Welcome to the Proskauer New Media and Technology Law blog, presented by Proskauer Rose’s Technology, Media and Communications Law practice group. This blog will cover legal developments related to technology, media and communications, including Internet and emerging technologies, new distribution platforms, electronic and online commerce, technology-based marketing, mobile issues and the like. We hope that… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2008
Things We Are Running Out of Besides Oil: IP Addresses
Posted in InternetIt’s a shock to see gasoline routinely priced at over $4 a gallon, the consequence, many think, of ignoring impending scarcity of a limited resource over a long period of time. The same may be true of Internet Protocol addresses (IP addresses), the number strings that identify specific locations on the Internet. How many unique… Continue Reading
Between Commercial Parties, Online Agreement with “No Notice” Modification Clause Held Enforceable and Not Unconscionable
Posted in Online CommerceDisputes over the enforceability of Web site modifications to an agreement, based on claims of unconscionability, typically involve a consumer opposing the enforcement efforts of commercial party. An example of such a case is Comb v. PayPal, 218 F.Supp. 2d 1165, 1174 (N.D.Cal. 2002), in which the district court refused to enforce a provision in… Continue Reading
Brevity is the Soul of Wit, and a Requirement of Many Local Federal Rules
Posted in TechnologyThe first part of that line is from Shakespeare (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2). The underlying principle is embodied in many local federal rules that set page or word limits on the length of various submissions, such as briefs and memoranda. In the District of Minnesota, the objections to the ruling of a magistrate judge… Continue Reading
If It Quacks Like a Duck [Tour], It’s Generic – Especially If Your Own Web Site Says So
Posted in TrademarkIn a dispute between the operators of rival "amphibious sightseeing tours," a panel of the First Circuit disagreed with the trial court’s conclusion that the phrase "duck tours" was non-generic, and vacated the entry of a preliminary injunction against the defendant’s use of the term. Boston Duck Tours, LP v. Super Duck Tours, LLC, 2008… Continue Reading
Eleventh Circuit En Banc Rules in “Old Wine, New Bottles” Dispute Over CD-ROM Version of National Geographic Magazine
Posted in CopyrightGreenberg v. National Geographic, in which photographers seek royalties for the inclusion of their works in the CD-ROM version of the National Geographic Magazine, is a case with legs, that’s for sure. First filed ten years ago, it has been argued at the circuit court level three times, with several trips back to the trial… Continue Reading
eBay Real Estate Auction Listing of Elvis’s Former Home Deemed a Non-Binding Advertisement
Posted in Online CommerceThe subject of the auction being a former home of Elvis Presley, and one of the plaintiffs being "celebrity psychic Uri Geller," the district court’s ruling in Gleason v. Freeman, No. 06-2443 (W.D. Tenn. June 16, 2008) is getting a lot of press. (And prompts one to wonder how it is that Geller didn’t foresee… Continue Reading
District Court Points to Conflicting Ninth Circuit Precedents on Copyright First Sale Doctrine
Posted in CopyrightSome commentators on the ruling of the District Court in Vernor v. Autodesk [citation] are touting it as a victory for the applicability of the copyright first sale doctrine to licensed software, and while that is literally true in terms of the result in the case, it may not remain in the "win" column in… Continue Reading