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IT 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.

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IT Legal Issues

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  1. IT Legal Issues Guest speaker: Adam Thomas, Distinguished Internet Law Student

  2. Overview of Legal Issues • Cybersquatting • ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers • Privacy Concerns • Downloadable Music Rights • Internet Gambling

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

  7. 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?

  8. II. ICANN, Network Solutions, and domain name registration • C. 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.

  9. 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

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. Downloadable Music • Why MP3’s? • Statistics • (RIAA) • RIAA vs. Diamond Multimedia • Problems • The Future

  13. V. Internet Gambling • IV. 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 • 2. 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?)

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