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September 2002 Volume 3, Issue 9
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 Jason
Sprenkle Myrtle Beach Contact Franklin
Daniels Columbia Contact Mark Dukes Greenville Contact Marvin
Quattlebaum William
Herlong Munich Contact Stefan Lode 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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“Junk” Fax Lawsuits Filed for $2.2 Trillion Dollars Two lawsuits have been filed in California’s state and federal courts by a group of California activists who are seeking $2.2 trillion dollars against facsimile marketer FAX.com. The plaintiffs are seeking class action status along with punitive damages and claim that millions of junk faxes are being sent annually in violation of federal laws prohibiting unsolicited advertisements. The plaintiffs claim that the faxes are clogging the nation’s fax machines, disrupting communications and possibly endangering lives. In a recent decision, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a fine against FAX.com in the amount of $5.38 million dollars for a separate claim of sending unsolicited advertisements. In the California lawsuits, the plaintiffs seek a minimum statutory remedy of $500 per fax sent over the past four years and treble damages of $1,500 per unsolicited fax. Also named as defendants are a division of Cox Communications, Inc. and the advertisers whose faxes have been sent by FAX.com. Credit: nytimes.com Internet Security Consultants Invade Military Computers A group of security consultants, who were inexperienced but were using widely available software roamed at will through sensitive military and government computers this summer without approval. The consultants work for ForensicTec Solutions, Inc., a four-month-old security company. The consultants found confidential files containing military procedures and personnel records and financial data, and on one computer at Fort Hood, Texas, they were able to access an air support squadrons “smart book.” The book contained detailed radio encryption techniques, the use of laser targeting systems and other sensitive information. The consultants also accessed a NASA computer with information on NASA vendors. The company made its findings public in an effort to help the government identify the problems. A spokesman said, “We were shocked and almost scared by how easy it was to get in.” Army officials confirmed some of the intrusions but claim none of the material available was classified as top secret. Nevertheless, the U.S. government continues the struggle to prevent cyber terrorists from posing a threat. A General Accounting Office report recently stated that the government’s efforts to secure its networks just was not adequate at this time. Other consultants worry that intruders could enter supposedly secure networks and place a virus or Trojan Horse program that could migrate from PC to PC. The Army promised a new effort to require that all shared computer files be protected by passwords. Credit: washingtonpost.com Australian Brothels Forced to Slow Risqué Internet Advertising An Australian law was recently passed that restricts brothel Web sites from displaying full-body images of women or explicit menus of available services. The government took this action after a dispute with Melbourne’s Daily Planet brothel convinced regulators that a change in the law was needed. The Daily Planet’s manager defended its Web site as “tasteful”, however, a government spokesperson said that these Web sites would be examined constantly to ensure compliance with the new rules and that offenders would be “rigorously prosecuted.” Credit: smh.com.au China Blocks Access to Google’s Search Engine With a major Communist Party congress being held in November, government officials have severely tightened media controls in an effort to create what propaganda officials call a “sound atmosphere” for the meeting. As part of this restrictive stance, China has blocked the popular Internet search engine Google from being accessed by China’s estimated 45 million Internet users. Google is hugely popular in China and is used approximately 100 times more than the second leading search engine, possibly because Google refuses to block material that the government feels is subversive. While China has been a promoter of its citizens using the Internet for economic reasons, it has often sought to stop the Internet from being a forum for information and discussion. One technology analyst said that it may take a while, but techniques for reaching the blocked sites will probably be developed as “the restrictions only make people more creative.” Credit: bayarea.com “Deadbeat Bidders” Anger eBay The problem of disappearing auction winners seems to be worsening on the online auction Web site eBay. Auctions are ruined if the winning bidder doesn’t pay and eBay’s general policy has been to suspend any bidder after three such incidents. Nonetheless, the deadbeat bidders merely have to register under a new name to enter the auction process again. Recently over $1 million in Cisco Systems hardware auctions have been ruined after the high bidders refused to pay. Three avid eBay sellers recently said that their rate of “deadbeat bidders” varies between 5 percent and 15 percent each month. An eBay spokesman said they are working on the problem but they do not believe it is as widespread as estimated. Credit: msnbc.com Two Recent Fourth Circuit Cases on Domain Names Worry Some Two decisions from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided on August 23, 2002 have added significant foundation to the argument that dot-com domain name disputes will be decided in Virginia. If a dot-com domain name registrant lives outside the United States, according to the court’s recent decisions, Virginia’s courts have jurisdiction in matters covering trademark and cyber squatting issues, namely trademark infringement, trademark dilution and domain name registration in bad faith. These cases will be heard in Virginia because that is where the domain name registry for dot-com is located. Registrants who have a dot-com domain name but live outside Virginia are being viewed in these court cases as absentee owners of property situated in Virginia. Thus, according to these recent court cases, Virginia’s courts can exercise jurisdiction over disputes involving that dot-com domain name. These cases will certainly give pause to foreign domain name owners as they are much more likely than before to find themselves in a Virginia court charged with a trademark or cyber squatting violation. Credit: theregister.co.uk Students Tricked Into Providing Private Information A New York company, Student Marketing Group, promised to help students obtain cash for college. New York State investigators allege in a lawsuit that the company was actually running a scam which exposed the personal information of students attempting to secure scholarships. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, alleges that nearly 100,000 students across New York had their personal information sold by Student Marketing Group to other companies who wanted to sell their products to teenagers. SMG claimed it was a non-profit, educational research center and asked teachers across the state to distribute to their students surveys that would assist the students with their scholarship applications. Credit: abclocal.geo.com
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