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Volume 5, Issue 3
Editors Cherie W. Blackburn Robert W. Pearce, Jr. John C. McElwaine
1-800-237-2000 Nelson Mullins has more
than 275 attorneys firm-wide, with over 25 attorneys having
significant representation of e-commerce clients in areas including
patent, copyright and trademark protection; business planning,
securities and venture capital; and licensing, distribution and
contract preparation. Atlanta Contacts Neil Grayson Cherie
Blackburn Robert
Pearce John
McElwaine Charlotte Contact Larry Scott Myrtle Beach Contact Franklin
Daniels Columbia Contact Mark Dukes Greenville Contact Marvin
Quattlebaum William
Herlong CyberWatch is an Internet Law Group news digest published as a service to Nelson Mullins’ clients and friends. The articles are summaries of particular developments in the law and are not intended to be a solicitation or to render legal advice. This publication can be considered advertising under applicable laws.
CyberWatch
is a trademark of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, L.L.P. |
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Google Shines If you can believe it, it has only been six years since two Stanford graduate students started the multi-billion-dollar phenomenon named “Google”. Every minute of every day, the Google search engine is used more than 138,000 times, which equates to over 200 million searches of six billion Web pages every day. Google has done such a great job of changing the way the world finds information that it has very famously become used more and more as a verb. An initial public offering of Google is expected shortly and the two young co-founders, one aged 30 and the other 31, have already made the Forbes list of billionaires. With Google’s current revenue at approximately $1 billion and expected to triple over the next four years, it is no surprise that giants in the technology industry are planning their attacks on Google in what will amount to an algorithm-based world war. Microsoft, among other companies, is tired of being “Googled” and observers are anticipating a heated battle in the coming years as the search engine phenomenon on the Internet expands exponentially. Source: MSNBC.MSN.COM Access to Internet Rises Dramatically According to a recent study by Nielsen/Netratings, almost 75 percent of the U.S. population has access to the Internet from home. The largest single group of users is believed to be adult women, with 82 percent of females 35-54 years old having access to the Web. Microsoft’s MSN branded Web sites had the greatest number of users at 95.2 million. Yahoo’s branded sites were second with 92.2 million users. Source: Wall Street Journal Attempted Sale of Unborn Baby on Internet Results in Jail Time In England, an unmarried mother faces a stiff prison sentence after admitting she deceived couples who sought to purchase her unborn baby through the Internet. After receiving approximately $4,000 each from at least two couples, the mother canceled the agreement just days before the birth of her child. The mother’s advertisement appeared on a U.S.-based Website. Source: Telegraph.co.uk Largest Domain Name Provider Offers Internet Addresses for 100 Years Network Solutions, the largest provider of Internet domain name services in the world, has just announced that it will allow people to purchase domain names for 100 years. For a price of $1,000 per name, Network Solutions will guarantee that a customer’s Internet address registration remains active and within the customer’s control for 100 years. Source: WashingtonPost.com/BNA Internet Law News Antigua and Barbuda Win Internet Gambling Decision In a decision handed down by the World Trade Organization that potentially has major implications for Internet gambling, the tiny Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda won a ruling that U.S. laws restricting gambling on the Internet violate global trade agreements. It is believed that this decision could open the door for other nations to seek similar access for gambling businesses located within their borders. Congress has specifically attempted to ban the taking or placing of bets on the Internet, and Washington officials have vowed to fight the WTO’s decision. Source: Wall Street Journal West Virginia Governor Offended by Abercrombie & Fitch The governor of West Virginia, Bob Weiss, has demanded that Abercrombie & Fitch stop selling a tee-shirt that spoofs the state of West Virginia. The tee-shirt slogan in question is “It’s All Relative in West Virginia.” Governor Weiss has demanded that the shirts be removed from Abercrombie & Fitch’s stores, and print and online catalogs, and that all shirts be destroyed in order to avoid any possibility of resale. Abercrombie says that the tee-shirts have been selling well at $22.50 while Governor Weiss says the tee-shirts depict “an unfounded, negative stereotype” of West Virginia. Abercrombie noted that New Hampshire didn’t complain about another tee-shirt for sale with the slogan “New Hampshire. Forty million squirrels can’t be wrong.” Source: News.Yahoo.com |
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