E-Commerce Law

Nine Must-Have iPad Apps for Lawyers (Plus One More)

After months of waffling, I finally purchased an iPad 2 last fall.  I already had a laptop and an iPhone and feared that an iPad might be technology overkill but was hoping that the iPad would let me leave my laptop bag at home while on vacation. The iPad won't ever replace my laptop but it has become a vital part of my practice.  Here are the nine "must-have" iPad apps for attorneys that have changed the way I take notes, prepare for hearings, take and defend depositions, bill, and travel:

 

1.  Dropbox (Available on App Store, FREE) - Dropbox is a cloud storage service used by more than 25 million people.  The Dropbox app allows me to use my iPad to access Word, Excel, PDF, and other documents that I've stored "in the cloud."  The service offers 2 GB of storage for free, with additional storage available for a fee.  If you use this link to sign up for the Dropbox service, you'll receive an extra 250 MB of free storage.

2.  Sugarsync (Available on App Store, FREE) - Sugarsync is another cloud storage service with an iPad app.  Like Dropbox, both the app and some amount of storage are free but Sugarsync provides more free storage (5 GB) than Dropbox.  Like Dropbox, additional storage is available for a fee.  If you use this link to sign up for the Sugarsync service, you'll receive an extra 500 MB of free storage.

I use both Dropbox and Sugarsync, so I have a total of 7 GB of free cloud storage accessible from my iPad, iPhone, and work and home computers.

Update (2/1/2012):  To receive the extra free storage for Dropbox and Sugarsync, it appears that you must install the PC app in addition to the iPad app.  The PC app for each service is also very helpful and, not surprisingly, permits you to directly access your cloud storage from your PC.

Facebook's CAN-SPAM Claim Survives Advertiser's Motion to Dismiss

In Facebook's seven count complaint against Defendant MaxBounty Inc. for its allegedly fraudulent advertising scheme aimed at Facebook users, the social networking giant defeated MaxBounty's motion to dismiss Facebook's claim under the CAN-SPAM Act by successfully arguing that the fake advertising pages posted by MaxBounty on the social networking site constituted "electronic mail messages" under the Act.  Facebook, Inc. v. MaxBounty, Inc., No. CV-10-4712-JF, 2011 WL 1120046 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 28, 2011).  The District Court for the Northern District of California held that Facebook sufficiently pled its claim under 15 U.S.C. § 7701 ("CAN-SPAM Act"), thereby adopting Congress' broad interpretation of the term "electronic mail message."

My This Week in Law (Episode 105) Companion #TWiL105

On Friday, I had the pleasure of appearing on This Week in Law with hosts Denise Howell and Evan Brown and fellow guest Iyaz Akhtar.  You can view the podcast below or download it from iTunes.

It was great to be back on the show (I appeared on Episode 78 in September).  Here's a little more information about some of the stories we discussed:

#TWiL105 Live Stream Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I'll be appearing live on Episode 105 of This Week in Law.  The show streams at http://live.twit.tv/ from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET and will be produced as a podcast thereafter.

The show is hosted by Denise Howell and Evan Brown.  (I last appeared on This Week in Law in September (Episode 78).)

This week, we'll be discussing some of these topics (as time permits):

• Amazon's Digital Music Locker;
• The RIAA's Demand for "More Money than Exists in the Entire World";
• Replacing Attorneys with Software;
• A Lawsuit that Could (But Definitely Won't) Destroy Facebook;
• IMs Modifying the Terms of a Written Contract; and
• Emerging Social Media Law Issues

I'll be tweeting during the live stream of the show (keep an eye on hashtags #TWiL and #TWiL105), so please make plans to watch and follow me on Twitter (@JonathanFrieden).

 

This Week in Law #105

On Friday, I'll be appearing on Episode 105 of This Week in Law.  The show streams live at http://live.twit.tv/ from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET and will be produced as a podcast thereafter.

The show is hosted by Denise Howell and Evan Brown.  I last appeared on This Week in Law in September (Episode 78).

If you have a topic you'd like us to discuss, let me know in the comments section to this post.

 

Ninth Circuit Explores Likelihood of Confusion Involving Keyword Ads

BNA, Inc.'s Electronic Commerce & Law Report has published an article on the Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Network Automation, Inc. v. Advanced Computer Concepts, Inc.  For the article, I was asked to comment on the court's apparent shift away from a rigid application of the so-called "Internet trinity" in determining whether the Internet use of a trademark is likely confuse consumers in the relevant market.  I also discussed the Ninth Circuit's recognition of the growing sophistication of Internet shoppers (which is not surprising, given that 75% of the 240 million American Internet users use the Internet to shop for products or services).  You can read the full copy of the article here:  Ninth Circuit Explores Likelihood of Confusion Involving Keyword Ads, Adopts New Standard.

If you have any thoughts about the case, the article, or my comments, please let us know.  For additional commentary on the case, please see Eric Goldman's Technology & Marketing Law Blog and Rebecca Tushnet's 43(b) Blog.

My This Week In Law (Episode No. 78) Companion

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of appearing on Episode 78 of This Week in Law with hosts Denise Howell and Evan Brown and fellow guest Lauren Gelman.  You can view the podcast below or download it from iTunes.

I had a great time on the show and thought it might be helpful to provide a little additional information about the stories we discussed.

E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of January 11, 2010

We have often discussed the future of newspapers in a society that increasingly seeks news and information from the Internet.  Nearly four years ago, we suggested that a "pay-for-online-content model is unlikely to work, given the number of free Internet news sources."  It looks like we were right - in a recent survey of 2,000 adults, 77 percent said they wouldn't pay anything to read a newspaper's stores on the Web.

Sitting jurors are using the Internet to research their cases and causing criminal convictions to be overturned.

Facebook founder says people no longer expect privacy.  That would explain the social networking site's new privacy settings.

Each weekend, E-Commerce Law Briefs provides a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.

Photo Credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/drb62/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Starting an Online Business: Licensing Requirements

Over the past few months, a number of people have visited E-Commerce Law looking for a link to our guest post on About.com's Online Business blog entitled "Starting an Online Business:  Licensing Requirements."  Unfortunately, our link to that guest post no longer leads to the correct article.  (Apparently, the link now leads to a restructured About.com Online Business / Hosting site which does not include our post.)  So, we decided to republish the post below:

More Technology & Effective Advocacy

This morning, I came across bookmarks to a few of the articles I used in preparing for my "Technology & Effective Advocacy" presentation at the Maryland Partners for Justice Conference.  Here are the links:

Big brother is watching, more than ever before

Google searches become evidence in sexual assault

Social Networking Sites Help Vet Jurors

Social Networking Sites Look Like Plunder to Attorneys

MySpace and Facebook Becoming Evidence in Court

Professional Facebook privacy in under 10 minutes