Home » 2007 (Page 3)

Linden Lab’s Second Life Taking on Too Many Lives

It is important to appreciate that the principal issue in this case surrounds the notion of a contract to purchase virtual land. The onus was on Linden Lab to ensure that their online purchasing system was intact and not penetrable to unfair usages by purchasers. On the other hand, it is arguable that Bragg was […]

Web ad blocking may not be (entirely) legal

Legal experts have recently made speculations regarding the blocking of internet pop-up advertisements, and have hypothesized that these web-browser plug-ins may be illegal. Any lawsuit commenced by advertisers would likely involve two arguments: the first one based on copyright infringement through derivative works and secondly, the violation of a website’s terms of agreement. The issue […]

All about money…

What first strikes me is how a patent could have been issued as it does not seem to be an invention to clear checks, yes, previously done manually and then started electronically. As we know, for a patent to be issued it has to be new. I mean, how did they get a patent for […]

Music Publishers Join Case Against Video-Sharing Site YouTube

YouTube, an extremely popular video-sharing site that was created in 2005, is rapidly increasing concerns over video-sharing online free of charge. Right-holders of the videos argue that they are being unfairly deprived of the profits that are due to them. These concerns have actualized into legal actions. Recently, music publishers have joined a group of […]

French student arrested for posting non-authorized copies of Harry Potter

Being an enthusiastic fan of J.K Rowling’s Potter novels I was infuriated to hear the French student arrested for publishing his own translation of the seventh chapter of the Potter tale would not be prosecuted.  An agreement was made with J.K Rowling not to seek damages from the student for violation of intellectual property rights.  […]

What is the Value of a Song?

  Our ability as a society to transmit vast amounts of information has grown exponentially over the last decade. Volumes of encyclopedia, books, magazines, newspapers—let alone music—have become almost instantly downloadable and retrievable, further feeding the frenzy of electronic consumption. While to downloaders and users it may seem that there is little or no real […]

Different jurisdictions- same outcome?

  Advances in technology facilitating dissemination of digital files inevitably poses challenges on enforcement of existing copyright laws. Prince’s lawsuit, if filed, would be of significance in setting the standard of care to which file-sharing providers (YouTube), indexing services (The Pirate Bay) and online trade forums (EBay) should exercise to prevent making copyright-infringing works available […]

New Weapons Used In Pursuit of Film Pirates

It seems that hassle-free entertainment at the movie theatre is truly becoming a thing of the past.  The film industry has taken some aggressive measures to combat pirating in Canada, as evidenced by increased security patrol in the theatres, knapsack searches and the use of metal detectors and night-vision goggles.  As foreign lobby groups and […]

WHEN IS PRIVATE PUBLIC?

Celebrity “news” programs seem to fill the channels on our televisions at all times of the day.  Magazine racks are weighted down with the latest celebrity gossip.  Companies regularly hire celebrity spokespersons to “hawk their wares” in infomercials and advertisements.  Is it any wonder that these celebrities are determined to control the use of their […]