Intellectual Property Law

Google to remove ?Revenge Porn? from Search Results

Posted on June 20, 2015
I’m glad to see that Google is removing “Revenge Porn” from its search results. It won’t remove the images from the websites themselves, of course, but it should help to remove some of the angst that victims of this crime suffer...

Twittering Away

Posted on December 05, 2014
I’ve been busy with the new job, and enjoying all the challenges life has to bring, so I have not posted here in a while. I’d certainly planned to, but something always came up. I have been more active on Twitter than anywhere else, posting links to interesting articles...

New adventure

Posted on June 30, 2014
I’ve recently switched law firms, so my contact information has changed. I’m very happy to be with Ladas & Parry LLP as part of their Chicago office. The firm has been around for over 100 years, and has a strong international presence...

The New Frontier Begins

Posted on October 23, 2013
And so it begins… ICANN is delegating its first new domains under its expansion of the gTLD system. Admittedly, these domains are in foreign languages, but that does not diminish the changing nature of these domains upon the landscape. The four strings delegated are: – ???? (xn--ngbc5azd) ? Arabic for “web/network” Registry: International Domain Registry […]

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Trademark Clearinghouse, ReDigi, and More First Sale Doctrine Issues

Posted on April 05, 2013
Here’s a link to my post on the firm’s blog about the new Trademark Clearinghouse that is coming online for use with the new top level domains: http://blog.davismcgrath.com/2013/04/05/using-the-trademark-clearinghouse-for-the-new-gtlds/ I’ve been meaning to write my own post regarding the ReDigi case, but in the meantime here are links to two good ones by Venkat Balasubramani and […]

Slides from CBA Presentation on COPPA

Posted on February 19, 2013
Here are my slides from today’s presentation to the Chicago Bar Association’s Cyberlaw and Data Privacy Committee on the amendments effective July 1, 2013 to the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Slides – Thompson – COPPA Update [PDF] The FTC’s Final Rule can be found here- FTC Final Amended COPPA Rule [PDF] For more […]

TWIL 194 ? ?When Laws Get Weird?

Posted on January 25, 2013
I was pleased to be a guest on This Week In Law last week, Episode #194, entitled “When Laws Get Weird.” Special thanks to Denise Howell, Evan Brown, and Lisa Borodkin for a great discussion on Aaron Swartz, Internet defamation, editorial independence, and more.

Webinar Recordings

Posted on January 17, 2013
Here are some recent webinar recordings that I’ve done for my firm’s IP Webinar series that should be of interest to most of you: Trademarks and the Likelihood of Confusion IP Rights Enforcement in Social Media Photographers and Copyright The Right of Publicity

Online Defamation Webinar Recording

Posted on September 13, 2012
Here is the recording of my September 5, 2012 webinar on Online Defamation as part of my firm’s IP Webinar series. Illinois MCLE credit is available for viewing the recording.

The Internet Defense League is Forming

Posted on July 19, 2012
It is with some interest that I am watching the development of a movement to better mobilize the Internet (like those who defeated SOPA and PIPA) – the Internet Defense League. I’ve signed up as a member myself, but I have currently declined to let them use my blog as a place to display alerts […]

Blawg Review #295

Posted on January 24, 2011
Welcome to a special “Cyberlaw” edition of the weekly carnival of legal blogging, Blawg Review! I am honored to host, especially since today, January 24, 2011, is a special day. It’s the 27th anniversary of the first sales of the Apple Macintosh [I'm writing this on a Macbook Pro, the best laptop I've yet owned]...

?John Doe? Filesharing Lawsuits

Posted on January 04, 2011
As I wrote in a post on our firm blog back in December, I have been answering lots of questions from those receiving notices from their ISP relating to lawsuits over the filesharing of copyrighted material with the BitTorrent protocol. For those seeking more information, the EFF has a great page of subpoena defense resources [...

Recent Quotes and Updates

Posted on November 11, 2010
I was quoted in a November 3, 2010 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article on International trademark scams. For the full text of the article, see the post at our Firm blog. From Twitter, here are some recent links of interest: - Saving to read later: The Great Cyberheist – http://is...

This Week in Law and Other Updates

Posted on October 19, 2010
I was a guest on the This Week in Law podcast #82 with hosts Denise Howell and Evan Brown, with the other guest being John Bergmayer of Public Knowledge. It was fun! The video and audio can be downloaded from http://twit.tv/twil82 Here are some other recent updates from Twitter: - For the first time ever, [...

Twitterview by @22twts

Posted on September 24, 2010
On Thursday, September 23, 2010 I was pleased to be interviewed by Lance Godard of @22twts. 22twts interviews practicing lawyers over Twitter. The transcript of the interview can be found here. Thanks again, Lance, for the opportunity. Related Posts:Towel Day Tweetup – May 25, 2010Recent @cyberlaw posts on TwitterLooking forward to Techshow 2008!Professor Lessig on [...

Post on Firm blog ? Six Considerations for Trademark Due Diligence

Posted on September 13, 2010
An article I wrote with Marsha K. Hoover of our firm has been posted to our firm blog, entitled “Six Considerations for Trademark Due Diligence.” I encourage normal readers of this blog who are also interested in trademark practice to check it out...

ACLU challenges Suspicionless Laptop Border Searches

Posted on September 07, 2010
Today, the ACLU and related parties filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the U.S. Government’s policy of allowing suspicionless searches and seizures of laptops and other electronic devices at the border. The allegations include violations of the First and Fourth amendments...

Net Neutrality ? Avoiding the ?Mushy Middle?

Posted on September 02, 2010
Thanks to Techmeme, I saw Craig Aaron’s great article on Huffington Post entitled “Net Neutrality’s New Enemy: The Mythical Mushy Middle.” I recommend you read it, as it does a great job explaining what happens when corporate interests get involved – netizens and those who haven’t taken a side are caught in what he terms [...

Is Copyright law not working for the RIAA?

Posted on August 24, 2010
In the talk I gave on Monday for IICLE on the Viacom v. Google case, one question I posed was how hypothetically to counsel clients in light of the decision and before the appeal is briefed. I posed two hypotheticals: one being a service provider like YouTube, and the other being a content provider...

Register for IICLE webcast ? 8/23/2010 ? Viacom v. Google

Posted on August 18, 2010
I’ll be discussing the recent Viacom v. Google decision on Monday, August 23, 2010 on a webcast for IICLE, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. To register for the webcast, click here. The webcast will be from 12:00 to 1:00 CST, and is accredited for one hour of CLE in Illinois...

Guest on This Week in Law #72

Posted on August 12, 2010
I was pleased to be asked back on Denise Howell‘s excellent show, This Week In Law. The other guests were Alex Macgillivray and Jonathan Bailey. To download Episode 72 in either audio or video formats please follow the link here, or search for the show in iTunes...

Much Ado About Nothing ? Google & Verizon?s Network Neutrality Proposal

Posted on August 12, 2010
I’ve been closely following the Network Neutrality debate for years, and while I am pleased that Google and Verizon have brought the discussion to the forefront in recent days, there has been too much outrage in my humble opinion. Certain facts remain after careful analysis of the joint policy proposal...

FTC v. Trudeau ? Are Emails Within a Judge?s ?Presence??

Posted on May 29, 2010
The recent 7th Circuit opinion in FTC v. Trudeau, No. 10-1383, slip op. (7th Cir. May 20, 2010), raised an interesting cyberlaw issue as a minor point within the larger issue of criminal contempt of court: Just because the Judge receives an email, does that mean the email, as well as the conduct in [...

Towel Day Tweetup ? May 25, 2010

Posted on May 21, 2010
I’m not organizing it, per se, but I promised Ed (pictured below with his towel), to post information about the Tweetup/Blogger Meetup on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010. May 25th is Towel Day every year, in honor of Douglas Adams, so please bring your towels to: Aria Bar, at the Fairmont Chicago hotel 200 North Columbus Drive Chicago, IL 60601 View [...

Are Open Source Toyotas Neutrally Networked?

Posted on May 18, 2010
I was pleased to be asked back on the This Week In Law podcast for Episode #60, entitled “Open Source Toyotas.” Here’s a link to the audio – http://www.twit.tv/twil60. Video is available on Blip. Denise Howell is the host, and guests are myself, Marty Schwimmer, and Xeni Jardin...

Guest on This Week In Law Podcast #59

Posted on May 11, 2010
I was pleased to be asked to participate in the This Week In Law Podcast, Episode #59. The episode is entitled “Praying at the Bar.” The hosts were Denise Howell and Evan Brown, and my co-guest was Marty Schwimmer. It was quite a panel! For the audio and the show notes: http://twit...

Towel Day is May 25th, every year!

Posted on May 05, 2010
Legal bloggers, where are your towels? Last year on Towel Day, I hosted Blawg Review #213. This year, I’ll be participating in a blogger meetup for those attending the SuperConference here in Chicago. For details, see the post here, or follow me on Twitter – @cyberlaw...

Awarding of Attorneys Fees for Copyright Cases Not Automatic

Posted on April 12, 2010
In addition to their costs, the prevailing party in a copyright case may also seek recovery of their attorneys fees, provided that the requirements of the Act are otherwise met. See 17 U.S.C. Section 505, which provides as follows: § 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney’s fees In any civil action under this title, the [...

Standing under the CAN-SPAM Act

Posted on April 02, 2010
The CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. 7701, et seq.) provides a private cause of action for providers of an Internet access service to use against spammers, in addition to the enforcement of the Act by the FTC, states, and other government entities. In order to have standing to bring a case, however, a private plaintiff must first [...

ABA Techshow 2010 ? Roundup of Paperless Office Sessions

Posted on March 31, 2010
I’ll be presenting my thoughts on ABA Techshow 2010 to my CBA Law Practice Management and Technology committee on April 9, 2010 along with our other members who also attended Techshow, but I wanted to also post some of them here. I spent Day 1 in the “Paperless Practice” track, and most were really [...

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