BizTech Law Blog

A Little Known Secret to the War on IP Piracy – that is Free

How would you like to have the weight of the U.S. Federal Government behind you in combating piracy of your product?  And how would you like to have it for free?  If you answered no to both, perhaps you should reevaluate your business acumen.  For those who answered in the affirmative, please read on.

The free service is offered through the Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.  OIPR can assist your company in combating intellectual property piracy of your products.  After you have secured your intellectual property protections at home and abroad and taken local enforcement steps through the administrative or legal process, OIPR will step in on your behalf and work with the foreign government to target, confiscate and destroy the piracy items. Read More ›

Categories: Intellectual Property, Privacy, Trademarks

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The Taxation of Cloud Computing: Proposed Guidance

Cloud computing and its various delivery methods continue to grow at an impressive rate.  A potent example of this growth is "software as a service," or SaaS, a product that allows consumers to access software remotely over the Internet for a fee.  For example, Google Docs, Google’s “software as a service” office suite, allows users to create documents, presentations, and spreadsheets via software stored remotely on Google’s servers. Read More ›

Categories: Cloud Computing, Tax

Posted by: Nicholas M. Oertel

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Video Sharing Site NOT Liable for Infringement - DMCA

If you own or are operating a video or file sharing website that utilizes another's content (read another's copyrights) the following case presents you with a valid defense.  If you are the user whose copyright has been infringed, this law is worth knowing before proceeding with costly litigation.

Veoh Networks - a video hosting website - sought protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor provision against a user's infringement claims.  The user claimed Veoh (1) knew of and failed to remove infringing videos uploaded by other users; (2) had the ability to control infringing activity on its system; and (3) that its infringer policy was inadequate. Read More ›

Categories: Copyright, Intellectual Property, Social Media

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Buying Registered Trademarks as Google Adwords?

Have you ever taken the time to Google your company name?

It might be worth your time. If you find that your competitors are more prominently displayed in the tan sponsored link box or along the right side of the search page, you may be able to stop these companies from purchasing your company's trademarks as Google Adwords. Read More ›

Categories: Intellectual Property, Trademarks

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DOJ Urges U.S. Supreme Court To Approve Warrantless GPS Tracking

The Fourth Amendment protects an individual from unreasonable searches and seizures.  As it stands today, unless an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, local and federal law enforcement are not required to obtain a warrant prior to conducting a search. Does a person reasonably expect that law enforcement will attach a GPS tracking device to a vehicle to clandestinely monitor that person’s every movement?  The Department of Justice (DOJ) thinks so. Read More ›

Categories: Privacy

Posted by: Nicholas M. Oertel

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Invalid "Terms and Conditions" link to bind consumer to restriction

Are you purchasing items online, or, are you a merchant selling products using a website?  If so, you should check your Terms and Conditions link.

The case in point is Hines v Overstock.com Inc., and is relatively new under commercial law standards. Read More ›

Categories: E-Commerce

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