December 21st 2008
Software as a Service (SaaS) market leader and service provider Salesforce.com recently hosted a presentation by Bessemer Venture Partners, which has funded many of my favorite SaaS enterprises, including LinkedIn, Postini, Keynote, Eloqua, Skype, Force.com, and PTC. Since this presentation is locked up in a hard-to-search format, I’m republishing its insights for your enjoyment here, […]
December 17th 2008
According to an article in The Register, Google’s Vice President of Search Product and User Experience, Marissa Mayer, observed that editorial judgments may play a key role in Google searches in the near future. Mayer made her comments at the Le Web conference in Paris on December 10th. If this change does materialize, the editorial […]
December 6th 2008
Are video games the future? A colleague and I have been discussing what areas of legal practice will thrive in this economic downturn. There’s growing buzz about video-game law as a hot niche practice area. The Xconomy blog suggests casual video games, those without monthly subscriptions and fancy gear, may be recession-proof. Sheppard, Mullin, Richte […]
December 5th 2008
Naughty or Nice? The recording industry has described the free airplay their songs receive on AM and FM radio as “a form of piracy.” It has sued customers for copying purchased CDs to their own computers, and for selling or simply tossing out unsolicited promotional CDs. In a year in which arguably the best album is […]
December 4th 2008
Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson filed a counterclaim recently against the RIAA. At the heart of that filing is a challenge to the constitutionality of the RIAA’s suits against those who download music from file-sharing services. Nesson, who founded the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, is going to bat for Joel Tenenbaum, […]
December 3rd 2008
Each quarter, Google issues a brief summary of the legal threats it faces through its quarterly SEC 10-Q filings. Here’s that part of Google’s 10-Q Filing for September 30, 2008. Note 11. Contingencies Legal Matters Companies have filed trademark infringement and related claims against us over the display of ads in response to user queries […]
December 1st 2008
Loved by browsers – despised by newspapers What’s the top destination for mobile browsing in the US? Craigslist. US mobile users averaged a whopping one hour and 39 minutes per month on Craigslist alone. Though Craigslist doesn’t have much of a business model (no ads, mostly free posting, few staff) it has absolutely transformed print […]
November 27th 2008
The Missouri mother on trial in the landmark cyberbullying case that originated from the MySpace-related suicide of Megan Meier has been found guilty of three misdemeanor violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. I began writing about the tragic suicide of Megan Meier just under a year ago. The post questioned the widely reported […]
November 27th 2008
This morning, LinkedIn began promoting its new User Agreement. #3 in its list of Don’ts is: (Don’t) include information in your profile or in Status Updates which reveals your identity such as an email address, phone number or address or is confidential in nature; Of course, simply by linking to the User Agreement, I may […]
November 26th 2008
The Web Guild reports that Google is quietly laying off up to 10,000 staff. This report is now being picked up by larger news outlets. Citing anonymous sources, Web Guild says that part of the layoff includes 500 recruiters. Though Google is cutting back, its method is stealthy. Though Google reports just over 21,000 full-time […]
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