Online Law

The Slants and That Washington Football Team: Why “offensive” trademarks matter

January 8th 2016

While this post touches on culture, freedom and offense – and of course dance music – its hero is buried in the story as I imagine he’d prefer. Ron Coleman’s writing and good spirit has been an occasional inspiration and benefit of working on this blog. Arguing on constitutional grounds is a long and heavy climb. Congratulations to Ron and The Slants. Any friends of Ron have special standing here. Cheers.

Why Apple Watch & Facebook Win as Pebble Watch & Twitter Struggle

June 15th 2015

The Apple Watch is a watershed product because it is a masterful consumerization of technology, and it begins to show how industries and our lives may change living among an Internet of Things.

You Deserve Faster Internet, Phone Companies Want to Block Change by Law

February 9th 2015

Phone companies have helped to put laws on near 20 states books to stop cities from providing fast, publicly-owned Internet access. Last month President Obama proposed that the FCC to strike down these rules, and guess who is fighting to block it?

Amazing times for Amazon, Alibaba, Hasbro — plus robot legs as a growth industry

November 15th 2014

It was an unexpectedly sweet week for ecommerce, thanks to an unexpected gift from House Republicans and single people in China. We also saw a bold content play with Hasbro courting DreamWorks, and an even bolder move of an auto parts manufacturer re-inventing its self as an innovative maker of robotic legs.

Admiral McRaven to Become Chancellor of U Texas System at Record Salary

August 21st 2014

Admiral William McRaven, head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, will be the next chancellor of the University of Texas System – and earn a record salary.

Supreme Court Sides with Individual Rights on Harris v. Quinn and Hobby Lobby

June 30th 2014

After watching a string of technology focused rulings last week, its today’s pair of conventional cases that has my interest. Today’s 5-4 rulings protect individual rights to associate to exercise religious conscience – in ways which limit the influence of unions and the universality of the Affordable Care Act.

Lucky or Smart – Will Healthcare.gov Turn Out To Be Either?

October 25th 2013

A lot of opinions have been shared about the Healthcare.gov website — but few from people who have run challenging government IT initiatives themselves. I’ve done that a few times in several states, and the patterns that create risk in this kind of work are evident from a distance.

Social Media Rule #1: Shed Your Idiots Now

September 5th 2013

Are organizations that are fixated on having the right social media policy missing the chance to address larger cultural deficits? Consider sad story of Northwestern University’s School of Medicine, now being sued for the unethical and potentially malicious use of social media by one of its fellows.

Aereo: The Cable Killer…Contorted By Law

May 28th 2013

Aereo is a start-up with may have engineered a slick and legal way to get all kinds of television streamed to your devices for a small fraction of what you’d pay for cable. Yes, its cool, but is it too good to be true? And either way, would you like to try it for free?

Hope’s beautiful daughters: anger and courage

May 5th 2013

Temujin Doran has turned from delicious digital minute-long videos that meditate on life, to a video interpretation of Chris Hedges Death of the Liberal Class. Both are artistic works that remind me of the artistic values available through video and the imperative to raise our expectations of digital experiences. Come watch a film, you’ll be glad you did.