7 4 April 2005

News:

High demand for broadband Internet access and increased advertiser confidence have pushed the Internet’s advertising market share beyond that of radio for the first time.

The Gambling Act received Royal Assent at the beginning of April after last minute haggling between the Government and the Opposition resulted in a compromise deal over the controversial proposals for regional casinos.

The entertainment industry has launched a co-ordinated global assault on illegal file-sharing. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) filed a new wave of criminal and civil legal actions on 13 April against major “uploaders” - individuals who put hundreds of copyrighted songs on to the internet file-sharing networks without the permission of the copyright owners.

Features:

Royal Assent for the Gambling Act has underpinned growing interest and enthusiasm for the remote gambling market in the City.

EU Top Level Domain Names - European Parliament gives green light for adoption of Unfair Commercial Practices Directive - Possible re-introduction of Identity Card Bill after General Election - Gambling Bill receives Royal Assent - Patent Office launches training package to aid fight against IP crime - EU under pressure to produce common rules on data storage - Dates for your diaries

The European Court of Justice, by limiting consumers’ rights to cancel bookings, has issued its first ruling under the Distance Selling Directive and ended the long-running legal dispute between easyCar and the UK’s Office of Fair Trading. Claire Walker, Professional Support Lawyer at Olswang, explains why it is good news for the online travel industry and the leisure industry as a whole.

Although many stories surrounding internet crime are exaggerated, online gaming fraud remains a problem for the industry. In this article David Abbot, CEO Secure Trading Group, offers his views on minimising the problem

Since it came fully into force on 1 January 2005, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) has constantly been in the news. Virtually all the coverage given to FOIA has concentrated on newspapers and pressure groups seeking to obtain information on present and past government decisions. However, FOIA is more than merely a weapon to be used by the media against the government; as Mark Bowman, a solicitor at Field Fisher Waterhouse explains, it is also a potentially important business intelligence tool that can be used in a number of ways.

The UK regulator OFCOM is currently negotiating what may be one of the most influential settlements in the UK: a deal which may permanently alter the £60 billion UK telecommunications market. Simon Muys, regulatory lawyer at Olswang, analyses its implications and the problems facing future regulation.

EU Framework Decision on attacks against information systems - EU Parliament approves draft Unfair Commercial Practices Directive - EU to review its policy on retention of communications data - EC reports on simplifying DP notification/ registration requirements - EU Council passes Software Patent Directive

Spam: Jesse Riddle v Celebrity Cruises Inc. - Copyright: Navitaire Inc. v (1) Easyjet Airline Co & (2) Bullet Proof Technologies Inc. - Consumer Credit: The Office of Fair Trading v. (1) Lloyds TSB Bank plc (2) Tesco Personal Finance Ltd (3) American Express Services Europe Ltd.