Content  Fälle USA |
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| 186 Fälle und Entscheidungen |
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USA: Dot.Com-Krise-New Speak - Mail an Compaq Employees |
| "Last quarter, we delivered a strong operating performance in the face of the market downturn. As I said then, it is times like these that test our ability to execute. We cannot control the market. But together we must manage our business so we can execute through these tough times." (E-Mail, 2001-03-16) |
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USA: IUMA Suspends Operations |
| "We regret to inform you that we have been forced to close the IUMA community to new artists. Severe cutbacks in funding from EMusic in early January have made it impossible to maintain the quality and consistency of many IUMA services." (Letter, 2001-02-07) |
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USA/Schweiz: Toywar II - "etoy v. eToys" |
| "eToys, Inc.'s use of the 'etoys' mark has caused consumers to believe there is an affiliation, association or connection between etoy Corporation and eToys, Inc. Such use infringes on etoy Corporation's rights in its registered trademark 'etoy'." (Notice of Opposition, o.D.; Complaint, 2001-01-24) |
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USA: Fighting for the Top Level Domain ".web" - IOD v. IANA et.al. |
| "No mention, allowance, or recognition of Plaintiffís first/prior use of that name and/or Plaintiffís ownership of the intellectual property rights in the database containing the domain names ending in '.web', and/or the fact that Plaintiff would become a 'top level domain' registry due to its successful first/prior use of '.web' was made, although Defendant IAHC has recognized, authorized and ratified Plaintiffís first/prior use of '.web' on Defendant IAHC's web site." (Complaint, 1997-02-27; Declaration, 1997-04; Request to IANA, o.D. [2000]) |
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USA/Schweiz/Österreich: "It's different because it's fundamentally different." - The Voteauction-Case |
| "[V]ote-auction, the only platform worldwide allowing end-consumers to take part in the U.S. election industry [formerly called 'soft money'],
falls again victim to a repressive campaign against free speech. The domain Vote-auction.com got illegally
shut down by InterNIC." (Complaint, 2000-10-16; Motion, o.D.; Memorandum, o.D.; Preliminary Injunction Order, o.D.; Secretary of State Warning, 2000-08-22; Attorney General News, 2000-11-01; Press Release, 2000-11-02) |
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USA: The "Mathworld-Case" - "CRC Press, LLC. v. Wolfram Research, Inc., Stephen Wolfram and Eric Weisstein" |
| "It is with the deepest regret that we must inform you that because of a copyright lawsuit filed by CRC Press against Eric Weisstein, Wolfram
Research (the sponsor of MathWorld), and its CEO, Stephen Wolfram,
we have been forced to remove our MathWorld web site from public
view." (Complaint, 2000-03-07; Order, 2000-10-23; Web Page, 2000-10-23) |
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USA/Schweiz: Die Domain "madonna.com" |
| "Complainant is the well-known entertainer Madonna. The domain name has been registered and used in bad faith." (WIPO Administrative Panel Decision, 2000-10-12) |
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USA: FBI's Carnivore - Information about "taking a bite out of Americans' privacy" |
| "The FBI . . . is trying to take a bite out of Americans' privacy on the Internet. It has started using a rapacious computer program known as 'Carnivore' to do cyberspace snooping on investigative targets. The program is attached to the target's Internet service provider. There, it absorbs and analyzes all the traffic or 'packets' traveling through the ISP, not just the communications of the suspect." (Memorandum, 2000-08-17) |
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USA: "Technically capable of enabling law enforcement to intercept..." - "United States Telecom Association, et.al. v. Federal Trade Commission et.al." |
| "CALEA authorizes neither the Commission nor the telecommunications industry to modify either the evidentiary standards or procedural safeguards for securing legal authorization to obtain packets from which call content has not been stripped, nor may the Commission require carriers to provide the government with information that is "not authorized to be intercepted."" (Appeal Court Decision, 2000-08-15) |
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USA: Harris Interactive against the Mail Abuse Protection System |
| "Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS), (...), says that it will vigorously defend the law suit filed yesterday by online market research giant Harris Interactive Inc. Harris has sued Microsoft Corp., and America Online Inc. (AOL), naming MAPS as a co-defendant, in an effort to force Microsoft and AOL to accept unsolicited bulk commercial email, also known as 'spam'." (Press Release, 2000-08-02; Press Release, 2000-08-08) |
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USA: The Pricing Policy of the Toy Retailer - "Toys 'R' Us v. Federal Trade Commission" |
| "The Commission concluded (...) that TRU had acted as the coordinator of a horizontal agreement among a number of toy manufacturers. The agreements took the form of a network of vertical agreements between TRU and the individual manufacturers (...). This practice (...) violated sec. 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. sec. 45. It also found that TRU had entered into a series of vertical agreements that flunked scrutiny under antitrust's rule of reason." (Appeal Court Decision, 2000-08-01) |
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USA: An Anti-Anti-Spam Lawsuit - "Yesmail v. Mail Abuse Prevention System" |
| "Our organizations are now in alignment regarding appropriate best practices, which protect consumers against unsolicited email." (Press Release, 2000-07-21; Joint Press Release, 2000-08; Press Release, 2000-08-01) |
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USA/Schweiz: "sting.com" - WIPO-Decision against the Popstar |
| "The Respondent asserted that there are 20 trademark registrations of the word STING in the US, but none of them are registered by the Complainant. The word STING is a common word in the English language, and so registration of it as a domain name is not a violation of the Uniform Policy. The Respondent is not a competitor of the Complainant and the Respondent does not attempt to cause any confusion with him." (WIPO Decision, 2000-07-24) |
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USA: Domain Name Dispute with the WIPO Center - cu-seeme.net |
| "Complainant is the owner of the registered trademark CU-SEEME.(...) The domain name CU-SEEME.NET, except for the top-level ".net" extension, is identical to the registered trademark.(...) Accordingly, the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant's registered trademark. Respondent should be considered as having no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name because the registration and assignment of the trademark entitle Complainant to exclusive use of CU-SEEME in connection with video conferencing software." (Complaint, 2000-06-01; Complaint Notification, 2000-06-07) |
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USA: United States of America v. Microsoft Corp., State of New York v. Microsoft Corp. |
| "Microsoft has demonstrated that it will use its prodigious market power and immense profits to harm any firm that insists on pursuing initiatives that could intensify competition against one of Microsoft's core products. (...) The ultimate result is that some innovations that would truly benefit consumers never occur for the sole reason that they do not coincide with Microsoft's self-interest." (Findings of Fact, 1999-11-05) |
| "The Court concludes that Microsoft maintained its monopoly power by anticompetitive means and attempted to monopolize the Web browser market, both in violation of § 2. Microsoft also violated § 1 of the Sherman Act by unlawfully tying its Web browser to its operating system." (Conclusions of Law and Final Order, 2000-04-03; Memorandum and Order, 2000-06-07) |
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USA: Markenschutz für "Frowny" - Lizenzgebühr bei Emoticon-Verwendung |
| "Current Status: Registered." (TARR File, 2000-05-02) |
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USA: Record Industry against the Net - RIAA v. MP3.com |
| "MP3.com (NASDAQ: MPPP) had its day in court against the major record labels today, as U.S. District Court Justice Jed Rakoff granted a summary judgment on behalf of the labels in their suit filed over MP3.com's My.MP3.com service." (Complaint, 2000-01-21; Letters, 2000-01-21; MP3.com News, 2000-04-28) |
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USA: Records about Video Conferencing Software are not "agency records" - "John Gilmore v. US Department of Energy" |
| "In full and final settlement of the Gilmore Suit (...) AOO will diligently make every reasonable effort to process future FOIA requests by the Plaintiff for Responsive Records (hereinafter referred to as 'Request') in accordance with FOIA, DOE Regulations, and applicable AOO procedures." (Settlement Agreement, 2000-03-29; Lawyer's Statement, 2000-04-13) |
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USA: Crypto-Export - "Junger v. Daley" |
| "Plaintiff Junger alleges that the Export Regulations violate his First Amendment rights of academic freedom and freedom of association by restricting his ability to teach, publish, and distribute encryption software." (Complaint, 1996-08-07; Court Order, 1998-07-02; Appeal Court Decision, 2000-04-04) |
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USA: "This type of web site makes us sick!" - "Recording Industry of America v. Napster" |
"Through its conduct averred herein, Napster is guilty of oppression, fraud, and/or malice and plaintiffs are, in addition to their actual damages, by reason thereof, entitled to recover exemplary and punitive damages against Napster. Napster's conduct, as hereinabove averred, is causing and, unless enjoined and restrained by this Court, will continue to cause plaintiffs great and irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated or measured in money. Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law." (Complaint, 2000-04; Opinion  , 2001-02-12; Order , 2001-03) |
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USA: Challenging the Penal Law - "The People v Thomas R. Foley, Sr." |
| "The jury was thus instructed to consider, from the evidence before it, whether or not a child who participated in the performance was under the age of 16. Under these circumstances, we cannot conclude that, as applied to defendant, the statute is unconstitutionally overbroad. We reject defendant's remaining contentions." (Appeal Court Decision, 2000-03-29) |
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USA: Cyberpatrol hacked - Microsystems & Mattel v. Coders and ISPs |
| "Defendants Eddy L. O. Jansson and Matthew Skala ("Jansson" and "Skala", respectively) violated Federal and international copyright protections by reverse engineering Microsystems' Cyber Patrol child-protection software. Jansson and Skala then created and posted on their Web sites, hosted by defendants Scandinavia On Line AB ("Scandinavia Online") and Islandnet.Com ("Islandnet"), source code and binaries designed to bypass Cyber Patrol (the "Bypass Code")." (Announcement, 2000-03-11; Complaint, 2000-03-15; Motion for Memorandum and Order, 2000-03-15; Subpoena, 2000-03-17; Opposition to Motion, 2000-03-24; Web-Posting, 2000-03-27; Stipulated Permanent Injunction, 2000-03-28; Home Page, 2000-03-29) |
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USA: Motion Pictures Association of America v. Reimerdes et.al. - A 2nd Front in the DVD Copy Protection Dispute |
| "Defendants (...) are enjoined and restrained (...) from (...) posting on any Internet web site, or in any other way manufacturing, importing or offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that (...) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of cirumventing (...) the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by plaintiffs that effectively controls access to plaintiffs' copyrighted works." (Complaint, 2000-01-14; Preliminary Injunction, 2000-01-20; Memorandum Opinion, 2000-02-02; Consent Judgment, 2000-03-17) |
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USA: AMWAY - The Untold Story |
| "It is important that you understand that Amway does not take issue with the rights of those that wish to have a web site in which they provide opinion, and solicit the opinions of others, regarding Amway's products and services." (Second Amended Complaint, 1999-04-12; Order, 1999-06-29; Mails, 2000-02; Subpoena, 2000-03-14) |
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USA: The "Qadahfi Plot" - The State v. Julie Ann Davies |
| "The Special Branch officers who arrested a university student under the Official Secrets Act are investigating how a classified MI6 document appeared on a California-based website (...). Julie Ann Davies, 35, a mature student studying manufacturing engineering at Kingston University in Surrey, was arrested (...) in the middle of a lecture..." (News Article, 2000-03-08; Posting, 2000-03-08) |
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USA: A "Landmark Suit" - "Tasini et.al. v. The New York Times et.al" |
| "Six freelance writers appeal from a grant of summary judgment dismissing their complaint. The complaint alleged that appellees had infringed appellants' various copyrights by putting individual articles previously published in periodicals on electronic databases available to the public. On cross motions for summary judgment, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that appellees' use of the articles was protected by the privilege afforded to publishers of 'collective works' under Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 201(c). We reverse and remand with instructions to enter judgment for appellants." (Complaint, 1994-02-24; Order, 1997-08-13; Appeal Court Decision, 1999-09-24; Amended Opinion, 2000-02-25) |
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USA: The MovieBuff-Case - Using Competitors Trademark in Domain and Meta-Tags - "Brookfield Communications, Inc. v. West Coast Entertainment Corp." |
| "As we have seen, registration of a domain name for a Web site does not trump long-established principles of trademark law. When a firm uses a competitor's trademark in the domain name of its web site, users are likely to be confused as to its source or sponsorship. Similarly, using a competitor's trademark in the metatags of such web site is likely to cause what we have described as initial interest confusion. These forms of confusion are exactly what the trademark laws are designed to prevent." (Opinion, 2000-01-21) |
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USA: "www.worldwrestlingfederation.com" - First Cybersquatting Case under WIPO Process |
| "... the Panel decides that the domain name registered by respondent is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark and service mark in which the complainant has rights (...). Accordingly (...) the Panel requires that the registration of the domain name <worldwrestlingfederation.com> be transferred to the complainant." (Press Release, 2000-01-14) |
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USA: Consumer Injury and Deceptive Practices - " Federal Trade Commission v. ReverseAuction.Com, Inc." |
| "IT IS ORDERED that defendant shall delete, and refrain from using or disclosing, the user IDs, e-mail addresses, and feedback ratings of all (...) eBay customers who received an unsolicited email from ReverseAuction between November 12, 1999 and November 15, 1999, and who have not registered with ReverseAuction..." (Complaint, 2000-01; Order, 2000-01) |
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USA: DVD Copy Control Association, Inc.'s battle against web site owners |
| "DVD CCA is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges that Defendants have disclosed, and continue knowingly and willfully to disclose, proprietary information on their Internet web sites as part of a scheme to defeat DVD encryption software which thus enables users to illegally pirate copies of DVD videos." (Complaint, 1999-12-28; Order, 1999-12-29; Order, 2000-01-21) |
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USA: ACLU sues FBI over Censorship of fictional Y2K Takeover Film - "Zieper v. Reno" |
| "Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. District Attorney's office in New York briefly shut down a website displaying the film by pressuring video artist Mike Zieper of New Jersey and his web host Mark Wieger, a Michigan businessman." (ACLU Press Release, 1999-12-22; Complaint, 1999-12-22) |
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USA/France: "Leonardo" trademarked in France - The Lawsuit against the Leonardo Art Network |
| "On the 18th of November 1999, the Paris-based company Transasia Corporation with co-complainants filed a law suit against the Leonardo Association in Paris, claiming trademark infringement and loss of business. Transasia in their filing claims to have recently trademarked the (name) Leonardo..." (Public Information, 1999-12-20) |
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USA: ISP not liable for verification of all applicants - "Lunney v. Prodigy Services Company" |
| "(The appellant) would require an ISP to employ a 'process for verification of the bona fides' of all applicants and any credit cards they offer so as to protect against defamatory acts. (...) There is no justification for such a limitless field of liability. If circumstances could be imagined in which an ISP would be liable for consequences that flow from the opening of false accounts, they do not present themselves here." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-12-02) |
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USA: "Kelly v. Arriva Soft Corp." - No copyright infringement by "Visual Search Engine" |
| "...the Court finds Defendant did not have 'reasonable grounds to know' it would cause its users to infringe Plaintiff's copyrights. Defendant warns its users about the possibility of use restrictions on the images in its index, and instructs them to check with the originating Web sites before copying and using those images, even in reduced thumbnail form." (Order, 1999-12) |
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USA: Reverse Domain Name Grabbing - "eToys v. etoy" |
| "eToys, Inc., a publicly traded toy company headquartered in Santa Monica, has filed a trademark infringement action against a group of Europeans who allegedly describe themselves as performance artists, computer hackers, and the first street gang on the internet and operate an "etoy.com" website." (Mail, 1999-11-06; News, 1999-11-06) |
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USA: Satan's onslaught - Liverprayer.com against the Mail Abuse Prevention System |
| "God told me when He gave me the vision for this Internet ministry that it was going to be a major battle since the Internet has basically been Satan's domain and to a large extent still is. (...) There is a group called MAPS in San Francisco that has appointed themselves the policeman of the Internet. (...) Get your church, your bible study, your prayer groups, post the need on the net, we need the prayers of God's people worldwide as we face this onslaught from satan." (Mailing, 1999-11-05) |
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USA: National Federation of the Blind files suit against America Online Inc. |
| "Defendant AOL has particularly designed its AOL service so that it is incompatible with screen access software programs for the blind. Despite its self-description as 'the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and electronic commerce services' AOL (...) has failed to remove communications barriers presented by its designs thus denying the blind independent access to this service." (Complaint, 1999-11-04) |
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USA: Another Unsolicited Commercial Mail Case - "AOL v. USA Home Employment" |
| "Pursuant to the Order filed herewith, IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the plaintiff's motion for default judgment is GRANTED. Defendant is liable for damages in the amount of $77,5OO. Defendant is ORDERED to comply with the permanent injunction specified in the Order filed herewith." (Complaint; Final Judgment, 1999-09-29) |
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USA: The Domain "writeword.com" - "Dorer v. Arel" |
| "To the extent that the plaintiffs simply seek transfer or cancellation of the domain name, there appears to be an avenue of self-help that is at least as efficacious and surely less problematical than seeking to compel the defendant to transfer personal property in satisfaction of the judgment. A ruling on plaintiffs' motion to compel transfer or personal property will be deferred pending plaintiffs' recourse to the self-help method suggested." (Memorandum Opinion, 1999-09-03) |
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USA: First Criminal Copyright Conviction Under the "No Electronic Theft" (NET) Act |
| "Mr. Levy is the first person convicted under the No Electronic Theft ("NET") Act. Mr. Levy admitted that in January 1999, he illegally posted computer software programs, musical recordings, entertainment software programs, and digitally-recorded movies on his Internet web site, allowing the general public to download and copy these copyrighted products." (DoJ Press Release, 1999-08-20) |
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USA: "You've got mail" trademarked - "America Online Inc. v. AT & T" |
| "...rulings that are made against AOL -- in this case, the rulings that YOU HAVE MAIL, IM, and BUDDY LIST® are generic as a matter of law." (Memorandum Opinion, 1999-08-13) |
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USA: The Archivist against the Law |
| "The Archivist of the United States promulgated General Records Schedule 20 (...). GRS 20 requires each federal agency to which the Records Disposal Act applies to dispose of word processing and electronic mail files (...) once it has copied them to a paper or an electronic recordkeeping system. Public Citizen and others sued the Archivist (...) under the Administrative Procedure Act, alleging that GRS 20 violates the RDA. The district court agreed. (...) We uphold GRS 20. The judgment of the district court is reversed." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-08-06) |
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USA: Protecting minors through censorship - "Cyberspace et.al. v. John Engler" |
| "The Act (...) adds criminal prohibitions against using computers or the Internet to disseminate sexually explicit materials to minors. Plaintiffs claim that the Act will adversely impact them because it is unconstitutionally vague or overbroad." (Findings of Fact, 1999-07-29) |
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USA: Jack Kerouac, the "Charles Manson for the Beats" - "Gerald Nicosia v. Diane De Rooy" |
| "Nicosia does not dispute that De Rooy's statements were published on her personal web-site, and through Internet discussion groups, as part of a heated debate concerning a bitter legal dispute. (...) The Court finds that Nicosia has failed to plead actual malice with the required specificity, and hereby GRANTS De Rooy's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim." (Order, 1999-07-07) |
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USA: Steven J. Caspi et.al. v. The Microsoft Network" |
| "We are here called upon to determine the validity and enforceability of a forum selection clause contained in an on-line subscriber agreement of the Microsoft Network (MSN), an on-line computer service. The trial court granted defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the forum selection clause in the parties' contracts called for plaintiffs' claims to be litigated in the State of Washington. Plaintiffs appeal. We affirm." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-07-02) |
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USA: United States v. Daniel Mohrbacher - "...visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct" |
| "Mohrbacher's illegal conduct consisted of downloading images of child pornography from a foreign-based electronic bulletin board. (...) We agree with his reading of the statute, and accordingly reverse these two counts of conviction. However, we reject Mohrbacher's second contention on appeal, and hold that the district court did not clearly err by denying him credit for acceptance of responsibility." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-06-29) |
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USA: The Rio-Case - "Recording Industry Association of America v. Diamond Multimedia Systems" |
| "...the Rio is not a digital audio recording device subject to the restrictions of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. The district court properly denied the motion for a preliminary injunction against the Rio's manufacture and distribution. Having so determined, we need not consider whether the balance of hardships or the possibility of irreparable harm supports injunctive relief. Affirmed." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-06-15) |
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USA: Defamation and related Causes - "Jewish Defense Organization, Inc. v. The Superior Court of L.A. County and Steven Rambam" |
| "In the instant case, defendants' conduct in registering Rambam's name as a domain name and posting passive web sites on the Internet is not sufficient to subject them to jurisdiction in California." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-06-08) |
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USA: "Porsche v. Porsche" - Another Domain Dispute |
| "Because the language of the Trademark Dilution Act does not appear to permit in rem actions against allegedly diluting marks, and because a contrary reading of the statute would unnecessarily put its constitutionality in doubt (...), the Court must conclude that the Complaint should be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction." (Memorandum Opinion, 1999-06-08) |
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USA: Invasion of Privacy based on employer's review and dissemination of electronic Mail - "Bill McLaren v. Microsoft" |
| "In this case, appellant Bill McLaren, Jr. asks us to recognize a cause of action for invasion of privacy based on his employer's review and dissemination of electronic mail stored in a 'personal folders' application on McLaren's office computer. We conclude that McLaren's petition failed to allege facts sufficient to state a cause of action for invasion of privacy. We affirm the trial court's judgment." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-05-28) |
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USA: Crypto-Code protected by the 1st Amendment - "Bernstein v. United States of America" |
| "The government defendants appeal the grant of summary judgment to the plaintiff, Professor Daniel J. Bernstein ("Bernstein"), enjoining the enforcement of certain Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") that limit Bernstein's ability to distribute encryption software. (...) We hold that the challenged regulations constitute a prior restraint on speech that offends the First Amendment." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-05-06) |
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USA: Domain Registration refused - "Seven Words L.L.C. v. Network Solutions Inc." |
| "Plaintiff registered for, and NSI refused to grant, the right to use the following domain names: fuck.com, cunt.com, cocksucker.com, motherfucker.com, piss.net, fuck.net, cunt.net, cocksucker.net, motherfucker.net and tits.net. NSI's arbitrary censorship policy and its refusal to register the Censored Domain Names, violates Plaintiff's rights of free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution." (Complaint, 1999-04-12) |
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USA: "United States v. Amirault" |
| "We believe the only truly striking aspects of the photograph to be the girl's nakedness and her youth. These factors alone are not enough to render the photo "lascivious." We therefore hold that the district court improperly applied the trafficking cross-reference at Amirault's sentencing." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-04-06) |
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USA: Slinkman v. Prince George's County, Maryland et.al. |
| "Joseph Slinkman sues his wife and brother-in-law for accessing his electronic mail account. The brother-in-law, a senior police official for Prince George's County, Maryland, is alleged to have accessed the plaintiff's electronic mail account in violation of Maryland state law and the privacy inferences of the U.S. Constitution." (Complaint, 1999-04; Amended Complaints) |
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USA: Will trade Pre Teen for Animal - "United States v. John Fabiano" |
| "Defendant John Fabiano appeals his conviction for knowingly receiving child pornography (...). Defendant was charged in a fifteen-count indictment with transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography. (...) We AFFIRM the district court." (Appeal Court Decision, 1999-03-05) |
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USA: False Stock Values on the Net - "Ben Ezra et.al. v. America Online Inc." |
| "Plaintiff filed suit seeking damages from Defendant America Online (AOL) claiming that it suffered injuries when the value of its stock was inaccurately reported. The Defendant filed its motion seeking summary judgment (...) arguing that it cannot be held liable for any errors (...) as that data is provided by third-party 'information content providers'." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1999-03-01) |
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USA: The "Nuremberg Files" - "Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. et.al. v. American Coalition of Life Activists et.al." |
| "Defendants are hereby immediately and permanently ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from providing additional material (...) to the Nuremberg Files or any mirror web site that may be created. In addition, defendants are enjoined from publishing, republishing, reproducing and/or distributing in print or electronic form the personally identifying information about plaintiffs contained in the Nuremberg Files." (Order and Permanent Injunction, 1999-02-25) |
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USA: The Papal Visit 1999® - "Archdiocese of St. Louis v. Internet Entertainment Group, Inc." |
| "IT IS ORDERED that defendant Internal Entertainment Group, Inc., its officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and those persons in active concert and participation with defendant who receive actual notice of this preliminary injunction, are immediately enjoined from directly or indirectly using the plaintiffs' common law trademarks and tradename 'Papal Visit 1999', 'Pastoral Visit', '1999 Papal Visit Commemorative Official Commemorative Items', and 'Papal Visit 1999, St. Louis'." (Preliminary Injunction, 1999-01-20; Memorandum Opinion, 1999-02-12) |
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USA: "Truelove v. Mensa International Ltd." |
| "According to
Plaintiff Alan Truelove, he was wrongly terminated from membership on the L-Soft Mensa
list and subsequently libelled on the list. In the instant case it was the Mensa organizations that controlled posting and subscribing to the L-Soft List. That, quite simply, is the end of the matter." (Opinion and Order, 1999-02-10) |
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USA: Privacy Rights in the World Wide Web - The Federal Trade Commission against GeoCities |
| "IT IS ORDERED that respondent (...) shall not make any misrepresentation (...) about its collection or use of such information from or about consumers, including, but not limited to, what information will be disclosed to third parties and how the information will be used." (FTC Decision and Order, 1999-02-05) |
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USA: ACLU et.al. v. Reno - Order granting Plaintiff's Motion for Injunction ("CDA II") |
| "AND NOW, (...) it is hereby ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED and defendant Janet Reno, in her official capacity as Attorney General of the United States, and, (...), defendant's officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with defendant who receive actual notice of this Order, are PRELIMINARILY ENJOINED from enforcing or prosecuting matters premised upon 47 U.S.C. 231 of the Child Online Protection Act at any time." (Memorandum and Order, 1999-02-01) |
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USA: Complaint ACLU et.al. v. Reno for declaratory and injunctive relief ("CDA II") |
| "The Act applies to all communications on the Web that are 'available to any minor.' Because all free content on the Web is 'available to' both adults and minors, the Act on its face applies to communications between adults. Given the technology of the Web, there are no reasonable means for speakers who provide information for free to ascertain the age of persons who access their speech, or to restrict or prevent access by minors." (Complaint, 1998-10-22) |
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USA: Suspended from School because of critical Web-Pages - "Beussink v. Woodland School District" |
| "Plaintiff Brandon Beussink claims that the Woodland R-IV School District violated his rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. (...) the Woodland School District suspended him from school for ten days because he had posted a homepage on the Internet which was critical of Woodland High School. (...) The request for a preliminary injunction will be granted." (Memorandum and Order, 1998-12-28) |
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USA: Neither general nor specific Jurisdiction - "Advanced Software Inc. v. Datapharm Inc." |
| "Advanced has sued Datapharm in this Court alleging that Datapharm has infringed on Advanced's mark. (...) Advanced asserts jurisdiction in this Court based on Datapharm's web-site, which is accessible from California. (...) Advanced cannot show that this Court has either general or specific personal jurisdiction over Datapharm. The Court grants Datapharm's motion to dismiss." (Order, 1998-11-03) |
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USA: 50% wrong: The Public Sex Offenders Registry - "Akella v. Michigan Department of State Police et.al." |
| "The proposed class is composed of all present and future persons who have wrongfully or erroneously had their addresses and/or names listed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry." (Complaint, 1998-11) |
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USA: 60 million bulk e-mail advertisements - "America Online Inc. v. IMS" |
| "AOL alleges that Melle and TSF improperly sent unauthorized bulk e-mail advertisements ("spam") to AOL subscribers. Specifically, AOL alleges that Melle sent over 60 million e-mail messages over the course of 10 months; that he continued to send unauthorized bulk e-mail after he was notified in writing by AOL to cease (...). The undisputed facts establish that Melle committed a trespass to chattels in violation of Virginia Common Law." (Memorandum Opinion, 1998-10-29) |
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USA: The BUFFNet/Dreamscape-Seizure - Providers held liable for unmoderated news-feed |
| "On October 27th, 1998, the New York State Police, acting under the orders of Attorney General Dennis Vacco, seized computer equipment BuffNET used to provide it's subscribers with access to Internet newsgroups. 'It's like seizing envelopes to combat mail fraud,' said BuffNET attorney Steven Fox, 'or taking the cable for what's on TV.'" (Public Statement, 1998-10-27) |
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USA: Abusing "localhost.com" - "Matthew Seidl v. Greentree Mortgage Comp." |
| "According to the undisputed facts, Greentree took advantage of an available, legal, but controversial vehicle for advertising its businesses by hiring someone to send unsolicited advertisements by e-mail, with unintended consequences to Mr. Seidl. (...) Mr. Seidl attempted, unsuccessfully, to develop a legal theory under which an advertiser could be made to suffer financially for the practice of spamming." (Complaint, 1997; Opinion and Order, 1998-10-16) |
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USA: AppolloMedia v. U.S.
Justice Department challenging the "1996 Communications Decency Act" |
| "ApolloMedia's request for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief and for a declaration that (...) the First Amendment (is violated) is hereby denied." (Court Order, 1998-09-22) |
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USA: AppolloMedia v. U.S. Justice Department challenging the "1996 Communications Decency Act". |
| "Plaintiff, its clients and visitors have a First Amendment right to communicate "indecent" material to adults, even if such communications are accompanied by an intent to "annoy" either the recipient or other
persons." (Complaint, 1996-01-30) |
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USA: The Domain Registration Service unlawful in itself - A Class Action against Network Solutions et.al. |
| "Although the Court dismissed nine counts, it granted summary judgment for plaintiff on Count One, which alleged that the "Preservation Assessment" -- the 30% of the registration fee that went to the Intellectual Infrastructure Fund -- was an unconstitutional tax." (Complaint, 1998-01-16; Opinion, 1998-08-28; Stipulation, w/o Date) |
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USA: The Putnam Pit v. City of Cookevile |
| "This action concerns Plaintiffs' claims seeking access to parking ticket data in electronic form, to City computer Internet usage history files and to be linked to the City's web site." (Complaint; Defendant's Motion; Memorandum granting summary judgment, 1998-08) |
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USA: Offending fraudulent Internet messages exposed - "Terry Jessup-Morgan v. America Online Inc." |
| "Jessup (...) used her AOL account to post publicly on the Internet a message meant to harass and injure Barbara Smith. Jessup posted the message under the 'screen name' (i.e., alias) of 'Barbeeedol.' The message read as follows: 'Call me I'm single, lonely, horny...'" (Opinion and Order, 1998-07-23) |
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USA: "Sheehan v. King County Experian aka TRW, et.al." |
| "A federal court has held that people have the same right to protest in cyberspace as they do on sidewalks. (...) U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer ruled that people cannot be barred from putting offensive material on the Internet until a court has found it defamatory at trial." (Order, 1998-07-17; ACLU News, 1998-08-13) |
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USA: AOL shuts down a customer's Koranic-parody site |
| "AOL shut down a customer's Koranic-parody site after protests from Egypt. But at least one identical site immediately sprang to life. Then still another site appeared, devoted to discussing the controversy -- and reproducing the original site that AOL closed." (Mailing, 1998-06-26) |
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USA: "MicroData v. Dharma Systems" |
| "It's as if MDBS, having stolen a program from Dharma, inserted a bug in it as a result of which the program didn't work, and buyers blamed Dharma and refused to do any further business with it. That would be a consequence of misappropriation, and Dharma would be entitled to the foreseeable damages flowing from that consequence. We conclude that the district court's rulings were correct." (Appeal Court Decision, 1998-05-29) |
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USA: Alan M. Howard et al. v. America Online Inc. |
| "Plaintiffs purport to bring this lawsuit on behalf of millions of subscribers of AOL injured by the Defendants' actions (...): fraudulent billing practices and other fraudulent treatment of AOL's customers; securities fraud; fraudulent dealings with AOL's packaging supplier; and the fraudulent introduction of AOL's flat-fee pricing program." (Court Order, 1998-05-14) |
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USA: Blocking Software in Public Libraries violates First Amendment - "Mainstream Loudoun v. Loudoun County Library" |
| "... public libraries are places of freewheeling and independent inquiry. Adult library patrons are presumed to have acquired already the "fundamental values" needed to act as citizens, and have come to the library to pursue their personal intellectual interests rather than the curriculum of a high school classroom. As such, no curricular motive justifies a public library's decision to restrict access to Internet materials on the basis of their content." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1998-04-07) |
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USA: The high Costs of Spamming/An Agreement with the "Spam-King" - "Earthlink Networks v. Cyber Promotions, Inc." |
| "IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that, as to all claims asserted herein against Cyber Promotions, Plaintiff EarthLink recover from Defendant Cyber Promotions the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000.00)." (Consent Judgment/Compromise, 1998-03-30) |
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USA: Exploiting AOL's Name for Porn - "AOL v. WebCom" |
| "Defendants' intentional and unauthorized use of the 'AOL' mark and AOL's trade dress in connection with Defendant's pornographic products and services and unsolicited e-mail messages constitutes unfair competition, and infringes AOL's common law trademark and service mark rights in the 'AOL' name and mark and all other 'AOL'-based names and marks owned by AOL, as well as AOL's trade dress." (Complaint, 1998-03-02; AOL Press Release, 1998-03) |
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USA: Indecent Teachings - "Urofsky et. al. v. Allen" |
| "... the plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED (...) and it is hereby DECLARED that Va. Code §§2.1 -- 804, et seq., entitled "Restrictions on State Employees Access to Information Infrastructure" violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution..." (Court Order, 1998-02-26) |
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USA: Machado and Online Anti-Asian Hate Actions - First Internet Defamation Case |
| "In the first-ever prosecution for sending hate mail in cyberspace, a federal jury in Santa Ana determined today that Richard Machado was guilty of sending hate E-mail over the Internet, United States Attorney Nora M. Manella announced." (USAO Press Release, 1998-02-10; CUD, Volume 10 : Issue 14, Feb 24, 1998) |
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USA: Long-distance Rates charged - "Carlos Spera v. America Online Inc." |
| "After using defendant's service for a period of time, plaintiff received billings from the telephone company whose lines he used for accessing the network, which charged him long-distance rates (...). Contending that defendant engaged in misleading business practices by failing to properly warn subscribers (...), plaintiff commenced this action against defendant." (Supreme Court Order, 1998-01-27) |
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USA: CompuServe-Website blocked because of "Unauthorized Use of Scientology" - "The Church v. Tilman Hausherr" |
| "The term SCIENTOLOGY and the designs for SCIENTOLOGY CROSS, DIANETICS Symbol, and SCIENTOLOGY Symbol are registered trademarks
and service marks of our clients. (...) The web page that we retrieved from your web site contains image files derived from copyrighted works obtained from our client's web site. Your use of these materials violates the rights of our clients." (Mails, 1998-01-26/1998-01-29) |
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USA: A Naval Officer on AOL - "Timothy McVeigh v. William Cohen" |
| "... the volunteer searched through the 'member profile directory' to find the member profile for this sender. The directory specified that 'boysrch' was an AOL subscriber named Tim who lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, worked in the military, and identified his marital status as 'gay'." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1998-01-25) |
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USA: E-Mail Privacy - "Andersen Consulting v. UOP and Bickel" |
| "Andersen Consulting LLP brought an eight count complaint against the defendants, UOP (...). Andersen alleges that the defendants knowingly divulged, or caused to be divulged, the contents of Andersen's e-mail messages in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Defendants' motion to dismiss all counts of Andersen's complaint is granted." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1998-01-23) |
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USA: Assassination Politics - "United States v. Jim Bell" |
| "A federal judge Friday imposed an 11-month sentence for tax violations on James Dalton Bell, whose 10-part Internet essay, 'Assassination Politics,' proposed apparent 'bounties' on government officials." (Complaint, 1997-05-16; Oregon Online News, 1997-12-12) |
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USA: AOL - Internet Community Policy: Zero Tolerance Statement |
| "When we have control over it, we will remove it." (Public Statement, 1997-12-02) |
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USA: Canter & Siegel fighting for their rights in Arizona - Cybersell v. Cybersell |
| "(...) The essentially passive nature of Cybersell FL's activity in posting a home page on the World Wide Web that allegedly used the service mark of Cybersell AZ does not qualify as purposeful activity invoking the benefits and protections of Arizona. (...) Cybersell FL lacks sufficient minimum contacts with Arizona for personal jurisdiction to be asserted over it there. Accordingly, its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction was properly granted." (Appeal Court Decision, 1997-12-02) |
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USA: "US v. Mark Stuart Hockings" |
| "Mark Stuart Hockings ("Hockings") was charged with one count of possessing eight computer files containing visual depictions of child pornography. (...) Hockings argues that the charging statute is constitutionally vague because it criminalizes 'the transportation and possession of items [GIF files] that clearly are not visual depictions'. (...) We disagree. Affirmed." (Appeal Court Decision, 1997-11-21) |
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USA: The domain "epix.com" |
| "The court finds that the use of the Internet website 'epix.com' by Interstellar Starship to publicize the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' is not likely to confuse any actual or potential customer seeking to purchase printed circuit boards and computer programs from Epix, Inc. While the court concludes that Epix, Inc. is the owner of the valid Registered Trademark No. 1,618,449, under the facts of this case the court finds no infringement by Interstellar Starship." (Opinion, 1997-11-20) |
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USA: The Liability of Network Solutions - The "Lockhead"-Domain |
| "Because summary judgment on (all) claims is based on Lockheed's lack of a legal right to control the domain name registration process, there is no case or controversy between these parties. Therefore, the Court grants NSI's motion for summary judgment as to Lockheed's declaratory judgment cause of action." (Order, 1997-11-17) |
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USA: Spam under Abuse of Domain flowers.com - "Tracy Parker v. C.N. Enterprises" |
| "IT IS THERFORE ORDERED that Defendants (...) hereby are permanently enjoined from (...) sending or causing to be sent any Internet electronic mail message or other electronic communication using the domain name flowers.com as any portion of the return address of that message, or otherwise using the domain name flowers.com in any portion of the message header information." (Order, 1997-11-10; Press Release, 1997-11-17) |
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USA: Copyright Infringement with Clip Art - "Marobie v. NAFED" |
| "Plaintiff's copyright infringement claim and unfair competition claim are based on the same conduct: the unauthorized copying and distribution of its clip art on NAFED's Web Page. Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment against NAFED on Count I is granted." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1997-11-13) |
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USA: ISP held liable for defamatory speech - "Kenneth Zeran v. America Online Inc." |
| "(CDA) Section 230, however, plainly immunizes computer service providers like AOL from liability for information that originates with third parties. Furthermore, Congress clearly expressed its intent that § 230 apply to lawsuits, like Zeran's, instituted after the CDA's enactment. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court." (District Court Decision, 1997-03-21; Appeal Court Decision, 1997-11-12) |
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USA: The "Hit Man" Manual hits the Web - Vivian Rice et.al. v. Paladin Press |
| "A triple murder was committed in Montgomery County by a man who was alleged to have used this book, Hit Man, as his guide. He was caught and convicted and sentenced to death. (...) Paladin Press settled the case, giving the families of those killed by the hit man several million dollars, agreeing to destroy the remaining 700 copies of the book in their possession, and surrendering any rights they have to publish and reproduce the work. While the families were successful in profiting from their loved one's death, they have not been successful in stifling the book. With the surrender of the publishing rights by Paladin Press, the book has entered the public domain, and is being published on the Internet." (Stipulation; Appeal Court Decision, 1997-10-10; Hit Man On-Line - A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors, 1983-1999) |
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USA: "Quad/Graphics, Inc. v. Southern Adirondack" |
| "It is the court's determination that disclosure of the information sought should not be permitted. Petitioner certainly has an internal security problem involving the unauthorized use of its computer equipment and resources. However a criminal complaint is not before this court and apparently has not been made. Were this application to be granted, the door would be open to other similar requests made, for example, by a parent who wishes to learn what a child is reading or viewing on the 'Internet'." (Opinion, 1997-09-30) |
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USA: Cyberpromotion in Court - "Snow v. Doherty" |
| "Typically, spammers send their mass junk mailings from a computer telecommunications server other than the "mama" server at Indiana State. Spammers know that out of the millions of messages they send each day, tens of thousands are undeliverable, either because they are sent to an invalid address or because the messages are being "blocked" by the intended recipients. Spammers are further aware that their spamming activities generate numerous angry complaints from recipients who do not request the spam and must pay for the cost of receiving it." (Complaint, 1997-09-09; Time Table, 1997-09-22) |
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USA: Trademark Infringement in the World Wide Web - "Playmate" |
| "... Plaintiff PEI is likely to succeed on the merits in proving inter alia trademark infringement, unfair competition, including a false designation of origin and false representation, in Defendants' use of the domain names "playboyxxx.com" and "playmatelive.com", (...) and the repeated use of the PLAYBOY trademark in machine readable code in Defendants' Internet Web pages." (Court Order, 1997-09-08) |
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USA: "Clue"-less - "Hasbro Inc. v. Clue Computing, Inc." |
| "I hereby: GRANT defendant's motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff's First Claim, federal trademark infringement; and sitting as finder of fact, award judgment for defendant as to plaintiff's Second Claim, federal trademark dilution and Third Claim, state trademark dilution." (Complaint, 1997-01-10; Answer and Counterclaim, 1997-08-29; Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1997-09-02) |
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USA: Eugene Kashpureff - AlterNIC Presentation and Apology, ISPCON 1997 |
| "I am very sorry about the name service interruption that I caused (...) during the weekend of July 10 through the 14th and
(...) during the weekend of July 21 through the 23rd. I sincerely apologize to the Internet community as a whole and to Network Solutions, Inc. for my actions. (...) My actions hindered others' freedom to use and enjoy the Internet. For this I am deeply and sincerely sorry." (Speech, 1997-08-20?) |
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USA: Guilty of Violating the MIT Policy - The Extropians' Case |
| "The MIT Extropians, a student group seeking ASA recognition, are charged with four violations of MIT policies/rulings related to an unauthorized mailing to the incoming freshman class." (MIT Disciplinary Decision, 1997-08-18) |
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USA: Illegal Gaming in the Internet - "People of the State of New York v. World Interactive Gaming Corp." |
| "Had investors known that 46% of the funds raised were being paid to respondents in the form of salaries, commissions and consulting fees, they might well have chosen to forego the investment. Because of the clear illegality present in respondents' actions, and absence of any triable issue of fact, respondents are found liable under Executive Law." (Court Order, 1997-07-22) |
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USA: Doe v. America Online Inc. |
| "... all claims against AOL are barred by 47 U.S.C. § 230. This statute, which became law on February 8, 1996, states: No provider ... of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." (Court Order, 1997-06-26) |
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USA: Consumer Fraud and False Advertising via E-Mail - "People v. Lipsitz" |
| "...the Attorney General (...) seeks enforcement of consumer fraud and false advertising laws, against a business physically located within this jurisdiction, upon the allegation that the business engaged in (...) practices targeting the world-wide Internet audience by methods involving the use, misuse and abuse of e-mail." (Supreme Court Judgment, 1997-06-23) |
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USA: Fighting against the "New York Communication Decency Act" - "American Library Association et.al. v. George Pataki" |
| "The protection of children from pedophilia is an entirely valid and laudable goal of state legislation. The New York Act's attempts to effectuate that goal, however, fall afoul of the Commerce Clause for three reasons." (Complaint, 1997-01-14; Opinion and Court Order, 1997-06-20) |
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USA: "US v. Bruce R. Black" |
| "(Black) admitted that he regularly received and occasionally disseminated images via computer depicting children in sexually explicit conduct. He referred to this material as 'child pornography' or 'kiddie porn' and said he had retained everything he received and kept most of it in the ring binder albums stored in his bedroom. Black's motion to dismiss the indictment was denied." (Appeal Court Decision, 1997-06-09) |
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USA: Canter & Siegel, The infamous "Green Card Lawyers" and Founders of Cybersell |
| "C&S will refrain from mass postings of any unsolicited, non-contextual, non-topic advertisements using electronic mail or other TCP/IP Internet applications." (Green Card Lottery Spam Mail, 1994-03; Cybersell Spam-Mail, 1994-05; PSI Antispam Agreement, 1994-06-23; Chat, 1994-10-01; The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee Judgment, 1997-02-25; Supreme Court Suspension Order, 1997-06-05) |
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USA: "The Church of Scientology vs. the Net" - Ron Newman and CyberAccess |
| "Ron Newman's web site, 'The Church of Scientology vs. the Net', has moved to a new location." (Settlement Agreement, 1997-05-29) |
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USA: The Legality of Police E-Mail - "Michael Doherty v. Registry of Motor Vehicles" |
| "The plaintiff's claim is that the registrar has erroneously interpreted (the law) to permit a police officer to make a report to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (...) in the form of an electronic message (...) which does not contain the officer's handwritten signature." (Trial Court Memorandum of Decision, 1997-05-28) |
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USA: "Teletech v. Tele-Tech" - The Domain without Hyphen |
| "It is therefore ordered, (...) that during the pendency of this action, defendant Tele-Tech Company, Inc. (is) restrained and enjoined from using the domain name 'teletech' or 'teletech.com' on the Internet.;" (Finding of Facts and Order, 1997-05-09) |
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USA: A Crypto License Dispute - "RSA Data Security, Inc. v. Pretty Good Privacy, Inc" |
| "This action arises out of a license agreement for certain patented technology originally entered into between Public Key Partners and Lemcom Systems, Inc. ("Lemcom"). (...) Lemcom has been merged with and has adopted the name of PGP. (...) RSA has (...) been granted the sole and exclusive right to monitor and enforce the terms of the original Lemcom/PKP Agreement." (Complaint, 1997-05-06) |
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USA: "Expertpages v. Trialexperts" |
| "It is hereby ORDERED that Defendant (...) is enjoined from (...) reproducing, adapting, changing, copying, renting, selling, lending, exchanging, trading, using or distributing all or any portions of Plaintiffs ExpertPages automated database, including any prior, current, future or any derivative versions thereof." (Order, 1997-05-02) |
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USA: A Software Time bomb for Anticipatory Revenge - The Corcoran Case |
| "This unusual appeal asks us to reverse the denial of relief sought by a state prisoner who claims that his crime was privileged by federal copyright law. (...) Of course federal copyright law does not preempt state criminal prosecutions for destroying noncopyrighted property that is commingled with a copyrighted work. Otherwise an author invited into the home of someone who had bought one of his books would have a legal privilege to tear up the book if he had retained the copyright in it." (Appeal Court Decision, 1997-04-28) |
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USA: Obscene CD-Roms sold to Undercover Agent - Anthony Davis v. Oklahoma City Police Officers |
| "After Mr. Davis sold obscene CD-ROMs to an undercover officer, a warrant was obtained to search his business premises. (...) Mr. Davis, his related businesses, and several users of electronic mail (e-mail) on his bulletin board brought this action in federal court against the officers who executed the search, alleging that the seizure of the computer equipment, and e-mail and software stored on the system, violated several constitutional and statutory provisions. The district court granted summary judgment for the officers. We affirm." (Complaint, 1994-02 (?); Appeal Court Decision, 1997-04-21) |
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USA: Electronic Filing via CD-Rom - "Yukiyo Ltd. v. Watanabe" |
| "In order to guide a future CD-ROM filing, until such time as the court promulgates rules governing such a filing, the court sets forth the following general guidelines. As discussed above, a party wishing to file a CD-ROM counterpart brief must seek consent of the other parties before submitting a CD-ROM brief to this court." (Court Order, 1997-04-15) |
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USA: Mails of sexually explicit depictions of children via bogus pen pals - "Jacobson v. United States" |
| "When the Government's quest for convictions leads to the apprehension of an otherwise law-abiding citizen who, if left to his own devices, likely would have never run afoul of the law, the courts should intervene. Because we conclude that this is such a case, and that the prosecution failed, as a matter of law, to adduce evidence to support the jury verdict that petitioner was predisposed, independent of the Government's acts and beyond a reasonable doubt, to violate the law by receiving child pornography through the mails, we reverse the Court of Appeals' judgment affirming the conviction of Keith Jacobson." (Supreme Court Decision, 1997-03-21) |
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USA: A Domain Dispute - "Planned Parenthood Federation v. Richard Bucci" |
| "I hereby enjoin defendant, his agents, servants, employees, representatives, attorneys, related companies, successors, assigns, and all others in active concert or participation with him, from using to identify defendant's web site, home page, domain name or in any other materials available on the Internet or elsewhere the Planned Parenthood(R) mark." (Court Order, 1997-03-19) |
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USA: The "AltaVista" Mark - "Digital Equipment Corporation v. Altavista Technology Inc." |
| "The World-Wide Web is growing at a tremendous pace, with new sites and multitudes of new users everyday. Digital has acquired the right to control the use of the AltaVista mark, and nothing in its license with ATI allows the defendant to capitalize on Digital's significant investments of time, energy, and money in creating one of the most recognized marks in use on the Web." (Memorandum and Order, 1997-03-12) |
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USA: Supposed KKK Datamining - "United States v. Richard W. Czubinski" |
| "(W)e caution that the wire fraud statute must not serve as a vehicle for prosecuting only those citizens whose views run against the tide, no matter how incorrect or uncivilized such views are." (Appeal Court Decision, 1997-02-21) |
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USA: Linking and Framing - "Washington Post Co. v. Total News, Inc." |
| "Defendants' conduct has been in willful violation of Plaintiffs' repeated warnings to Defendants that Plaintiffs do not want their sites and/or content depicted in that way and that Defendants' conduct is unauthorized. Specific acts of infringement are representative of a broader pattern of infringement in which Defendants make unauthorized use of the content of Plaintiffs' websites 24 hours a day, every day." (Complaint, 1997-02-20) |
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USA: Gateway 2000 v. Gateway.Com |
| "Although the court is persuaded that plaintiff will likely be able to fulfill the requirement of distinctiveness by either establishing that the mark is suggestive or descriptive with secondary meaning, questions arise as to the order of use. (...) To merit a preliminary injunction arising from this claim, plaintiff must show that the name Gateway was used to identify the company before defendant's use began." (Order, 1997-02-06) |
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USA: The Long Arm of the Law dealing with Online Stock Information - "Colin Cody v. Kevin Ward" |
| "Because the defendant is amenable to suit under the long arm statute, his motion to dismiss must be denied unless exercising personal jurisdiction over him would offend due process. The 'constitutional touchstone' [is] whether the defendant purposefully established 'minimum contact' in the forum state." (Ruling and Order, 1997-02-04) |
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USA: Newsgroups blocked at Oklahoma University - "Loving v. Boren" |
| "The limitation of OU Internet services is to research and academic purposes on the "B" server is not a violation of the First Amendment, in that those purposes are the very ones for which the system was purchased." (Order, 1997-01-28) |
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USA: Unable to provide Unlimited Service - "Groff v. AOL" |
| "The gravamen of plaintiff's complaint is, at the time he accepted defendant's offer for unlimited service, defendant knew they were unable to provide the service. (...) Based upon the controlling principals, plaintiff has the burden of persuading the Court that the forum selection clause in his agreement with defendant was unreasonable. For the reasons stated, this Court is not satisfied that plaintiff has met his burden." (Superior Court Decision, 1997-01-21) |
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USA: Federal Trade Commission "putting internet scam artists on notice" |
| "The Internet is not going to be a new marketplace where scam artists roam free. We've sent the message, 'Clean up your act or close down your site.' And we plan to follow up to see that they do." (FTC Press Release, 1996-12-12) |
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USA: Domain-Grabbing - "Intermatic Inc. v. Dennis Toeppen" |
| "The appropriate relief in this case is to restrain Toeppen from preventing Intermatic from obtaining 'intermatic.com' domain name designation and to require Toeppen to discontinue any and all use of the Intermatic mark." (Court Order, 1996-11-26) |
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USA: Permanent Injunction against Spam - "Concentric Network Corp. v. Sanford Wallace" |
| " Defendants and their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, (...) are permanently enjoined from using any accounts opened with plaintiff, CNC, or using any of CNC's equipment to send or receive electronic mail or in connection with the sending or receiving of electronic mail..." (Complaint, 1996-10-02; Stipulated Judgment and Permanent Injunction, 1996-11-04) |
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USA: The "right to send via the Internet unsolicited e-mail advertisements." - Cyber Promotions Inc. v. AOL |
| "The Court declares that Cyber Promotions, Inc. does not have a right under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under the Constitutions of Pennsylvania and Virginia to send unsolicited e-mail advertisements over the Internet to members of American Online, Inc." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1996-11-04) |
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USA: Against the Federal Communications Commission's First Report and Order - "Iowa Utilities Board et.al. v. FCC" |
| "Before the FCC published its regulations pursuant to the Act, several incumbent LECs, potential competitors, and state utility commissions were all working together to implement the local competition provisions of the Act. The Act's system of private negotiation backed by state-run arbitration was operating without the input from the FCC. A stay would preserve the continuity and stability of this regulatory system." (Order, 1996-10-15) |
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USA: Flame Throwers - "Internet America, Inc. v. Kevin Massey" |
| "Please take a moment to review the following text. There you will find a Temporary Restraining Order prohibiting you from, among other things, attacking Internet America, me, my wife, and our employees over the Internet." (Court Order, 1996-10-14) |
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USA: "United States of America v. Kevin Mitnick" |
| "By running unauthorized 'hacking' programs, defendant MITNICK was able to obtain undetected 'Superuser' status on the computers of the victim companies, Internet Service Providers and educational institutions. 'Superuser' status permits a user to access all areas of a computer." (Indictment, 1996-09-26) |
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USA: "Maritz, Inc. v. Cybergold, Inc." |
| "Viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, defendant's contacts with Missouri are as follows. CyberGold maintains an internet site on the World Wide Web. The server for the website is presumably in Berkeley, California. The website is at present continually accessible to every internet-connected computer in Missouri and the world. CyberGold's website can be accessed at 'www.cybergold.com' by any internet user. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion of defendant to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue." (Memorandum and Order, 1996-08-19) |
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USA: An Inline Linking Dispute - The "The Dilbert Hack Pages" |
| "I very carefully designed my Web page to avoid copyright problems. If you examine the HTML for my page, you will see it pulls images from the UnitedMedia server. I do not store any United Feature Syndicate intellectual property on my server." (Mails, 1996-07/08) |
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USA: The Domain actmedia.com - "Actmedia v. Active Media International, Inc," |
| "Defendant's reservation of the Domain Name violates 15 U.S.C. Section 1125 and Illinois common law." (Permanent Injunction, 1996-07-12) |
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USA: Indecent Reporting - "Joe Shea v. Janet Reno" |
| "The technological impossibility of independent compliance with the affirmative defenses renders §223(d) unconstitutional as an overbroad prohibition on constitutionally protected indecent speech between adults." (Memorandum and Order, 1996-07-29) |
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USA: AOL providing Users with free connect time as compensation for America Online billing practices |
| "America Online is hereby directed to post the following reference on the America Online Welcome Screen: 'Member billing: Know your rights and get free time. Read Steve Case's update.' By clicking on the icon on the Welcome Screen, there will be an immediate link to the Steve Case Community Update; by clicking on the Free Time button on the Steve Case Community Update, there will be an immediate link to the full text of the Online Notice. The Welcome Screen reference will be scheduled every other day for a 14-day period in a way reasonably calculated by America Online to produce 5.5 million impressions." (Settlement Notice and Hearing Order, 1996-07-01) |
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USA: Long distance phone calls without paying - "Thrifty-Tel v. Bezenek et.al." |
| "A friend of the Bezeneks' children knew a confidential Thrifty-Tel access code. During a three-day period in November 1991, Ryan, Gerry and some friends, using the Bezeneks' home computer and modem, gained entry into Thrifty-Tel's system with the code and conducted manual random searches for a six-digit authorization code." (Appeal Court Decision, 1996-06-28) |
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USA: The trademark "WirelessNOW" - "Malarkey-Taylor Associates, Inc. v. Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association" |
| "MTA's application for preliminary injunction is GRANTED. CTIA is enjoined from (...) using MTA's trademark, WirelessNOW." (Court Order, 1996-06-21) |
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USA: Must shrinkwrap licences be obeyed by buyers? - "ProCD, Inc. v. Matthew Zeidenberg and Silken Mountain" |
| "Licenses may have other benefits for consumers: many licenses permit users to make extra copies, to use the software on multiple computers, even to incorporate the software into the user's products. But whether a particular license is generous or restrictive, a simple two-party contract is not 'equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright' and therefore may be enforced." (Appeal Court Decision, 1996-06-20) |
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USA: Unsolicited commercial Mail using bogus "aol.com" e-mail addresses - "AOL v. Cyber Promotions Inc." |
| "Cyber never requested or obtained any authorization from AOL to engage in this conduct nor has it compensated AOL in any manner for the use of AOL's equipment to route the millions of unsolicited messages which Cyber has sent. The forged return e-mail addresses used by Cyber have contained AOL's mark and domain name 'aol.com'." (Complaint, 1996-06-14) |
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USA: Trademark Infringement with a Domain - "Giacalone v. Network Solutions Inc. and TY Inc." |
| "IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that a Preliminary Injunction be granted as prayed for in the motion, to the following effect: Defendant TY, INC and its agents and employees and all other persons acting in concert with it are hereby enjoined from interfering in any way with Plaintiff GIACALONE's right to use the Internet domain name 'ty.com'." ( Complaint, 1996-05; Preliminary Injunction, 1996-06-13) |
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USA: Forced to give up ones own name - "Clue Computing, Inc. v. NSI" |
| "Clue Computing prays for relief as follows: An Order enjoining NSI from placing the clue.com domain on hold as a result of enforcement of the New NSI Policy (...) (and) a declaration that the New NSI Policy is not applicable to Clue Computing's pre-Policy domain name registration." (Complaint, 1996-06-12; Letter to NSI, 1996-06-13; Motion, 1996-06-12) |
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USA: ACLU et.al. v. Reno challenging provisions of the "Communications Decency Act of 1996" |
| "This is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging provisions of the "Communications Decency Act of 1996". One provision imposes criminal penalties for "indecent" but constitutionally protected telecommunications." (Complaint, 1996-02-08) |
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USA: EFF/ACLU v. Reno CDA Challenge
Decision |
| "... it is hereby ordered that: 1. The motions are granted; 2. Defendant Attorney General Janet Reno, and all acting under her direction and control, are preliminarily enjoined from enforcing, prosecuting, investigating or reviewing
any matter premised upon..." (Court Decision, 1996-06-12) |
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USA: Legal Threat against "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" Fan Pages |
| "Saban hereby demands that you and all those who have acted in concert with you, immediately cease any copying, transmission or other utilization of any of its protected intellectual property, including any use of the POWER RANGERS Characters." (Letter, 1996-06-03) |
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USA: Pyramid Schemes - "FTC v. Fortuna" |
| "IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Fortuna Defendants, whether acting directly or through any business, entity, corporation, subsidiary, division, or other device, in or affecting commerce, (...) are permanently enjoined from engaging, participating, or assisting in any manner or capacity whatsoever in the advertising, promoting, offering for sale, or sale, of any chain or pyramid marketing program." (Complaint, 1996-05-23; Order, 1996-05-24; Final Judgment) |
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USA: Primenet User arrested for declaring "open season" on Senator - Free Speech or Death Threat? |
| "An Internet message declaring an 'open season' on state Sen. Tim Leslie because of the lawmaker's stance on mountain lions has been traced to a 19-year-old college student in El Paso, Texas, authorities say. Jose Eduardo Saavedra was arrested on a no-bail warrant based on felony charges filed in Sacramento alleging that he had made terrorist threats and threatened a public official." (Posting, 1996-05-18) |
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USA: The registered trademark "Juris" |
| "(Defendants) are infringing Juris' registered trademark through (the) use of an identical mark "juris" as a second level domain name and website on the computer medium of the Internet and through other marketing channels to sell, distribute, advertise, and/or market its goods and services to Juris' target market of lawyers and law firms." (Injunction, 1996-04-26 [as corrected May 22, 1996]) |
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USA: Hooked on Copyrights - "Zuill v. Shanahan et.al." |
| "Mr. Shanahan, through the corporation he used to sell Hooked on Phonics, started making money from it. Mr. Zuill and Mr. Rossi sued him in October of 1991, claiming to be co-owners of one-third interests in Hooked on Phonics. They sought a declaratory judgment of coownership, an injunction, an accounting for their claimed share, and other relief." (Opinion, 1996-04-10) |
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USA: The Amateur Action BBS Case - "United States of America v. Thomas and Thomas" |
| "Defendants Robert and Carleen Thomas appeal their convictions and sentences for violating federal obscenity laws, in connection with their operation of an electronic bulletin board. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM Robert and Carleen Thomas' convictions and sentences." (Appeal Court Decision, 1996-01-29) |
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USA: Employer reading Administrator's Mails: No Invasion of Privacy |
| "...we do not find a reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail communications voluntarily made by an employee to his supervisor over the company e-mail system notwithstanding any assurances that such communications would not be intercepted by management." (Memorandum Opinion and Order, 1996-01-23) |
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USA: Church of Scientology v. Netcom/Erlich/Klemesrud - The "First Internet War" |
| "Erlich has been posting plaintiffs' proprietary materials onto the Internet computer network ("the Internet") without authorization from plaintiffs and continues to do so despite several warnings from plaintiffs to cease and desist his activities in violation of their rights." (Complaint, 1995-02-08; Order, 1995-11-21) |
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USA: Cornell University - The "75 reasons why women should not have freedom of speech" Mailing |
| "The Office of the Judicial Administrator recently received many complaints regarding an e-mail message which listed '75 reasons why women should not have freedom of speech'. Understandably, the content offended, angered and distressed many people in the Cornell community and beyond." (Mail, 1995-11; Public Letter, 1995-11-17) |
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USA: "Frank Music Corp. v. CompuServe" |
| "The Office of the Judicial Administrator recently received many complaints regarding an e-mail message which listed '75 reasons why women should not have freedom of speech'. Understandably, the content offended, angered and distressed many people in the Cornell community and beyond." (Complaint, 1993-10-29; Agreement, 1995-10-25; Stipulation and Order/Amendment of the Complaint, 1995-11-07; Press Release, 1995-11-07) |
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USA: Security Incident at the Oregon Facility - "Intel v. Schwartz" |
| "We can demonstrate that Randal Schwartz has been gaining access to Intel systems via a mechanism he has previously been informed is unacceptable. (...) We do not know at this time if other backdoors have been installed elsewhere on Intel machines." (Postings, 1995-09) |
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USA: "ProActive Media, Inc. v. The Walt Disney Company" |
| "This suit alleges regular and premeditated copyright infringement by representatives of Disney Interactive Software, an unincorporated division of The Walt Disney Company. Upon information and belief, a senior executive of Disney Interactive, David Rech, instructed his secretary to copy each day's single paid-for copy of MMWIRE and had unauthorized duplicates distributed to Disney executives throughout Disney offices in the U.S. and Canada." (Complaint, 1995-08-08) |
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USA: Minnesota Attorney General - Warning to all Internet Users and Providers |
| "Persons outside of Minnesota who transmit information via the Internet knowing that information will be disseminated in Minnesota are subject to jurisdiction in Minnesota courts for violations of State Criminal and Civil Laws." (Memorandum, 1995-07-18) |
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USA: United States of America v. Jake Baker - The "alt.sex.stories" Case |
| "Defendant Jake Baker is charged in a superseding indictment with five counts of transmitting threats to injure or kidnap another, in electronic mail (e-mail) messages transmitted via the Internet. Now before the Court is Baker's motion to quash the superseding indictment. For the reasons that follow, the motion will be granted." (Posting, 1995-01-09; Court Decision, 1995-06-21) |
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USA: United States of America v. Ed Cummings a.k.a. Bernie S. |
| "... defendant EDWARD E. CUMMINGS, knowingly and with intent to defraud did possess and have custody and control of hardware and software, that is an IBM 'Think Pad' laptop computer and computer disks, used for altering and modifying telecommunications instruments to obtain unauthorized access to telecommunications service." (Indictment, 1995-06-08) |
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USA: Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co. |
| "... it is ordered that PRODIGY was a "publisher" of statements concerning Plaintiffs on its "Money Talk" computer bulletin board for the purposes of Plaintiffs, libel claims; and, that Charles Epstein, the Board Leader (...), acted as PRODIGY's agent..." (Summary Judgment, 1995-05-24) |
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USA: The Attorney General of Texas against Gaming in the Internet |
| "Where two or more persons, each using a separate personal computer and modem or other data transmission device in a private place, play a card game with each other and bet on the outcome of the card game, the activities would be illegal under the gambling provisions set out in chapter 47 of the Penal Code unless there was no "public" access to the games." (Opinion, 1995-05-02) |
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USA: Photograph used without permission in an advertisement - "Howard Stern v. Delphi Internet Services Corp." |
| "...the purpose of the advertisement was to promote sales of Delphi's Internet service, and the Stern bulletin board in particular (...). The fact that the advertisement also contained Stern's photograph, which defendant concedes does not appear on-line on computer screens, cannot transform a privileged use into an unlawful use." (Supreme Court Order, 1995-04-20) |
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USA: A BBS: No Periodical - "It's in the Cards, Inc. v. Rosario Fuschetto" |
| "Posting a message to the SportsNet bulletin board is a random communication of computerized messages analogous to posting a written notice on a public bulletin board, not a publication that appears at regular intervals." (Appeal Court Decision, 1995-04-11?) |
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USA: "Indecent Speech" on University of Memphis Newsgroup |
| "... articles were posted to umem.personals on February 28 and March 1, 1995 (...) including the post which caused David Hooper's VAX access to be revoked. This post is considered 'obscene' by the University of Memphis administration..." (Postings / Letters, 1995-03) |
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USA: Illegal Copying and Distribution of copyrighted Software - "US v. David LaMacchia" |
| "LaMacchia, a computer hacker, used MIT's computer network to gain entree to the Internet. Using pseudonyms and an encrypted address, LaMacchia set up an electronic bulletin board which he named Cynosure. He encouraged his correspondents to upload popular software applications and computer games. These he transferred to a second encrypted address (Cynosure II) where they could be downloaded by other users." (Memorandum and Order, 1994-12-28) |
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USA: The Seizure of a Bulletin Board System - "Steve Jackson Games v. US" |
| "In October 1988, Henry Kluepfel, Director of Network Security Technology (an affiliate Bell Company), began investigating the unauthorized duplication and distribution of a computerized text file, containing information about Bell's emergency call system. (...) In early February 1990, Kluepfel learned that the document was available on the "Phoenix Project" computer bulletin board..." (Complaint, 1991-05-01; District Court Decision, 1993-03-12; Appeal Court Decision, 1994-10-31) |
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USA: The quarrel about "mtv.com" |
| "By approximately August, 1993, Curry had announced the mtv.com address on MTVN broadcasts. On the afternoon of one August taping, Curry claims to have had a conversation about mtv.com with Joel Stillerman ('Stillerman'), a senior MTVN executive. On January 19, 1994, MTVN formally requested that Curry cease use of the mtv.com address." (Memorandum and Order, 1994-10-28) |
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USA: A net.poltergeist horror story - The Serdar Argic Case |
| "The Serdar-thing manifested outta nowhere, terrorized Usenet News for two blood-curdling years ... then, just as mysteriously, disappeared without trace. So wide was the spectre's swath that nary a Usenetter hasn't stumbled into a newsgroup only to be confronted by this wild-eyed banshee gnawing at the cables. The Argic.poltergeist posted endlessly, reams and reams of repeat-info to irrelevant newsgroups, so insatiable was its bloodlust." (Usenet-Posting, 1993-04-24; News Article, 1994-07-28) |
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USA: Tandy/Radio Shack prohibits Employee from operating Searchlight BBS |
| "Ms. Rochelle C. Skwarla, one of the System Operators (SYSOP) for a local hobby computer Bulletin Board System (BBS) and also an employee of Radio Shack was advised to consider shutting down her system or leaving the company. (...)On May 27, 1994 (...) she was advised that her services would no longer be needed at that store." (Posting, 1994-05-27) |
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USA: Libel Suit against Brock Meeks (Cyberwire Dispatch) |
| "Yes, I settled the case. But it was Suarez that initiated the settlement offer. At first he floated the idea of having me issue an apology, say that investigations of his company by state and federal authorities were actually "sham investigations" and paying his legal fees (which were $15,000 at the time). I told my lawyer bluntly: 'No fucking way.' My lawyers translated." (Mailing, 1994-05-11; Net Broadcasts) |
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USA: Student arrested for e-mail threat to Clinton |
| "A University of Illinois student has been arrested for threatening the life of President Clinton, U.S. Attorney Frances Hulin announced today. Christopher James Reincke, 18, of Townsend Hall, Urbana, allegedly sent an electronic mail message to the White House on Dec. 4 threatening Clinton..." (News Release, 1994-02-24) |
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USA: JS McBride Co.'s plans to publish market demographics extracted by monitoring net activity creates storm of outrage |
| "JS McBride is NOT collecting demographic information on email addresses. Due to the controversy surrounding this practice, we have discarded the product demographics we collected." (E-Mail, 1993-11-03) |
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USA: The 2600 Files - "Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility v. US Secret Service" |
| "On November 12, 1992, the Washington Post carried a story suggesting that the United States Secret Service might have been involved in the breakup of a meeting of young "computer hackers" at a Virginia shopping mall. Shortly thereafter, appellee Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility filed a Freedom of Information Act request in which it asked the Secret Service for copies of all records relating to the incident." (Complaint, 1993-03; Memorandum and Order, 1994-07-01; Appeal Court Decision, 1996-01-02) |
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USA: Invasion of Privacy - "Bonita Bourke v. Nissan Motor Corporation USA" |
| "Nissan's actions in reviewing plaintiffs' E-mail messages did not violate their constitutional right to privacy. Therefore, plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy." (Appeal Court Decision, 1993-07-26) |
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USA: Copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition - "MAI Systems v. Peak Computer Inc." |
| "Peak and Francis [and certain others] are permanently enjoined from misappropriating, using in any manner in their business, including advertising connected therewith, and/or disclosing to others MAI's trade secrets." (Appeal Court Decision, 1993-04-07) |
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USA: Disassembling a copyrighted computer program a copyright infringement - "Sega v. Accolade" |
| "Where disassembly is the only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program and where there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access, disassembly is a fair use of the copyrighted work, as a matter of law." (Opinion, 1992-10-20) |
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USA: University of Waterloo Ban on Newsgroups suspended |
| "(This is the announcement of) the restoration of all banned newsgroups there, from alt.sex.bondage to rec.humor.funny. (...) The banning of my publication at my alma mater has been a thorn in my side for years, and I have helped and encouraged the efforts to reverse it. I did not wish to concede any victory for the forces of thought-control and political correctness." (Posting, 1992-06-05 [1991-10-03]) |
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USA: Cubby Inc. v. Compuserve - No Liability of the ISP |
| "Plaintiffs base their libel claim on the allegedly defamatory statements contained in the Rumorville publication that CompuServe
carried as part of the Journalism Forum. CompuServe argues that, it was a distributor of Rumorville, as opposed to a publisher." (Summary Judgment Decision, 1991-10-29) |
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USA: "The RISKS of Posting to the Net" - FBI interviews User |
| "I just had an interesting visit from the FBI. It seems that a posting I made to sci.space several months ago had filtered through channels, caused the FBI to open (or re-open) a file on me, and an agent wanted to interview me, which I did voluntarily." (Usenet Posting, 1991-05-23) |
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USA: The Worm - "United States v. Robert T. Morris" |
| "Defendant's transmission of computer "worm" constituted accessing federal interest computer without authorization under statute punishing anyone who intentionally accesses without authorization federal interest computers and damages or prevents authorized use of information in those computers..." (Affirmative Judgment, 1991-03-07) |
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USA: The State v. The Legion of Doom - "United States v. 'Hackers' Robert J. Riggs and Craig Neidorf" |
| "At all times relevant herein, the Legion of Doom (LOD) was a closely knit group of computer hackers involved in: a. Disrupting telecommunications by entering computerized telephone switches (...), b. Stealing proprietary computer source code and information from companies and individuals that owned the code and information. c. Stealing and modifying credit information on individuals maintained in credit bureau computers." (Indictment, 1990-07; Transcript of the Trial, 1990-07-24) |
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USA: "Terminus" - the Len Rose Case |
| "The Indictment charges Rose with distributing two 'trojan horse' programs that allowed computer hackers to gain unauthorized access to computer systems, and with the interstate transportation of AT&S's stolen proprietary source code." (Search Warrant, 1990-02-01; US Attorney Press Release, 1990-05-15; Indictment, 1990-05-15; Article, 1990-09; US Attorney Information Release, 1991-03-22; Press Article, 1991-03-23) |
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USA: On May 8, 1990, RIPCO BBS was closed and the equipment seized as the result of a seizure warrant. |
| "This warrant is requested to recover unauthorized and illegally used access codes posted on the RIPCO BBS by computer hackers and to develop evidence of their illegal use of those codes in violation of
federal criminal laws." (Warrants and Court Orders, 1990-05) |
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USA: The First Federal Privacy Suit against BBS Operator - Thompson v. Predaina |
| "Linda Thompson, who filed suit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, alleges that BBS operator Bob Predaina violated her privacy rights as they relate to her electronic correspondence.(...) So although the sysop has a certain "license" to roam around through files (for routine maintenance, for example), that sysop does not have the right to make those files public without the consent or knowledge of the recipient or author." (Compuserve Online News, 1988-03-26; BBS Posting, 1989-09-25) |
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USA: The Law Versus Computers - "US v. Thomas Tcimpidis" |
| "Thomas G. Tcimpidis, 33, was threatened with prosecution last year because a bulletin board he maintained contained the numbers of two stolen phone card numbers. (...) The case was eventually dropped, but a bill is now making its way through the Legislature that would make it a crime for a bulletin-board operator to display unauthorized private information after he has been notified that it is there." (Newspaper Article, 1985-08-11) |
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USA: "Secrets of the Little Blue Box" - The Story of Cap'n Crunch |
| "Two weeks after I left Joe Engressia's apartment, phone-company security agents and Memphis police broke into it. Armed with a warrant, which they left pinned to a wall, they confiscated every piece of equipment in the room, including his toy telephone. Joe was placed under arrest and taken to the city jail where he was forced to spend the night since he had no money and knew no one in Memphis to call." (Newspaper Article, 1971-10) |
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