Internet Law - Blogs & Companies’ Criticism: Where Settlement Agreements should be Published?
	Martha L. Arias, IBLS Director Sunday, November 01, 2009
	At its inception, blogs were forums used by individuals to vent personal statements about issues or people; thus far, its evolution is showing an increase of blogs for companies' agendas. Those companies in the conservative side are using blogs to publish informative and marketing material written by their own staff or customers; other companies, less conservative, are using blogs to criticize their competition. In the United States, this inter-company criticism in blogs has resulted in lawsuits. Should settlement agreements reached in these lawsuits be published in the same blogs or in the companies" web sites? This article provides an example where a Pennsylvania’s district court held that the settlement agreement should be published in the blogs where the disputed statements appeared.
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INTERNET LAW - Class Action Lawsuits Filed against Google and other Search Engines for Placing Advertisement on Undesirable Webpages

Advertisers have launched a number of lawsuits against well-known search engine companies such as Yahoo! and Google, accusing them of placing their Ads on “parked Web pages” and other undesirable locations without prior notification to advertisers. The claimants in these cases argue that this unfavorable placement is financially detrimental to them and results in unjust enrichment for the search engine companies. Google and Yahoo! are reportedly taking steps to alleviate advertisers’ concerns and, in the interim, two class action lawsuits against Google remain pending based on Google’s placement of Ads in this manner.

INTERNET LAW - “HOBBIT” Domain Names are Reclaimed by Tolkein Enterprises

In a number of decisions issued by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, parties who registered domain names that contained the word “hobbit” were required to relinquish their ownership of these registered domain names in favor of the company operating as Tolkein Enterprises. Following, there is an illustration of WIPO panel's position on these cases.

INTERNET LAW - Taxation of Electronic Commerce in New Jersey

In New Jersey, use and sales taxes that apply to traditional transactions also apply to e-commerce transactions. Use tax is levied on the use of items or service. It is levied when sales tax has not been paid on taxable items or services, or has been paid at a rate less than the New Jersey rate of 7%. The tax is due when these items are purchased from outside of New Jersey and brought into New Jersey.

INTERNET LAW - Macau Protection Of Consumer Law

Consumer protection in Macau is regulated by the Decree-Law n.12/88/M of June 13, 1988 on the Protection of Consumers, as amended by the Law n.4/95/M of June 12, 1995 and the Law n.1/98/M of June 1, 1998 (the “PCL”). The PCL states the responsibility of the administration regarding consumer protection, and establishes the Consumer Council.

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UNITED STATES: Commerce Department’s NTIA Awards $ 1.4 Million Grant for Broadband Mapping and Planning in West Virginia

The Department of Commerce''s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced that it has awarded a grant of approximately $1.4 million to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in West Virginia under NTIA''s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. The program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning. The data will be displayed in NTIA''s national broadband map, a tool that will inform policymakers'' efforts and provide consumers with improved information on the broadband Internet services available to them.

DENMARK: Lightning Strikes Economies

A group of scientists from the University of Copenhagen have discovered a connection between lightning strikes and an area’s economic state, according to public broadcaster DR. The four scientists followed lightning in 48 US states and found that the more strikes a state was hit by, the worse its financial health was. States with the most lightning strikes were those with the lowest growth in productivity.

EUROPEAN UNION: Digital Rights

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have significantly changed consumption habits, and make up an increasingly large part of household budgets. These new technologies offer consumers a must-have tool to access information and participate in daily life and in a democratic society. New digital technologies have also created new ways of promoting, buying and receiving goods or services. However, they are also giving rise to violations of core consumer rights including fundamental rights. Many challenges need to be overcome and risks still need to be addressed - in particular when it comes to security and privacy concerns. It must therefore be ensured that existing consumer rights are really enforced in the digital environment and further consideration should be given to the necessity to reinforce and grant consumers¡¦ new rights in the digital environment.

UNITED STATES: Joint Committee on Taxation Projects Internet Gambling Regulation Would Generate Up to $42 Billion in New Revenue

As Congress considers how to pay for health care reform and other critical programs, a Joint Committee on Taxation analysis released today by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) found that regulating Internet gambling, as proposed in pending legislation introduced by Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Jim McDermott (D-WA), would generate up to $42 billion over 10 years. The analysis is based on the provision of a federal license for operators that would allow them to offer online gambling throughout the United States, while maintaining existing federal prohibitions on any form of sports betting.

Masters and Doctorate degrees in Taxation and Financial Services

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OXFORD/IBLS: Global E-Business Law and Taxation

IBLS and its global legal network of experts bring you a representative masterpiece of global e-commerce and tax legislation! IBLS presents to you the first book in Internet law series, created in partnership with Oxford University Press: "Global E-Business Law and Taxation" http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Law/Taxation/?view=usa&ci=9780195367218#Product_Details Among the numerous topics related to e-commerce, taxation is the one that still has not established homogeneity among different countries'' legislation and still represents a critical issue to be addressed from both a business and legal perspective. This book intends to provide an overview of the e-commerce and e-commerce taxation laws and principles applied by diverse countries.

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