StateWatch.org reports that the Commissioners’ stated: “Where traffic data are to be retained in specific cases, there must therefore be a demonstrable need, the period of retention must be as short as possible and the practice must be clearly regulated by law, in a way that provides sufficient safeguards against unlawful access and any other abuse. Systematic retention of all kinds of traffic data for a period of one year or more would be clearly disproportionate and therefore unacceptable in any case.”
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Daily Archives: September 16, 2002
Royalty Rates for Webcasters Under Review
This Federal Register notice for comments from the Copyright Office, with a closing period of September 16, 2002, deals with addressing claims for royalties on copyrighted music that is webcast. Continue Reading
Comparison Shopping Sites and Deep Linking Controversy
The use of crawlers (automated index tools) to mine data from web sites to create market comparison shopping services for subscribers is the focus of this Wall Street Journal article, Are Bots Legal?. An example of such a service is Bargain.com , whose home page proclaims, “Never Pay Retail Again!.” Users may search through categories… Continue Reading
Protecting Fair Use Rights in the Digital World
DigitalConsumer.org is an advocacy group (that states a membership of 44,000) that is promoting a Consumer Technology Bill of Rights that supports the right of consumers to use their PCs to make and view copies of digital content (CDs, DVD’s, TV broadcasts) for personal use. The site links to current news on files sharing, copyright… Continue Reading
UNC Wins Trademark Infringement Case
Judge William S. Ostten of the U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, decided in favor of the University of North Carolina in a trademark case against Jack R. Erickson. Mr Erickson ran a now defunct porn website that infringed on the university’s trademark, UNC. Continue Reading
California Privacy Bill Awaits Signature of Governor
S.B. 1614 would preclude the sale or distribution on the Internet of birth and death records created and maintained by state agencies. Continue Reading
Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act
Various flavors of privacy legislation are before state and federal legislators, no doubt spurred on by the PATRIOT Act. Awaiting a vote by the House this month is H.R. 4561 which would “require that (federal) agencies, in promulgating rules, take into consideration the impact of such rules on the privacy of individuals.” Continue Reading
