DoJ entered another file-sharing suit to restate its view that the Copyright Act’s distribution right covers Internet transmission, leading a prominent file-sharing defense lawyer to accuse the agency of “working together” with RIAA -- a charge denied by the industry group. DoJ also asked the U.S. Dist. Court, Abilene, Tex., if it could weigh in on the “making available” issue in file-sharing, if the court addresses the subject in Fonovisa v. Alvarez. DoJ made the same points in a recent file-sharing case, Elektra v. Barker in U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y., in that case filing only after an amicus brief contested the validity of applying the distribution right to digital files as opposed to physical media. The provision is crucial to DoJ criminal cases (WID April 25 p3). DoJ said the Act’s “material object” language meant to set the “intangible legal right in the copyright itself” apart from the “physical embodiment of that work” in various media; common law links the concepts, DoJ said. The “making available” argument -- which says copyrighted files’ presence in a shared folder is infringement -- implicates World Intellectual Property Organization treaties and a free trade agreement, DoJ said. Ray Beckerman of blog Recording Industry vs. the People said it seems in Fonovisa that “RIAA and the DoJ are working together.” Elektra, in which the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the precipitating amicus brief, had a far higher profile than Fonovisa, Beckerman said. “How would the DoJ have even known of the existence of the [Fonovisa] case” without an RIAA tip? he said in an interview. DoJ usually files statements of interest when a court tells it a party has challenged a law’s constitutionality, and DoJ has a “strong opinion” that the law is constitutional, Beckerman said. The agency doesn’t intervene in civil cases involving private litigants when a civil statute’s meaning, rather than its constitutionality, is in question, he added. A DoJ spokesman told us the agency would have no comment beyond its filing in Fonovisa. An RIAA spokeswoman told us DoJ intervened in Fonovisa “without any suggestion or communication from us that it was in the interest of the United States to file a brief.”
The SEC said Tues. it charged Infinium Labs’ former CEO Timothy Roberts in a “fraudulent ‘junk fax’ scheme” to promote the company’s stock. The action came after a long SEC investigation that was played down by executives at Infinium, which has been promising to deliver an “always-on” Phantom Game Service and console for years but hasn’t delivered.
Two activist N.J. attorneys filed suit late Fri. against Verizon, alleging the Bell gave subscriber data to the National Security Agency (NSA) in violation of the Telecom Act and the Constitution. In a case that in many ways mirrors an Electronic Freedom Foundation action against AT&T, the lawyers seek damages that could run to the billions (CD April 24 p6). Meanwhile, the govt. filed Sat. for state secrets privilege in the EFF-AT&T case.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to launch an investigation into Lexar’s claims that Toshiba’s flash chips and memory cards are infringing 3 of its patents, Lexar said. Lexar filed a complaint with ITC in April seeking a permanent exclusion order barring import of infringing Toshiba NAND flash chips and cards, as well as products that incorporate them. Among the Toshiba products that subject to the ITC probe are 16-bit multi-level cell NAND flash chips and 8-gigabit single level cell and multi- level cell flash chips. Products being investigated include Toshiba’s flash chips. Lexar’s complaint also requests a cease-and-desist order to bar further sales and distribution of Toshiba products already imported into the U.S. The case was referred to ITC administrative law judge Robert Barton, who’s expected to issue an initial decision by early- to mid- 2007. The ITC will likely make a final ruling in 3rd quarter 2007. The ITC investigation is separate from Lexar’s on- going legal battle with Toshiba in Cal. Superior Court. A Santa Clara County court jury awarded Lexar a total of $464.5 million last year after finding Toshiba liable for the theft of flash memory-related trade secrets and violating fiduciary duty. A Cal. state judge, however, ordered a new trial in Dec., finding there was “insufficient evidence” to support “any of the economic and monetary” awards granted by the jury (CED Dec 6 p7).
Phone companies will be summoned before the Senate Judiciary Committee to provide information on reports that they're supplying the National Security Agency phone records of ordinary people in the U.S., Senate Judiciary Committee Chmn. Specter (R-Pa.) said Thurs. A USA Today story citing unidentified sources said AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth are secretly providing the records -- a report that provoked demands for hearings on Capitol Hill.
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a proposed rule to revise and update its regulations in 50 CFR Parts 10, 13, 17, and 23 that implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Warner Bros. (WB) hooked up with BitTorrent to provide a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform offering legitimate content on a video-on-demand (VoD) and electronic sell through (EST) basis simultaneously with release of TV shows or movie DVDs. The Tues. announcement made WB the first major studio to provide legitimate video content via BitTorrent technology. In 2005 BitTorrent told the MPAA it would work to prevent film piracy and promote innovative online digital content distribution (WID Nov 23 p9). The service is to launch this summer.
Warner Bros. (WB) hooked up with BitTorrent to provide a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform offering legitimate content on a video-on-demand (VoD) and electronic sell through (EST) basis simultaneously with release of TV shows or movie DVDs. The Tues. announcement made WB the first major studio to provide legitimate video content via BitTorrent technology. In 2005 BitTorrent told the MPAA it would work to prevent film piracy and promote innovative online digital content distribution. The service is to launch this summer.
A virtual land deal gone awry has led to a real world court battle pitting a Web-savvy attorney against Second Life, a 3-dimensional Internet world game created by San Francisco-based Linden Lab. The lawsuit, perhaps the first of its kind, was filed in W. Chester, Pa., small claims court. It seeks $8,000 in financial damages, in part for a breach of a virtual land auction contract and for violation of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
According to a posting on the Web site of the House Committee on Homeland Security, on May 4, 2006, the House of Representatives passed the Security and Accountability For Every "SAFE" Port Act, a comprehensive port security bill that will enhance security at U.S. ports, track and protect containers en route to the U.S., and prevent threats from reaching U.S. soil. (See ITT's Online Archives or 05/04/06 news, 06050405 for BP summary highlighting bill before floor action.) (Committee posting at http://hsc.house.gov/.)