Archive
Category: Weblog
Random assortments, selected for semantic content.
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Internet Worm Creator Sentenced to 18 Months
A 19-year-old Minnesota resident was sentenced in a US District Court today to 18 months in prison and an additional 10 months of community service for releasing a variant of the Blaster worm in 2003. Jeffrey Lee Parson had originally pleaded innocent to the charges, but last summer had a change of heart and pleaded… Read more →
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Consumers Flock to Apple Music Store
Apple today announced that users have purchased some 250 million songs from their iTunes Music Store (‘iTMS’). Daily downloads are hovering around the 250 000 mark, totalling some $500m annually. (Incidentally, although the press release proudly points to the store being available in ‘more than 70 percent of the global music market’, it’s still not here… Read more →
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Verizon Customer Sues over Spam Filtering
A disgruntled Verizon customer has filed a class action lawsuit against their internet service provider (‘ISP’), seeking compensation for losses incurred as a result of their aggressive mail filtering policy. Since 22 December, Verizon’s mail servers have been configured to automatically reject connections from Europe and other parts of the world, including China and New… Read more →
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Patent pools for open source DNA
An Australian organisation hopes to give scientists free access to the latest methods in biotechnology via the internet. The Biological Innovation for Open Society (‘BIOS’) will soon launch an open-source platform that promises to free up rights to patented DNA sequences and the methods needed to manipulate biological material. Users must only follow BIOS’ ‘rules… Read more →
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Search Engine Keywords Can Infringe: French Court
A French company has successfully sued Google for trademark infringement constituted by the display of keyword advertisements. There can be little doubt that this issue will continue to be played out across the various jurisdictions for the next several years. The court ruled against Google in a lawsuit filed by a French resort chain over… Read more →
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New Content Management System
I’ve redesigned the site interface and upgraded the backend to Movable Type 3.14. The main website design is partially inspired by a phpBB skin I once encountered, and is intended to be accessible but interesting. The palette is muted and consists primarily of pastel tones. I welcome feedback on the new design — in particular,… Read more →
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Crazy about trade marks: John’s, Ron’s and the Federal Court
The Federal Court of Australia last week handed down judgment in Crazy Ron’s Communications Pty Ltd v Mobileworld Communications Pty Ltd, which was a dispute between two rhyming telephone vendors: Crazy John’s and Crazy Ron’s. Crazy John’s claimed infringement of two trademarks (one registered in 1995, the other in 1999), the former of which concerned… Read more →
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This is Not an Offer
Exams are upon us, and so, in the midst of fervent revision, a bounty of doctrines, methodologies, principles, and case law is accumulated and recorded. I make available my semester’s notes for other students or interested persons to use in their revision or personal study. The writings, in 12 parts, serve as a casebook-style introduction… Read more →
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US to Prosecute for Cyberstalking
Recent amendments to the United States Code are about to be tested by prosecutors in the District of Columbia, who have charged one Robert Murphy with 26 counts of using a telecommunications device ‘to annoy, abuse, threaten and harass’. The facts of the case reflect an increasingly common experience for ex-partners and employees: the accused… Read more →
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The Beginning of the End (of Bad Puns)
In a request filed by six Australian music labels to the Federal Court, access has been granted to documents and computer records of Sharman Networks, including source code and encryption technologies used by the infamous P2P file-sharing application, Kazaa. Universal Music, Festival Mushroom Records, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music, and BMG Australia successfully applied… Read more →