PC World reports that a draft treaty leaked from the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement talks would make ISPs liable for civil damages for user-generated uploads and downloads of copyrighted content. According to PC World, the draft treaty would require ISPs to take affirmative steps, such as terminating violators’ accounts, to avoid being liable for their users’ [...]
Or, eBay Loses Again in France. Last week the Paris District Court held eBay liable for using LVM’s trademarks as AdWords to, according to an eBay spokesperson, “direct buyers’ listings for authentic goods from eBay sellers.” The court ordered eBay to pay 230,000 € for damages and LVM’s legal fees and 1,000 € for every future violation. [...]
In a speech a few weeks ago Hillary Clinton criticized China and other nations for their Internet censorship, warning that what she called an “information curtain” might prevent the citizens of such countries from the free flow of information. Her speech came shortly after Google reported it was the victim of computer hacking that it [...]
Here’s the First Commandment for the Study of Internet Law: What the Internet was is not what the Internet shall always be. A few more stories echoing the last post’s theme: France’s Constitutional Council rejected the legislature’s attempt to thwart digital piracy by terminating Internet access for alleged illegal downloaders. Under the legislative proposal “a [...]
Yesterday France rejected the piracy-surveillance system mentioned in the previous post. The bill, refined after weeks of discussion in the National Assembly, was expected to pass. Its supporters were apparently so confident of its enactment that they didn’t go out of their way to appear for the vote. Their complacency resulted in the bill’s defeat [...]
Two news items bring to mind themes addressed in At-Will At Work, a recent post about Scotts Co.’s termination of an employee for smoking. First, the global smoking zone continues to shrink. Germany announced last Friday that it intends to ban smoking in restaurants, discos, schools, and public buildings. The ban would not affect smoking [...]
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres, or RSF) released its 2006 Worldwide Press Freedom Index last week, reflecting “the degree of freedom journalists and news organisations enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the state to respect and ensure respect for this freedom.” RSF compiled the list based solely on violations of a [...]