Adsense HTML

Week 5 will cover the three related issues of SPAM, CRIME and PHISHING

You should review the following for some background understanding (as well as the material referred to in the study guide):

Spam

Spam Act

ACMA
IIA Code

Crime

Australian Federal Police

Costs - UK
On the rise - US
Recent case

Phishing

Anti-Phishing

Westpac
SARS

Is legislation or technology/awareness the solution? Which countries have attempted to combat phishing by legislation?
Following on from last week's discussion of Buzz, Google has now been sued by a user - see article.

Internet Jurisdiction

The next class is Internet jurisdiction. In addition to the notes in the Study Guide, please read the following:

Sliding Scale Test:

Zippo case

Effects Test:

Calder v. Jones (US Supreme Court)

Application of Effects Test:


Weather Underground case (and complete court file for this case if interested)


Australian approach:

Dow Jones v. Gutnick (High Court of Australia)

[Defamation - including Internet cases - background information if interested]


Queensland Police information

Could two courts come to an inconsistent result in the same case:
See The Secret litigation
See also prior posts if interested, for example.
One of the article links (Google - Bullying) is redirecting to the wrong article. This is the correct article.
Privacy

We have swapped weeks 3 and 4 of class, so Monday will be all about PRIVACY and will be taught by Carly.

During class we will be talking about a wide range of issues concerning privacy and the internet. To prepare, you can review the following:


Australian law

Office of the Privacy Commissioner - (Includes links to Privacy Act and Privacy Principles)

Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Lenah Game Meat Pty Ltd (2002) 208 CLR 199

Regulation

Internet Industry Association - (see Code of Conduct)

International Rights

Article 17 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Privacy Policies

See for example:

Disney Privacy Policy

Amazon Privacy Policy


Are they sufficient?

Cookies

Cookie Central



Workplace email / internet privacy

Workplace policies

Google

Articles regarding Buzz (already posted on blog)
Google Earth

Bullying

Online privacy

Use in litigation
Shopping

Solutions?

TrustE

Apple Sues Maker of Google's Android Phone

See NY Times article

"In the lawsuit, filed with the office of the United States International Trade Commission and the United States District Court in Delaware, Apple said that HTC phones running Android violated 20 of its patents, including those relating to the iPhone’s ability to recognize the touch of multiple fingers on its screen at once."

Throwing the Book at Facebook

See this article in the Business Spectator.

"Companies and individuals are increasingly beginning to query why they should simply wear slanderous online comments that they wouldn't hesitate to take legal action against if it appeared on the printed page. From the heady early days when the internet was seen as a beast too wild to be tamed by the law, there is growing debate as to whether and how the web should be regulated.


In the past few weeks, we have seen a series of legal issues arise in relation to comments on the internet – particularly on Facebook.

In one case, $30,000 in damages was rewarded in response to defamatory comments by a man using various pseudonyms on a stock market forum. We have also seen an Indonesian man currently face jail time for insulting his music mentor on Facebook. ..."

See also - Facebook Ads article

iCyte page

This is the iCyte service that I mentioned in class.
Here is a project that I have created using iCyte.

Websites

This is the course website:

Peter Black, who co-taught this subject last year, has this blog. http://freedomtodiffer.com/ He has become a famous Twit.

Google falls foul of privacy once again

From JL:


It is interesting to note that once again Google has reached for the freedom of speech lever as the apparent universal panacea absolving itself of any and all responsibility for breaches of privacy.
I for one would have though that, as an American company, Google would have been well-versed in the notion that freedom of speech is only 'free' to the extent that it does not impose on, contravene or breach another person's legal rights.
If tertiary institutions have the capability of analysing work submitted by students for plagiarism through the use of algorithm programs, then surely the technical boffins at Google can devise some process whereby material submitted for posting to the web can be assessed.
In this particular case, it is difficult to embrace the Google's Code of Conduct "Don't do evil" as being anything other than a marketing slogan. For mine, aiding and abetting the doing of evil equates to the same thing. If Google is serious about corporate social responsibility, then I suggest it not just talk about it, but in the words of another multinational "Just do it!"

See also NY Times

Net Fraud

Net fraud accused back online

From: The Courier-Mail
February 21, 2010

A TEENAGE Brisbane student accused of using the internet to defraud Queensland's biggest bank of $2 million has today had his ban on using the internet lifted.

Brisbane Magistrate Noel Nunan this morning varied bail conditions for Philip Heggie, 18, so he could use the internet to continue his university studies.

Heggie, a University of Queensland business student, made a brief appearance in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court to answer charges of fraud, attempted fraud and uttering a forged document.

Click here to read the full article on the website

--- A class member asks the following regarding the above story:

Given the level of sophistication required to perpetrate these alleged activities, has the Court (in its most recent decision concerning bail conditions) paid sufficient heed to the possibility of the accused undertaking similar acts? How meaningful are either of the different sets of bail conditions prescribed by the court, given that cyber crimes can be undertaken anonymously?

Google Counter-sues regarding AdWords

This recent article is worth reading, as it relates to Google, trademark issues and also jurisdiction issues:

Are these sites legitimate, or not?

www.ecyberspac.com

What is the purpose of these websites?

The Law of Google 2010 (updated)

These are my notes for class for 1 March 2010. The class is "The law of Google". Have a look at these websites (and if you have a Google account, log in to that account first):

1. The breadth of Google.

Search
www.google.com
www.google.com.au
www.google.co.uk
www.google.ca
www.google.de
www.google.com.br
www.google.com.bd
www.igoogle.com
News
Images
Blogs
Maps
Videos
Books
Scholarly Papers
Finance
Custom Search, example: Leading Australian Law Firms
Syndicated Search and example and example
Directory
Products
Google Base
Android

More information: Wikipedia
How Google Works
Google Sitemap

2. AdWords and AdSense: Google Advertising

A. Do these searches on Google, Australian Googleand UK Google and compare results:
  • Noosa
  • Hilton
  • Q1
  • cheap accomodation queensland
  • flowers paddington
  • the tallest building in brisbane is
  • DSL-G604T
  • Sony
  • Harvey World Travel
  • Harvey World Travel Insurance
Have a look at the two Google search interfaces on this page (http://www.cyberspac.com/Cyber_Law_and_Policy/Search.html) and do the same searches on both and compare the results.

B. AdSense

Look at the Google Ads on these websites:
More information on Adsense

C. Google Trends and Google Analytics
Also, Google Insights for Search

D. AdWords
  • create Ad
  • select Keywords, budget and display location
  • people then click on your Ad.
Terms: pay-per-click (PPC); cost-per-click (CPC); cost-per-impression (CPM); click through rate (CTR)

KeyWord Tool and Tool

More information: Google Learning Centre

E. Other types of Google advertising
Maps
Local Maps
You Tube

F. Problems & Issues

(a) Pay Per Click Websites

Look at these websites:
(What is legitimate? See RealSpanking and Jackassand UStream)

(b) Click Fraud
What percentage of click are fraudulent? See this story and here too.
Clickfraud is old news: Crack-down

(c) Trade Mark Issues
Google Procedure
ACCC Lawsuit: See here and here and here andhere(Google filed its defence on 17 November 2008.)
RescueCom Lawsuit
French Lawsuit
Geico Lawsuit and settlement

More information
Google Business Solutions

3. Legal issues and lawsuits

Book Search Lawsuit and here
Caching & Copyright: see here and here and here

Have a look at other Google posts on this blog: Click Here



First Class 2010

Welcome to LWN117 Cyber Law and Policy in Semester 1, 2010 at QUT.

This unit is offered in internal mode, commencing Monday 22 February 2010 at 6pm.

The Venue is: GP:B506

Google, Privacy and Buzz

Google moved quickly to contain a firestorm of criticism over Buzz, its new social network, taking the unusual step of announcing changes to the product over the weekend to address privacy problems.

Late Saturday, Todd Jackson, product manager for Gmail and Google Buzz, wrote in a blog post that Google had decided to alter one of the most vehemently criticized features in Buzz: the ready-made circle of friends that Buzz gives new users based on their most frequent e-mail and chat contacts. Now, instead of automatically connecting people, Buzz merely suggests to new users a group of people that they may want to follow or want to be followed by. ....


Critics Say Google Invades Privacy With New Service

SAN FRANCISCO — When Google introduced Buzz — its answer to Facebook and Twitter — it hoped to get the service off to a fast start. New users of Buzz, which was added to Gmail on Tuesday, found themselves with a ready-made network of friends automatically selected by the company based on the people that each user communicated with most frequently through Google’s e-mail and chat services.

Google's decision to use e-mail and chat as the basis of a social network was unfair and deceptive, some critics claimed.

Related

With Buzz, Google Plunges Into Social Networking(February 10, 2010)

Times Topics: Google Inc.

Readers' Comments

But what Google viewed as an obvious shortcut stirred up a beehive of angry critics. Many users bristled at what they considered an invasion of privacy, and they faulted the company for failing to ask permission before sharing a person’s Buzz contacts with a broad audience. For the last three days, Google has faced a firestorm of criticism on blogs and Web sites, and it has already been forced to alter some features of the service.


Copyright in Directories

This recent judgment also includes interesting comments regarding computer generated works.

Telstra Corporation Limited v Phone Directories Company Pty Ltd [2010] FCA 44 (8 February 2010)


"Even if the authors of the Works could be identified with sufficient clarity and certainty (and they cannot), the people suggested to be the authors of the Works did not exercise “independent intellectual effort” and / or “sufficient effort of a literary nature”. A majority of the creation process of the WPD and the YPD was heavily automated. Human intervention was regulated and controlled according to either the various computer systems in place including the Rules (see Part V Sections B and C above). Further, the contribution of the people suggested to be authors of the Works was anterior to the work taking its material form. Very few people had any part to play in the final presentation of the Works or the particular form of expression of the information. Those people, again, could not have been said to have exercised “independent intellectual effort” and / or “sufficient effort of a literary nature”: see [20(3)] above."

iiNet copyright case

The iiNet copyright case was decided this week. It concerns the copyright liability of an Internet service provider (ISP) for the conduct of its customers.

Challenges for Google

From The New York Times:

In Europe, Challenges for Google

On issues like privacy, copyright protection and the dominance of its search engine, Google is increasingly clashing with lawmakers and regulators.

http://s.nyt.com/u/ejr

Internet Freedom

Hilary Clinton's speech yesterday on Internet freedom attracked an interesting reaction from China.



News coverage of Chinese reaction:

Updated Internet Law Website

I have updated the class Internet Law website.
It is now located at www.cyberspac.com
There is a list of useful Internet law links here.

Also, as an experiment, have a look at:
www.ecyberspac.com

Photos and Piracy

"Internet accessibility of images amassed by governmental organizations, commercial entities and individuals is the basis of novel privacy violation claims. However, Internet distribution of images of both individuals and private places collected from public places remains lawful."

Pictures From Public Places Not Private

French parliament delays vote on Internet law

"A law backed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to tackle Internet piracy suffered a new setback on Tuesday after legislators postponed a vote on the bill until September."

Source: Reuters

A warning from California

"The FLIR decision is a reminder to employers to be cautious when determining to bring a lawsuit against former employees for trade secret misappropriation. California courts may not tolerate the filing of misappropriation claims where it appears the employer is merely fearful or suspicious of wrongdoing. In such cases, the employer plaintiff risks not only a dismissal of its claims but the possibility of being sanctioned for bringing the action. "

FLIR Systems v. Parrish

Apple and Protection of Trade Secrets

From the NY Times
"The local police bureau declined to answer questions about the case. But reports of the apparent suicide have set off a firestorm of criticism of Foxconn’s treatment of Mr. Sun, labor conditions at its factories and the pressures Apple places on suppliers to abide by the culture of secrecy that surrounds its development of new products.

The case also underscores the challenges that global companies face in trying to safeguard their designs and intellectual property in the hotly contested smartphone market, particularly here in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, an electronics manufacturing center known for piracy and counterfeiting."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/technology/companies/27apple.html

eBay & French Court Decision

In June 2008, the Paris Commercial Court had ordered eBay to pay damages of 38.6 million Euros to the luxury group LVMH, ruling that the auction sales platform, as a broker, was liable under ordinary law as result of the sale of infringing products on its platform. On 13 May 2009, the Paris Civil Court ruled the opposite in favor of eBay. In this case, L'Oréal claimed eBay should not benefit from the hosting provider protective status under French law, as its activities went beyond a mere technical hosting service. eBay argued, however, it merely hosted items put up for sale by users of its auction sales platform, and therefore had no general monitoring obligation.
In its judgment of 13 May 2009, the Court ruled that eBay's activity consisting in storing the listings prepared by vendors and making them available online was a hosting activity, benefiting from the hosting provider protective status. Yet, the Court suggested that the parties had recourse to judicial mediation, in order to cooperate and agree on measures to be implemented to put an end to the sale of counterfeit products on the auction sales platform. With regard to eBay's advertising activities, the Court considered that the platform could not benefit from the hosting provider protective status, since its role was no longer passive, and such activities were not essential to the hosting activity. The Court nevertheless held eBay not liable, since L'Oréal did not clearly establish the alleged infringement.
Paris Civil Court, 13 May 2009
Source: T LAW ALERT - No. 2009/03 - GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL A.A.R.P.I.

Google Wave - the next big thing from Google

Google is planning on launching Google Wave.
Here is a video about Google Wave. (
It is long and probably takes about 20 mins to get a decent feel.) Google Wave is the next big thing from Google -- to merge IM, email, Facebook etc. It is said to be Google's counter attack to Microsoft's www.bing.com (launched this week, in case you missed Microsoft's $100M launch campaign) but it is really not a search tool but a communication tool.

A commentary is here: http://www.itwire.com/content/view/25413/1141/

Here is a back story about it: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html

Lars Rasmussen is speaking later this month in Brisbane, and next month in Sydney & Melbourne. He invented Google Maps, and now Google Wave. He lives in Sydney.

http://www.warren.usyd.edu.au/events/2009ILFlyer.pdf

2009 Innovation Lecture - Dr Lars Rasmussen, Google

30 June 2009 Brisbane – Customs House

Business Method Patents

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/business/02bizcourt.html?_r=2&hpw

"WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide what sorts of business methods might be patented, an issue with the potential to reshape significant parts of the economy. “This is the most important patent case in 50 years, in particular because there is so much damage and so much good the court could do,” said John F. Duffy, a law professor at George Washington University who submitted a brief in the appeals court in support of neither side."

Google News

One topic for tonight's class will be Google News, and the impact of the IceTV copyright decision on Google. For IceTV, see below.

Have a look at the following:

Stanford IP Litigation Clearinghouse

This is an interesting website: http://lexmachina.stanford.edu/


On December 8, 2008, the Law, Science & Technology Program at Stanford Law School, together with several commercial and philanthropic partners, launched the Stanford Intellectual Property Litigation Clearinghouse (IPLC). A free online database, the site is being released to the public in phases, with the patent portion currently offering real-time comprehensive data regarding patent infringement litigation in the United States. Non-patent matters, including copyright, trademark, trade secret and antitrust currently offer only intermittent data while "pending additional fundraising."

Internet Law Bookstore

I created an Internet Law Bookstore using Amazon technology. It took only 5 minutes to set up. Have a look at http://astore.amazon.com/weclosedit. This shows how easy it is to set up an e-commerce website these days.

Recent US Copyright Case

"CBS's Internet unit won the right to use National Football League players' names and statistics for free in fantasy sports leagues it sponsors after a judge ruled the information is in the public domain. The ruling is the latest setback for professional sports leagues and players unions looking to control the fantasy market. "

Similar result to IceTV in Australia?

IceTV Judgment - copyright and electronic program guides

See Story in SMH.

Judgment on Austlii

Penguin Jurisdiction Case

Penguin IP Suit V. Web Site Can't Fly In NY: Judge
A federal judge has tossed a copyright case brought by Penguin Group USA Inc. against a Web site that posted Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" and several other Penguin works online, citing a lack of personal jurisdiction in New York.

Recent Internet Reports

INTERNET
Internet Typology: The Mobile Difference: Wireless Connectivity Has Drawn Many Users More Deeply into Digital Life
Pew Internet & American Life Project, March 25, 2009
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1162/internet-typology-users-mobile-communication-devices
Freedom on the Net: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media
Freedom House, April 1, 2009
http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/specialreports/NetFreedom2009/FreedomOnTheNet_FullReport.pdf
This publication includes country reports on Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, India, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Internet Crime Report 2008
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), March 2009
http://www.nw3c.org/downloads/2008_IC3_Annual%20Report_3_27_09_small.pdf
There is an FBI news release, March 30, 2009, at
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel09/internet033009.htm

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Sinking the Copyright Pirates: Global Protection of Intellectual Property
Hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, April 6, 2009
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1065
For transcripts, please go to
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/schedule.asp and scroll down.
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative Releases Summary of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Negotiations
News release, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), April 6, 2009
http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2009/April/The_Office_of_US_Trade_Representative_Releases_Summary_of_Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement_(ACTA)_Negotiations.html
The summary is at
http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2009/asset_upload_file917_15546.pdf

Research Tool

When you are doing website research, you may wish to use this free tool to record and store the pages that you find interesting or useful.
See www.icyte.com (an Australian invention)

Domain Names

Carly Long, an expert in domain name litigation, will teach the first half of the class this Tuesday evening.

You may wish to have a look at the following:

FAQs

jackass.com

pig.com

RBCDainRauscher.com

sonypitcures.com

vanmorrison.com

Panel Views

See also, UDRP Commentaries

Letter to ICANN

Proposed Changes to the Patent Act

If you are interested in patents, then you may be interested in these proposed changes to the law in Australia. We will be looking at patents later in the semester.

Google and Trademarks

In a long-awaited opinion, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Google must face a trademark infringement lawsuit for selling keywords that trigger ads.

The three-judge panel reversed a lower court's dismissal of Rescuecom v. Google, 06-4881, in which computer-repair company Rescuecom had claimed that users could be confused by links to competitors' ads that appear alongside Google search results for the company's trademarked name.

See

Rescuecom Corp. v. Google Inc., 2009 WL 875447 (2d Cir. April 3, 2009)

Law.com

The Standard

Eric Goldman's Blog

Jurisdiction

The class on Tuesday will focus on jurisdiction issues.

If you want to do some extra background reading, a recent case concerning The Secret documentary and book has both Interent and jurisdictional issues. It is more important for copyright law, but is an interesting diversion for Cyberlaw.

Background: The Australian

Australian Trial Judge Decision
Full Court of Federal Court Decision

US Lawsuit
Note regarding US decision on jurisdiction
Motion Judgment

Dan Hollings Case.

Google/Louis Vuitton legal battle resumes

See The Guardian

Google today entered the latest stage in a four-year legal battle against luxury brand Louis Vuitton which accuses the US internet giant of selling trademark search terms relating to its products to rivals.

Google's lawyers are at the European Court of Justice today as part of a hearing relating to an appeal the search company lodged after LVMH won a case in France against Google in 2005.

Amazon and Copyright

See http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10196424-38.html

This week, an e-book Web site said Amazon.com invoked the 1998 law to prevent books from some non-Amazon sources from working on its Kindle reader.

Amazon sent a legal notice to MobileRead.com complaining that information relating to a computer utility written in the Python programming language "constitutes a violation" of the DMCA, according to a copy of the warning letter that the site posted. MobileRead.com is an e-book news and community site.

Google and NZ Copyright

Stepping into local New Zealand political debate for the first time, Google makes a submission on the draft ISP code of practice – and it doesn’t hold back, citing a rash of bogus copyright claims it has received in the US. In its opening salvo, the company says, "section 92A undermines the incredible social and economic benefits of the open and universally accessible internet, by providing for a remedy of account termination or disconnection that is disproportionate to the harm of copyright infringement online.”

Cybersquatting

Cybersquatting Cases Hit Record In 2008
WIPO has announced that companies and celebrities ranging from Arsenal football club to actress Scarlett Johansson filed a record number of "cybersquatting" cases in 2008 to stop others from profiting from their famous names, brands, and events. The most common business sector in which complaints arose was pharmaceuticals, due to Web sites offering sales of medicines with protected names.

10 March: Social Media Club Brisbane

Instead of the usual LWN117 class on Tuesday 10 March, you are encouraged to attend the March event of the Social Media Club Brisbane:
SMCB March is a panel discussion about legal issues related to the social media world. Joining us on the panel for the evening is:
  • Peter Black, Lecturer, QUT Law School
  • Professor Brian Fitzgerald, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation, QUT Law School
  • John Swinson, Partner, Mallesons
After you've picked the lawyers' brains hang around for a few drinks downstairs at Lock n Load's Jazz Night. Feel free to arrive from 5.30pm, with the panel session starting at 6.00pm.

SMBC March is proudly supported by QUT Faculty of Law and Lock n Load Bistro.
Lock n Load is at 142 Boundary St, West End QLD 4101. View Google Maps here.

Patents and Google

Google Patent Chief: Patent reform needed more than ever
Posted: 03 Mar 2009 11:29 AM PST

Editorial by Michelle Lee, Head of Patents and Patent Strategy at Google, See http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/03/patent-reform-needed-more-than-ever.html

The Law of Google

These are my notes for class for Tuesday, 3 March 2009. The class is "The law of Google".

1. The breadth of Google.

Search
www.google.com
www.google.com.au
www.google.co.uk
www.google.ca
www.google.de
www.google.com.br
www.google.com.bd
www.igoogle.com
News
Images
Blogs
Maps
Videos
Books
Scholarly Papers
Finance
Custom Search, example: Leading Australian Law Firms
Syndicated Search and example
Directory
Products
Google Base

Search tricks and tips
Internal search
Site Search
Site Map

Other Google Stuff
Toolbar
Google Accounts
Web History
Gmail
Photos: Picasa and Picasa Web
Chrome Browser
Blogger
Groups
Reader
Notebook
Calendar
Docs
Talk
YouTube

More information: Wikipedia
How Google Works
Google Sitemap

2. AdWords and AdSense: Google Advertising

A. Do these searches on Google, Australian Google and UK Google and compare results:
  • Noosa
  • Hilton
  • Q1
  • cheap accomodation queensland
  • flowers paddington
  • the tallest building in brisbane is
  • DSL-G604T
  • Sony
  • Harvey World Travel
  • Harvey World Travel Insurance
B. AdSense

Look at the Google Ads on these websites:
More information on Adsense

C. Google Trends and Google Analytics

D. AdWords
  • create Ad
  • select Keywords, budget and display location
  • people then click on your Ad.
Terms: pay-per-click (PPC); cost-per-click (CPC); cost-per-impression (CPM); click through rate (CTR)

KeyWord Tool and Tool

More information: Google Learning Centre

E. Other types of Google advertising
Maps

F. Problems & Issues

(a) Pay Per Click Websites

Look at these websites:
(What is legitimate? See RealSpanking and Jackass and UStream)

(b) Click Fraud
What percentage of click are fraudulent? See this story and here too.
Clickfraud is old news: Crack-down

(c) Trade Mark Issues
Google Procedure
ACCC Lawsuit: See here and here and here and here (Google filed its defence on 17 November 2008.)
RescueCom Lawsuit
French Lawsuit
Geico Lawsuit and settlement

More information
Google Business Solutions

3. Legal issues and lawsuits

Book Search Lawsuit and here
Caching & Copyright: see here and here and here

Also, see older posts in this blog, such as this post from 2006.

LNP candidate hits Labor's Dean Wells in the Googles

THE state election campaign is yet to officially begin, but a new battlefront has emerged in cyberspace in the fight to win over undecided voters.

Anyone googling Labor MP Dean Wells' name will first see a link to his Liberal National Party opponent's website on their screens.

The LNP's Murrumba candidate Peter Flannery is paying the online search engine for a sponsored link to appear at the top of the results page.

See Courier Mail

The Secret Litigation

There is currently a copyright litigation regarding the DVD and best selling book, The Secret.

The Director, Drew Heriot, is suing Rhonda Byrne in Federal Court in Chicago. Byrne's Eastern European company, TS Productions, is suing Drew in Federal Court in Melbourne, Australia.

Although these cases do not directly concern the Internet, they raise interesting questions regarding jurisdiction and appropriate forum.

I am representing Drew Heriot.

See: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/arts/26secr.html
and
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24223394-5012694,00.html

Internet Business Issues

David Jacobson, from Brisbane, has a very useful Blog for Internet businesses in Brisbane, titled "External Insights".

How should damages be assessed for privacy and cybersecurity breaches

Listen to this podcast where I discuss how damages should be assessed in privacy and cybersecurity lawsuits. The Lawyers Weekly Show host J...