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June 2003 Volume 4, Issue 6
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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Frenzy of Selling on e-Bay With eBay.com experiencing such phenomenal growth, it is not surprising that virtually anything can be bought and sold through eBay. It is also not surprising that many entrepreneurs have quit their regular jobs to work full time selling items through eBay. One California entrepreneur began selling pool tables less than two years ago and now sells close to 600 pool tables each month, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. He now has three warehouses, a handful of employees and a shiny new Jaguar convertible. With 69 million subscribers, visitors come to the eBay site in a manner that borders on addiction. IBM has begun selling its computers on eBay and UPS has begun offering its services to sellers and buyers. Some of the rank-and-file subscribers to eBay worry that the site is becoming so commercial with the big companies now entering the site to sell that the appeal of eBay may be lost, but the success stories continue, with a couple from Orlando, Florida now making their living selling movie memorabilia through eBay after being laid off from their computer-related jobs and a retiree selling antiques on eBay to supplement his Social Security. Source: ABCNews.geo.com. Polynesian Island Becomes World’s First WiFi Nation The Polynesian Island of Niue has launched the world’s first free nation-wide WiFi Internet access service. At no cost to the public or local government, all residents, tourists, government offices and businesses now have wireless Internet access. WiFi is a type of radio technology used for wireless local area networks for free Internet access. Due to harsh weather conditions and major problems with underground copper lines in this Polynesian Island-Nation, Internet access was often interrupted. In other recent WiFi news, plans are being made to make not only larger cities such as Paris, France and New York, New York completely WiFi accessible but also smaller cities such as Charleston, South Carolina. Source: Unstrung.com. Chinese Internet Operator Sentenced to Five Years in Prison A Chinese citizen, Wang Huang Qui, has been sentenced to five years in prison by the Chinese Government for what it calls “subversion”, after posting political material online including articles about China’s 1989 pro-democracy protest. None of the articles were actually written by Mr. Wang but were instead posted on his website by visitors. Mr. Wang’s conviction stems from a recent order of the Chinese Communist Party to “sternly suppress ‘enemy efforts.’” Source: News.bbc.co.uk. Barbara Streisand Sues Website for Privacy Violation Claiming her right to privacy has been violated, Barbara Streisand has filed a $10 million lawsuit against a California man, claiming a picture he took violates California’s “anti-paparazzi” law. Silicon Valley millionaire and environmentalist Ken Adelman photographed the entire California coastline from a small helicopter, taking one picture every 500 feet, and posted the 12,200 photos on his website www.californiacoastline.org. The effort was intended to document violations of coastal building laws, as well as erosion and other natural changes, but Streisand argues that Adelman did not ask permission to take a photo of her house which is identified on his website. Streisand, who has identified herself with environmental causes, has said that she wants $10 million for the objectionable invasion of her privacy, which she says she will donate to charity. A First Amendment attorney in California opined that Streisand has about a zero chance of winning and cannot fathom why she even filed the suit. Source: Bayarea.com. Four High Schoolers Expelled Over Explicit Internet Photo Four high school students in the St. Louis, Missouri area have been expelled following the delivery and resending of an explicit photo of one of the four students. Three freshman boys were expelled after receiving a revealing photo of a female classmate who was also expelled. Operating from their home computers, but using their schools email server, the students were expelled for violating a student handbook which prohibits the “downloading and or distributing of inappropriate material.” The parents of at least one of the boys have retained legal counsel regarding the expulsions. Source: Stltoday.com. |
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