16.10.10 Weekly Cyber-Law News Round-Up

Another exciting week in the world of cyber-law with BT & Talk Talk being granted judicial review in relation to the Digital Economy Act, many proposals for legal measures from the Commission/Parliament relating to data protection and privacy, and the Parliament`s objection to the use of trademarks as Adwords. CyberPanda wonders what the impact of this opposition will mean in practice when it comes to the laws relating to keywords. Here is my personal pick of the week:

Copyright

·         Larry Lessig Calls For #WIPO To Lead Overhaul Of #Copyright System | IP Watch http://bit.ly/9qAHtp

·         Court Recognizes That DMCA Process Goes Against Basic Copyright Concepts” http://bit.ly/dos8eu

Digital Economy Act

·         Court grants fourth ground for Digital Economy review http://is.gd/h9rzM

·         Future of Digital Economy Act 'in limbo' until next year, say lawyers http://ow.ly/38j13

·         BT & TalkTalk granted judicial review of Digital Economy Act- what does it mean for file sharers? http://bit.ly/92lvxf

Data Protection & Privacy

·         Call to enforce EC strategy for data protection http://ow.ly/3a3IS #dataprotection #in

·         Summary of Draft Department of Commerce Privacy Green Paper http://ow.ly/3a2RK

·         Facebook, Background Checks and Job Applications http://bit.ly/9yyhN5 #privacy

·         Police recruits screened for digital dirt on Facebook, etc. http://usat.ly/avu0uQ #privacy

·         Swedes' emails to be stored for six months http://ht.ly/38lH2

·         Comparative Chart: Divergencies between Data Protection Laws in the EU. http://bit.ly/c0jbCp

·         Dangers of the Commission`s proposal to include the right to be forgotten in data protection laws http://ow.ly/38J6r

·         European Parliament proposes tough behavioural ad rules http://ow.ly/38j4c

·         Information Commissioner says new laws that impact on privacy should undergo post-legislative scrutiny http://bit.ly/cR1Jdj

·         ECJ holds unqualified legal requirement to disclose personal data on website violates right to privacy and data... http://j.mp/9nXWAC

Censorship

·         Palestinian blogger arrested for criticism of Islam on Facebook - Global Voices Advocacy - http://goo.gl/qUao6 #censorship

Unfair Competition

·         European Parliament joins French traders in opposing use of rival brands as keywords http://ow.ly/39QkR

Weekly Cyber-Law News Round-Up

What a week it has been!! Here are my personal picks of the highlights of last week`s news which relate to internet law. As always privacy and intellectual property issues are dominating the legal landscape of cyber-law news!

Google

Intellectual Property · Google clarifies AdWords policy to satisfy French competition regulator http://bit.ly/atAR6g · Google's 'copied Java code' disowned by Apache #androidlawsuit http://ow.ly/32pPL · Great and thorough analysis of Viacom v YouTube and impact of safe harbour #copyright #DMCA #Viacom= #YouTube #in http://ow.ly/30Jtk · Google Goes After YouTubeSocial For #Trademark Infringement Streetview · UK MPs question Google over Street View data breaches #privacy #in http://ow.ly/32pV7 · MPs accuse Google on wi-fi data http://bbc.in/aOjlTC · FTC sends letter to Google - drops Google WiFi case, but tells Google its privacy processes are inadequate #privacy http://bit.ly/aPEQcL · Google says its cars grabbed e-mails, passwords http://ow.ly/2Zpnj #privacy · Italy Orders #Google To Clearly Label Street View Cars, Advertise Routes http://ow.ly/2Zpjn · Regulators closing in on Google http://ow.ly/2ZsLf #StreetView #privacy · Google investigated over household data privacy breaches by ICO http://ow.ly/2YLpq YouTube · Turkey lifts two-year ban on YouTube #censorship #regionalblocking http://ow.ly/32pVY · Great and thorough analysis of Viacom v YouTube and impact of safe harbour #copyright #DMCA #Viacom= #YouTube #in http://ow.ly/30Jtk · Google Goes After YouTubeSocial For #Trademark Infringement

Facebook

Privacy · Facebook app developers sold user info http://ow.ly/32q21 #privacy #in · Facebook locks down private user data after app controversy #privacy #in http://ow.ly/32pSA · Court Orders Disclosure of Facebook and MySpace Passwords in Personal Injury Case · Facebook Allows Users To Turn Off Group Chat http://ow.ly/2ZpvT · Firesheep Exposes Flaw In #Facebook Log-In Security http://ow.ly/2Zptw #security Intellectual Property · Facebook Files for #Patent on Inferential Ad Targeting http://ow.ly/30Jm8 · Facebook comes down hard on Faceporn for #trademark infringement http://ow.ly/2YLk2

Limewire

· As LimeWire Shuts Its Doors, Other P2P Clients See a Surge in Usage #copyright #in #filesharing http://ow.ly/32pWO · Limewire shuts down after receiving permanent injunction #copyright http://ow.ly/308HB

Other Intellectual Property News

· Twitter Issues New Guidelines for the Tweet Trademark http://ow.ly/32pXh #trademark #in · Apple sues Motorola over smartphone #patents http://ow.ly/32pQH · Taiwanese company threatens Apple with legal action over iPad name #trademark http://ow.ly/30J6r

Other Privacy News

· Berlin Privacy Commissioner Dix proposes principle of Anonymization and Pseudonymization. #OECD30 #privacy · #EFF Urges EU Data Protection Authorities to Call for the Repeal of the EU Data Retention Directive http://ow.ly/2ZpfB #dataretention

Personal Jurisdiction

· Email and phone contacts help to establish personal jurisdiction in US case VEDICSOFT v. MILLENNIUM CONSULTING http://bit.ly/9lTaZ6

Defamation

· Hoteliers Look to Shield Themselves From Dishonest Online Reviews http://ow.ly/2Zpq4

Cyber-Warfare

· Emergency Powers in Cyberspace http://ow.ly/32pRE #cyber-warfare · US Air Force #cyberwarfare manual goes public http://ow.ly/2ZpiB

Weekly Cyber-Law News Round

Wow this week has flown by so quickly: where did it all go?!! It has been quite exciting week in terms of legal developments in the area of cyberspace. The usual suspects are in the news: Google Street View, Facebook, piracy, and privacy. But it has also been a week of great significance for copyright laws in the UK (adoption of the Gallo report), and some surprising developments in trademarks law (woman claiming trademark protection for her name).

My pick of the top cyber-law news for this week in descending chronological order:

• Legal row over who can use the word 'pod' #Apple #USPatentOffice http://tinyurl.com/36gcvqw

• Channel islanders attack Street View car http://tinyurl.com/3yy5kck

• US Senate considers update to Electronic Communications #Privacy Act http://bit.ly/9prdfQ

• Spanish court rules that #YouTube is nt liable 4 breach of #copyright re YouTube/#Telecinco copyright dispute http://tinyurl.com/2fmx23z

• Facebook Ends Conversion Tracking For Ads http://tinyurl.com/2e55a9h

• Google tackles rogue pharmacies in court #consumer protection http://tinyurl.com/33zf5pp

• EU Parliament adopt #Gallo Report on pan-European #copyright laws http://tinyurl.com/2ueykrw

• Proposed US law could force ISPs to block websites on piracy allegations http://tinyurl.com/34k935z

• Ontario Privacy Commissioner says Facebook has addressed privacy concerns http://tinyurl.com/295ywcy

• Google's 'Street View' banned for privacy invasion Czech Republic's privacy watchdog says Google http://bit.ly/cgJrA9

• Lawsuits Filed Over “Zombie” Cookies http://tinyurl.com/3966lop #privacy

• US Autodesk decision gives software company the tool to prevent the resale of licensed software by unauthorised third parties http://tinyurl.com/33u2bev #in

• Google's new Transparency Report logs government requests for personal info, takedown requests and blocking: http://bit.ly/dueLKf
  

• Lawyers Sued Over Blog Posts Criticizing Referral Hotline for Personal Injury Cases http://is.gd/flsUg

• Street View prompts privacy code in Germany http://tinyurl.com/3xsfmwq

• Code That Tracks Users’ Browsing Prompts Lawsuits http://tinyurl.com/39dl8lj

• Online hotel bookings to be probed for price-fixing by OFT http://tinyurl.com/33jr89p

• HP and Oracle settle dispute over Mark Hurd #confidentiality http://tinyurl.com/342wlvy

• Woman Trademarks Her Name, Says No One Can Use It Without Her Permission http://ow.ly/2GSXx

• Germany opposes Google Street View switch-on http://tinyurl.com/3xsfmwq

Hope you guys enjoy the new weekly cyber-law news round!

Sequel to Wilson v Yahoo UK Ltd & Anor.

The attention of CyberPanda has been caught by the recent lawsuit filed by Interflora against Marks & Spencer and Flowers Direct Online. Interflora has filed the lawsuit against the two defendants on the ground on trademark infringement. The two defendants have purchased certain keywords from Google AdWords including 'interflora' which means that each time a user searches for the term 'interflora', it is directed to the sponsored links to the website of Marks and Spencer and Flowers Direct.

The lawsuit is reminiscent of the recent case of Wilson v. Yahoo! UK Ltd & Anor [2008] EWHC 361 (Ch) which was dimissed by the High Court earlier this year on the grounds that pruchase of the keywords 'Mr Spicy' by Yahoo! did not infringe the rights of the owner of the trademark 'Mr Spicy.' This case was covered in detail by CyberPanda in an earlier publication.

It will be interesting to see whether the Courts will adopt a similar line taken by the High Court in Wilson v. Yahoo or whether this present case will be distinguished from Wilson. The present case has the potential of being a landmark hearing if it is distinguished from Wilson on either a factual or doctrinal ground.

The overnight metamorphosis of Scrabulous.

Following the lawsuit filed by Hasbro, which was reported on this e,arlier last week, (the owner of Scrabble`s rights in the US and Canada), the creators of Scrabulous have uploaded a more novel version of Scrabulous on Facebook, namely, Wordscraper.

A number of changes have been incorporated in the new game other than the name change in an attempt to avoid liability including circular word tiles, re-arrangements of the scores of the tiles, and introduction of tiles earning quadruple

points.

It will be interesting to see whether the Courts will rule that these changes are sufficient for the owners of Scrabulous to escape copyright/trademark infringement liability.

Latest case relating to keywords and sponsored links in the US.

My attention has been caught by the newly filed lawsuit in the US of Rosetta Stone Ltd v Rocket Languages Ltd. The Claimant (or Plaintiff to use the correct US terminology) alleges that the Defendants have infringed her trademark on the grounds that the Defendants (which are competitors of the Plaintiff) use the mark 'Rosetta Stone' as keywords for sponsored links on search engine technologies (e.g. Yahoo and Google).

The Claimant also alleges that the Defendants have damaged the mark itself by various advertisements as “Rosetta Spanish A Scam?” or “Read These Reviews Before Buying Rosetta Spanish!” The Claimant makes a few more allegations and they have been very adequately covered by Evan Brown in his post of the 16th July 2008. I do not propose to rehash these here.

As always the US is miles ahead of us and has taken a very decisive stance against the infringement of trademarks in the context of sponsored links and keywords. I would not be surprised if this case was again decided in the favour of the Claimant and it would be the right decision on the basis of the pleadings filed so far.

However, it brings the question of where the law on keywords and sponsored links is heading to in the UK. The relatively recent ruling of the High Court in the case of Wilson v Yahoo has confirmed that there is no trademark infringement even in cases where a keyword identical to a the trademark of a third party is used by an advertiser in relation to identical goods or services as long as such use does not affect the interest of the owner of the trademark, bearing in mind the function of the trademark (ie. guarantee of origin). This has led to a relaxation of the policy of search engine providers as Google and to the commercialisation of keywords which are identical to brands or trademarks in the UK. Of course, this is completely unsatisfactory and i think serious thought should be given to the evolution of the law on keywords and sponsored links in the UK. CyberPanda is anxiously awaiting the decision of the ECJ on 3 recent french cases (Google v Louis Vuiton Malletier etc) raising this very same issue.