Click the play button below to listen, or click here to subscribe to us on iTunes!

Here are the show notes for this week’s episode:

Shownotes for The Singularity Law Podcast: Episode 4 for October 19, 2008

Our Panel for Today:

• Josh Kagan, author of The Josh Kagan Blog
• Prof. Michael Scott of The Singularity Law Blog

DRM and Activation in Video Games

• EA’s CEO speaks to Gamasutra about DRM.
• Ars Technica: EA’s DRM, arrogance may cause gamers to skip good titles

Anonymity on the Internet

• Anonymous proxy servers: Necessary or evil?
• The growing cowardice of online anonymity
• UK/Germany: “Disclosing Encryption Keys and IP Addresses
• Men defamed on dating sites
• Josh Kagan: JuicyCampus and the Limits of Section 230
• The Internet as Conduit for Hatred & Violence
• Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones

Google and YouTube refuse to grant special DMCA treatment to McCain Campaign Videos

• McCain Campaign’s Letter to Google/YouTube
• Ars Technica: McCain/Palin campaign angry over bogus DMCA takedowns
• YouTube to McCain: No special treatment for DMCA takedowns
• Judge Rules That Content Owners Must Consider Fair Use Before Sending Takedowns | Watch the video here
• Massive Takedown of Anti-Scientology Videos on YouTube
• Bogus anti-Scientology DMCA notices sent to YouTube linked to Wikipedia user

Cybersquatters: The Hidden Trademark Danger

• Trademark Owners Must Pursue Cybersquatters or Potentially Lose Their Trademark Rights
• Southern Grouts & Mortars, Inc. v. 3M Co., 2008 WL 4346798 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 17, 2008)
• Southern Grouts and Mortars v. 3M Co., Second Amended Complaint

The Elephant is in the Library: Digital Libraries Online

• Universities launch elephantine digital library

Final Thoughts: Can a record label infringe its own copyright? One hosting provider thinks so.

Click the play button below to listen, or click here to subscribe to us on iTunes!

Here are the show notes for this week’s episode:

Shownotes for The Singularity Law Podcast: Episode 3 for October 12, 2008

Our Panel for Today:

• Josh Kagan, author of The Josh Kagan Blog
• Prof. Michael Scott of The Singularity Law Blog
• Tigran Palyan, author of “Common Law Privacy in a Not So Common World: Prospects for the Tort of Intrusion upon Seclusion in Virtual Worlds”

Privacy in Virtual Worlds – Tigran tells Michael and Josh about his new article

• “Common Law Privacy in a Not So Common World: Prospects for the Tort of Intrusion upon Seclusion in Virtual Worlds” by Tigran Palyan

Kentucky Seizes Gambling Domains

• Ars Technica: “Kentucky seizes two gambling domains, sites fight back”
• Ars Technica: “Kentucky tries to seize gambling site domain name”

Talking Point of the Week: A EULA to End All EULAs

• BoingBoing: “Sleeping Beauty Blu-Ray requires viewers to agree to 57 page EULA”

Of course, this is nothing new. When the computer law field was just getting started, the courts were all over the place on many significant issues – such as where to draw the line between protectable expression and unprotectable ideas under copyright law. Such cases as Whelan v. Jaslow [Whelan Assoc. v. Jaslow Dental Lab, Inc., 797 F.2d 1222, 230 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 481 (3d Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1031 (1987)] and the lower court decision in Lotus v. Borland [Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland Int’l, Inc., 831 F. Supp. 202, 30 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1081 (D. Mass. 1993), rev’d, 49 F.3d 807, 34 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1014 (1st Cir. 1995), aff’d by equally divided court, 516 U.S. 233 (1996)] created significant uncertainties as to what aspects of computer software could be protected by copyright. Those decisions caused much consternation in the software development field, particularity for those who were developing competitive software for popular applications. While the courts finally sorted out the issues, a number of promising start-ups were unable to get funding and some established software developers shied away from developing compatible applications due to the fear of litigation.

There are many examples of different courts providing different decisions in the cyber law field. For example, the courts are split on whether a search engine’s sale of trademarked terms as keywords is a “use in commerce,” and therefore a trademark infringement, or not. While not important for most of us, it can be a key issue in whether a new search engine company gets funding, or whether investors buy or sell Google stock.

Consistency and predictability are critical issues in the growth of the Internet and electronic commerce. The conflicting results in court may make for interesting discussions in newsletter and online forums, but do not provide the certainty that companies need to move forward.