internet – Page 6 – Duane Morris TechLaw

June 25, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Blog Food Fight Leaves Egg On School’s Face

The Internet yields all sorts of disputes. Take the nine-year-old Scottish girl who was banned from posting photographs of school meals on her blog, which caused a firestorm of criticism.

Martha Payne, who by now has had in excess of three million hits on her blog at NeverSeconds.blogspot.com, started posting photos of her Scottish primary school lunches at the end of April. BBC News report that her “food-o-meter” rated each meal in terms of healthiness and how many mouthfuls it takes to consume the meal.

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June 5, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Has “Google” Become A Generic Term?

Thermos. Yo-Yo. Escalator. Zipper.

All are examples of trademarks that have seen their legal protection disappear in the United States. These innovative terms have over time become so associated with products that the terms are deemed generic and thus not necessarily deserving of intellectual property protection.

Is Google there now?

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May 1, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

E-Discovery Is More Costly, Burdensome Than You Think

Once upon a time, it was widely believed that electronic discovery would streamline litigation, making it faster, easier, less burdensome, and less expensive. So, now that we are some years into the e-discovery experience, has the prediction come true? Sadly, not necessarily.

While it is true that it can be easier to retrieve information electronically by using search terms, rather than sending teams of associates into warehouses to rummage through boxes of documents, that is just the tip of the iceberg when considering the overall e-discovery effort. And even if vast quantities of electronic information can be brought up based on a simple search, that information had to be harvested at the front-end, and ultimately will need to be reviewed at the back-end.

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March 26, 2012September 11, 2014 by Sandra A. Jeskie

FTC Released its Final Report Today on Best Practices for Businesses to Protect Consumer Privacy

Today, the Federal Trade Commission released its final report titled “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers.” http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/privacyframework.shtm

The report details best practices for businesses to protect the privacy of consumers. Recognizing the burden on small businesses, the FTC says that the framework should not apply to companies that collect and do not transfer only non-sensitive data from fewer than 5,000 consumers a year.

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December 20, 2011July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Will Your High-Tech Holidays Be Naughty Or Nice?

Well, it’s that holiday time of year again. Have you been naughty or nice?

If you have been naughty, perhaps we will give you the low-tech equivalent of a lump of coal — a broken typewriter.

That’s right, we are talking about an old machine that actually requires some finger strength when you push down on the keys. And you are correct, this baby is so wireless that it is not connected to anything, not even an electric outlet. To add insult to injury, not all of the keys even work.

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December 14, 2011July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

The Truth About Teen Cell Phone Use

Most of us have heard about sexting — the practice of people sharing naked pictures of themselves online. Indeed, there have been press reports that suggest texting has become the latest teenage craze. Fact or fiction? Perhaps a bit of both.

Recent studies by the journal Pediatrics show that 1% of children between the ages of 10 to 17 have engaged in sexting. About the same percentage have shared less explicit but still suggestive photos of themselves. And 7% report that they had been the recipient of either type of photo.

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December 7, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Fake News Websites Touting Weight Loss Shut Down By FTC

The FTC is intent on stopping online deceptive health claims. It has been especially interested in shutting down sites that make false and misleading dietary claims.

As part of its crackdown efforts, the FTC, along with the State of Connecticut, filed a complaint that sought to stop a specific operation based on Connecticut.

And the FTC has now announced that the parties have agreed to a court order that temporarily halts the allegedly illegal conduct.

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November 17, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Major Computer Hijacking Revealed By Indictment

There is so much good about the Internet. It allows us to communicate instantly, freely and widely for business and personal purposes. Unfortunately, whether there is good, the forces of evil also lurk.

This point is driven home by an international plot to hijack millions of computers, as has been reportedly disclosed by a recently unsealed New York indictment. The aim of the plot has been to use malware to hijack computers in various countries such that people visiting common Web sites such as Netflix, ESPN, Amazon and IRS.gov are rerouted to other sites. These other sites have generated millions of dollars of wrongfully gained profits.

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November 9, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Technology and the Internet By the Numbers

Back in the 1990s, there was talk of the coming “information superhighway.” Now we are traveling at warp speed on that highway. Take a look at some of these jaw-dropping stats:

Facebook

Facebook now boasts more than 800 million active users, with 350 million gaining access from mobile devices.
Roughly 70 percent of Facebook users are located outside of the United States.
Every month about 30 billion content links are shared on Facebook.
Remarkably, Facebook users install 20 million apps every day.
Almost half of 18-34 year-old users check Facebook when they wake up, with more than a quarter of users doing so before they even leave the bed.

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