Blog Archives

Berkman Center to Host FCC Hearing on Broadband Management Practices

February 22nd 2008

On Monday, February 25, the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School will host a Federal Communications Commission en banc hearing on broadband network management practices, and a public post-panel discussion and reception. The event will be webcast live.  Verizon’s Tom Tauke, who was featured in yesterday’s posting, is one of the […]

IP Law Shake Out in Congress: Lawrence Lessig for Congress?

February 20th 2008

Arts Technica describes how shifts caused by a death in congress could reshape the legislative terrain for intellectual property law. Rep. Tom Lantos’ (D-CA) death from esophageal cancer leaves an opening at the top of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, an opening that appears to be perfectly shaped like Howard Berman (D-CA). Berman is expected […]

Wikileaks.org Down by Law

February 19th 2008

Wikileaks, a controversial whistle-blower website where visitors anonymously post corporate or government documents, has had its domain name deactivated in the United States. Bank Julius Baer, a Swiss bank with operations in the Cayman Islands, petitioned that the site’s California domain register be ordered to deactivate the Wikileaks.org web address. Wikileaks had published disclosures suggesting the […]

Bush Inaction Guts Privacy Oversight Board: Happy Presidents’ Day

February 18th 2008

The President has destaffed the committee responsible for making sure civil rights and privacy are respected by the administration’s anti-terrorism programs. At the same time, he made asking for extended spy powers, and blanket immunity for a still-undisclosed range of privacy intrusions, his highest profile priority. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was recommended by […]

Democrats Abroad Cast First Online Votes; Dogs Help

February 15th 2008

For the six million or so Americans who live overseas, voting has always been a bit sketchy. According to the non-partisan Election Assistance Commission, only a third of the nearly one million ballots issued last election cycle were actually cast. So, for the first time, Democrats living abroad are now able to cast primary votes […]

Facebook Group Spawns Protests in 185 Cities

February 13th 2008

When Oscar Morales, an engineer from Barranquilla, Colombia, and five friends launched a Facebook group called No More FARC, they didn’t expect to create a movement. But within thirty days, their Facebook group’s 250,000 members mobilized millions of protesters.  Last week, more than 4 million Colombians marched simultaneously in 27 cities throughout the country and 104 […]

Yahoo Rejects Microsoft’s 44 Billion Dollar Offer

February 11th 2008

Yahoo’s board concluded on Friday that Microsoft’s unsolicited offer “massively undervalues” the company. The Wall St. Journal noted Yahoo’s position in the online display advertising market, where it leads both Google and Microsoft. Additionally, it suggested the board would cite that Microsoft underestimated the risk of regulatory approval, and its effect on Yahoo’s business.  The […]

EFF’s Role as Patent Buster Jeopardized In Bill’s Small Print

February 11th 2008

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sent a letter to Senators Leahy and Specter regarding a portion of the Draft Judiciary Committee Report of the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which has the potential to kill EFF’s Patent Busting Project. The draft inserts language which would prohibit third parties from requesting ex-parte reexamination of issued patents. […]

Is CourtroomLive Ready for Prime Time?

February 7th 2008

This week, ALM, publisher of 33 professional magazines including The American Lawyer, and  Courtroom View Network (CVN), a legal-news video service, announced CourtroomLive.com.  The service will allow legal professionals to watch current trials as they happen, and distribute the feeds securely to clients or colleagues. Imagine how firms could create shadow juries to watch actual […]

Legal Interest Heats Up In Second Life

February 5th 2008

Virtual worlds are emerging as a popular new legal topic. They create a host of interesting opportunities as tools for legal practice, and at the same time are a medium that needs to be reconciled to laws from the physical world.  The apparatus of the law is increasingly present in Second Life : You Can […]