Archive for the ‘Web & Online’ Category
Manufacturers: Give Better Customer Service
Commentary by K. Matthew Dames, executive editor.
New York Times technology columnist David Pogue has written a great article about what electronics makers need to do in order to improve their customer service practices. The article’s scope is slightly beyond what we normally post here at CopyCense. Still, its central theme — how to improve horrifically bad customer services policies that leave software buyers and owners feeling ripped off — is close enough to what Ed Foster does with his Gripe Log that it is worth mentioning.
What follows is a true story.
FBI Extends Wiretap Law to Colleges
“The federal government, vastly extending the reach of an 11-year-old law, is requiring hundreds of universities, online communications companies and cities to overhaul their Internet computer networks to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to monitor e-mail and other online communications.
“The action, which the government says is intended to help catch terrorists and other criminals, has unleashed protests and the threat of lawsuits from universities, which argue that it will cost them at least $7 billion while doing little to apprehend lawbreakers. Because the government would have to win court orders before undertaking surveillance, the universities are not raising civil liberties issues.”
Sam Dillon and Stephen Labaton. Colleges Protest Call to Upgrade Online Systems. The New York Times. Oct. 23, 2005.
See also:
Federal Communications Commission. Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (47 CFR Part 64). Federal Register. Oct. 13, 2005.
Federal Communications Commission. Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Sept. 1, 2005.
Electronic Frontier Foundation. Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (FAQ). No date.
(Editor’s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper’s fee-based Archive.)
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Conference Session Discusses IP Issues in Search
“A panel of experts debated a number of hot legal issues during the Copyrights & Trademarks panel at SES.
“How can web site owners get links to material infringing their copyrighted materials out of search engine results? What recourse do web site owners have if their sites were removed unfairly from search engine results due to an unfair or unfounded accusation of copyright infringement?
“Do web site owners have trademark protection rights and responsibilities in search engine advertisements? This session explored these and many other issues, in particular looking at some recent rulings and existing search engine policies.
Grant Crowell. Copyrights, Trademarks and Search Engines. SearchEngineWatch. Oct. 20, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Google Loses Mail Trademark in U.K.
“Google stopped using the Gmail name in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, ending a trademark dispute for now.
“The Gmail service there is now known as Googlemail.
“A Google representative said that the search giant decided to change the suffix after protracted wranglings with research firm Independent International Investment Research (IIIR), which uses the name G-mail to refer to a part of its financial analytics software.”
Jo Best. Google Gives Up on Gmail Name in U.K. News.com. Oct. 19, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Battle Royale in Tunisia
“Next month, world diplomats will travel to Tunisia to tackle a topic so dense that it normally clears a room in seconds: how the Internet is governed.
“But the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society could be the scene of an international brawl, with some claiming that the core freedoms and integrity of the global network are at risk.
“The battle centers on how much control the United States will continue to have in overseeing the Internet’s plumbing.”
Jonathan Krim. U.S. May Face World at Internet Governance Summit. WashingtonPost.com. Oct. 13, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Google Opens D.C. Lobby Office
"Google hired its first lobbyist
in Washington, D.C., the search engine said Thursday, as the Internet
seeks a voice in the capitol with the U.S. government increasingly
playing a role in shaping online policy.
"For its advocate job, Google appointed Alan Davidson, associate director of the nonprofit civil liberties group the Center for Democracy and Technology."
Red Herring. Mr. Google Goes to Washington. Oct. 6, 2005.
See also:
Google Blog. Google Goes to Washington. Oct. 6, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Movie Studios Move Online
“The film industry is working to launch online movie download services to avoid the same fate as the piracy-ridden music industry, NBC Universal Chief Executive Bob Wright said Tuesday.
Wright was speaking at the launch of an antipiracy and counterfeiting initiative with senior executives from media, software, pharmaceutical and food industries known as “Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy.”
Reuters. Studios to Move Online to Beat Pirates. News.com. Oct. 4, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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