E-Commerce Law: E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of September 18, 2006

E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of September 18, 2006

On Sunday, MSNBC.com reported that Target Corporation has sued an anonymous blogger for posting the company’s anti-theft procedures on websites and retail-employee forums on the Internet in July.

"In the lawsuit, Target claims the postings have already led to losses and that they provide ‘potential wrongdoers with a blueprint for circumventing Target's security procedures.’ The policy, which Atlanta Business Chronicle obtained at targetunion.org, outlines in detail various rules, such as mandating that all thefts above $20 must be referred for prosecution and barring anyone from photographing employees who have been caught shoplifting."

(Link: Suit: Blogger posted Target trade secrets on MSNBC.com)

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that it had filed twenty lawsuits against resellers that it alleges are engaged in the distribution of unlicensed software. The suits were filed in nine states: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas.

(Link: Microsoft files 20 software lawsuits on CNET News.com)

Also on Tuesday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that legislators should require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to retain customer records so that prosecutors can use them to fight child pornography. Though no one would argue the need to fight child pornography, the Attorney General’s has already raised concerns from those who distrust the motivations behind the federal government’s ever-increasing scrutiny of its citizens.

(Links: Gonzales calls for law to require ISPs to preserve customer data on SilliconValley.com and Gonzales: ISPs must keep records on users on ZDNet)

E-Commerce Law Briefs is a weekly feature appearing each Friday afternoon on E-Commerce Law. Each week, E-Commerce Law Briefs will provide a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.