|
September 2003 Volume 4, Issue 8
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. |
 ® |
|
|
Website Showing Tricks with Zippo Lighters Shut Down Zippo Manufacturing recently shut down the company-sponsored Website “Zippotricks.com” after receiving numerous safety concerns and complaints from fire safety officials. The company’s Website featured 555 flaming tricks that could be performed with Zippo lighters. Approximately 25 fire safety professionals had written Zippo expressing concern that the promotion of fire tricks with the Zippo lighters would encourage young people to light up with Zippos. The company also said that it would be canceling a 10 city “Hot Tour” which featured the flaming tricks being demonstrated by two professional showmen. Source: Washingtonpost.com. British Ministry of Defense Loses Hundreds of LaptopsIn a recent review, the British Ministry of Defense discovered that 1 in 17 key public sector workers have either lost or had their laptops stolen. Almost all of those with missing laptops did not use any type of encryption to protect sensitive information. The Ministry of Defense believes there are hundreds of government laptops with potentially sensitive information that is missing. The government review was triggered when the then Armed Forces Minister had his non-encrypted laptop stolen from his home and an MI Six Officer lost his after leaving the laptop in a taxi after a night out. Source: News.bbc.co.uk.\ Over 250 Wi-Fi “Hot Spots” to be Opened in SeattleCometa Networks, Inc. recently announced that it plans to have more than 250 locations in Seattle, Washington offering Wi-Fi service by the end of 2003. Laptops with Wi-Fi adaptors will be able to receive free high-speed Internet access in those locations. These locations will include approximately 50 McDonald’s restaurants, 12 Barnes & Noble bookstores, 40 Telly’s Coffee shops and other public venues. Source: The Wall Street Journal. FBI Arrest Man in “Misspelling” Porn SchemeThe Federal Bureau of Investigation recently arrested John Zuccarini who has registered thousands of Internet addresses and was reportedly earning over $1 million per year from these addresses. The individual Web site exploited misspellings by computer users looking for children’s sites, including Disneyland and the “Teletubbies.com” site. Instead, with an omitted or transposed letter, computer users usually ended up on a pornography Website run by Zuccarini. The Web users would then be trapped at the site through a technique called “mouse trapping” which sends popup ads when Web surfers click the “back” button on their browser or try to close their windows altogether. Zuccarini is being held without bail by a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is being charged with a violation of the new Amber Alert legislation which makes it a crime to use misleading Internet addresses to draw children to pornography. Source: The Associated Press. Library Workers Receive Settlement Regarding Internet PornographyMinneapolis library officials recently agreed to pay $435,000 to 12 librarians who alleged that their library patrons’ access to Internet pornography created a hostile work environment. The lawyer representing the librarians said winning money was not the goal but that a sufficient payment was necessary so that library officials elsewhere would take their staff’s complaints seriously. The librarians also said that the ability for certain patrons to access the pornography on the library computers created great concern, as other patrons including many children were also exposed to the graphic material, both from screens and printouts. Source: WCCO.com. James Bond Star Wins Internet Website BattleJames Bond actor Pierce Brosnan brought a case in front of the World Intellectual Property Organization against an infamous cyber squatter named Jeff Burgar. Burgar had acquired the Web site “PierceBrosnan.com” and redirected traffic to a commercial Web site. The ruling stated that Burgar used the domain name in bad faith and continues a string of losses by Burgar in cases including singer Celine Dion, rock group Pearl Jam, and former Baywatch beauty Pamela Anderson. Source: Reuters.com. |
||
