9 7 July 2007

News:

The Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SABAM) is considering further legal action against Internet Service Providers (ISPs), following a ruling that Belgian ISP Scarlet Extended Ltd. (formerly Tiscali) should block internet users from illegally sharing music files using P2P software.

The UK's Information Commissioner has called on business and public sector leaders to take their employee and customer data security obligations more seriously following a number of 'unacceptable 'data breaches.

European spending on online marketing is set to top €16 billion in the next five years, more than double the €7.5 billion spent in 2006, according to a report by Forrester Research.

Features:

A recent US district court decision has mandated that a website retain and present user data temporarily stored in the RAM of its servers, rejecting the defendant's arguments on privacy policies, constitutional issues and conflicts of laws. In this article, Michael Vatis, a partner in the New York office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, sets out the court's findings and its wider implications for companies that conduct business online.

Following recent political consensus on the likely form of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, designed to regulate all mass-media services in the EU, its provisions are expected to be implemented by member states by the end of 2009. In this article, Victoria Gaskell, an associate at Olswang, sets out the provisions of the directive and its industry implications.

The ongoing US case of Bragg v Linden is generating wide analysis and attention for its dealings with the novel issue of ownership of virtual property in virtual worlds. In this article, Candidus Dougherty, Adjunct Professor at Rutgers School of Law in New Jersey, examines the issues and developments in the case, whilst speculating that the actions of the court so far, suggest that it could be acknowledging the existence of virtual property rights.

Companies have begun to market services which claim to mask the true identity of internet users, by exchanging their IP address. Lisa Comber and Oliver Staple, of Faegre & Benson LLP, explore if these services can protect individuals from enquiries by law enforcement agencies, and if companies offering IP masking services could find themselves liable for encouraging a user to commit illegal activity on the internet.

While UK law prohibits the resale of tickets for football matches, the London 2012 Olympic Games and events of 'national importance', it is currently not illegal to resell tickets for concerts. Charlotte Harris, an associate with George Davies LLP, explains how a cottage industry purchasing concert tickets as soon as they are available for resale online is emerging, and highlights the dangers that this poses to consumers.

Christopher Rees, Head of the Herbert Smith LLP Global TMT group and Dominic Callaghan, senior associate, provide an overview of the latest key developments in IT and eCommerce in the EU.

Copyright: Perfect 10 v Google
Law of Confidence: Douglas v Hello!
Domain names: Playboy Enterprises v Trevor Hughes