Duane Morris TechLaw

March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Will Your Smartwatch Save Your Life?

The love affair with smartphones has led to further rapture with smartwatches. Right now, we can act like Dick Tracy, with the world on our wrists within these tiny smartwatch gadgets. But these smartwatches might not all be about work, communications, and fun and games. Why? Because there is the potential that smartwatches might evolve soon to have the capability of saving lives.

We know that smartwatches presently have health sensors that can monitor steps taken, flights climbed, and heartbeat rates for exercise and physical fitness purposes. And Apple, ever on the cutting edge, apparently believes that it can go further to use such monitoring capabilities to facilitate calls for help during health emergencies.

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March 2, 2016March 2, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Cyber Security – The Topic Avoided by the Presidential Candidates

It already seems like the Presidential campaign has been going on forever. There have been countless debates, speeches and statements by and among the candidates. Some topics such as immigration and whether to build a wall have been rehashed over and over – beating dead horses further to death. But what is the one topic the candidates consistently ignore?

Cyber security!

Sure, the candidates talk tough, and each seems to suggest that he or she will be the mightiest of the mighty when it comes to dealing with the likes of Russia, North Korea and ISIS. But hardly ever, and almost never, do they talk about cyber security.
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February 24, 2016February 25, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

What’s Next for the Supremes?

Within moments of the untimely passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the political posturing began in terms of what should happen next with respect to the open seat on the high court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came out of the box immediately, stating that President Obama should defer selecting a Supreme Court candidate, so that the next elected President could handle that responsibility in accordance with the apparent wishes of the electorate as part of the upcoming Presidential election.

President Obama, on the other hand, followed up quickly by stating that it is his full intention to carry out his presidential responsibilities during his presidency by naming a Supreme Court candidate to be considered by the Senate. So, now what?

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February 17, 2016 by Duane Morris

Facebook Potentially Liable in French Nude Painting Case

An appellate court in Paris has ruled recently that Facebook can be sued in France and a case thus can proceed against the social media giant in France with respect to Facebook’s decision to remove the account of a user in France who posted a well-known 19th century nude painting, according to Reuters.

This legal decision could be of concern to Facebook, as it has more than 30 million users in France, and because the French appellate court rejected the clause contained in Facebook’s terms and conditions, that requires worldwide lawsuits to be heard in Santa Clara, California, as “unfair.” Facebook still has the option to seek review by the highest appellate court in France.

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February 10, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

TPP Potentially Is Coming to Its 12 Member States

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, aka the TPP, has been approved recently by 12 member states. If the published text of the treaty next is ratified by each state (a process that could take some time), then various important provisions will regulate trade between these member states.

The member states are the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Brunei.

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February 3, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Facebook Is All Over the News

Facebook is the largest “nation” in the world, with more than 1.65 billion users across the globe. Not surprisingly then, with such global reach, Facebook is in the headlines fairly often.

In terms of Facebook news items, a recent example includes a Thai criminal court putting a man in prison for six years because he posted comments on Facebook that were construed to be insulting to the king of Thailand. The court so ruled because the law of Thailand criminalizes statements that are defamatory, insulting or threatening to the Thai royalty.

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January 20, 2016June 20, 2016 by Duane Morris

Russia’s data localization law – a violation of WTO regulations?

Just over a year ago, on December 31, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law new personal data localization requirements, mandating that data operators collecting personal data about Russian citizens “record, systematize, accumulate, store, amend, update and retrieve” data using databases physically located in Russia. Among other things, passage of the new law generated immediate concerns regarding its scope, implementation, and implications. On August 3, 2015, less than a month before the new law was to take effect, the Russian Ministry of Communications and Mass Media published official “guidelines”, largely in the form of FAQs, in an attempt to “clarify” the law and address some of the questions and concerns it generated. http://www.minsvyaz.ru/ru/personaldata/ (in Russian). Nevertheless, one question that has remained unanswered since the law has gone into effect (September 1, 2015) is whether the law introduces trade restrictions that violate World Trade Organization regulations. Russia has been a WTO member since August 2012. Continue reading “Russia’s data localization law – a violation of WTO regulations?”

January 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

David Bowie: Internet Predictor and Precursor

Sadly, we lost David Bowie last week. Most of us remember his songs — so many, and so varied across the decades. And, of course, there is no way to forget Bowie’s ever-changing image over the years. But not to be lost in the shuffle is the fact that Bowie was such an innovator, he also anticipated the full impact of the Internet.

Bowie’s prescience when it came to the Internet was explained in a recent article in The Verge. Let’s delve in a bit.
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January 12, 2016January 12, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

U.S. ‘Sniffer’ Jets Seek to Detect North Korea Nuclear Detonations

There have been recent claims that North Korea successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. Plainly, if North Korea has this capability, there would be cause for concern. But, according to CNN, the White House is skeptical, and the Air Force may send a “sniffer” jet in the region of the Korean Peninsula to help ascertain whether North Korea’s claims are accurate.

CNN has been informed by a U.S. official that any type of nuclear detonation would cause certain distinctive elements to be present in the air, and collected air samples could find out what if anything occurred.

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January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Top Internet Law Story for 2015

As the Internet grows and develops, the law is fast on its heels — attempting to resolve difficult cases and seeking to regulate new and different online scenarios. The Year 2015 was replete with important and fascinating Internet stories.
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