act
a. Does not specifically address satellites or the
rnet.
b. Makes the receiver of the bet liable, not the placer.
2. State Regulation
a. Indian Casino's
b. Lotteries / Bingo, etc.
c. These are all INTERstate, internet gambling is
INTRAstate (or international)
3. IGC (Interactive Gaming Council)
a. Better to regulate than to ban.
i. technology can regulate.
4. Politicians feel that a ban would mean much money heading
out of state.
Downloadable Music
Why MP3’s?
Statistics
(RIAA)
RIAA vs. Diamond Multimedia
Problems
The Future
V. Internet Gambling
IV.
2.
Internet Gambling
A.
Is it legal? We really don't know yet.
B.
Congress attempted to pass the IGPA (Internet
Gambling Prohibition Act)
1.
Senate passed 90-10
House never looked at it, and it was never re-introduced, so IT IS
DEAD LEGISLATION.
C.
Who is for / against?
1.
For
a.
Civil Libertarians
b.
Privacy Wacko's
2.
Against
a.
Congress
b.
Janet Reno
c.
Gambler's Anonymous
d.
CASINO's (why?)