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| A.M. Best Insurance Law Podcast |
| Podcast in which Rob Scott answers questions on insurance law issues—defending IP and technology claims—from John Czuba, Editor of Best’s Directory of Recommended Insurance Attorneys, and Brendan Noonan, of Best’s communication team. |
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| Program Pirates: Steering Clear of Software Audits |
| Imagine you head a small company, with just a few dozen employees and computers. One day you receive a letter from a software industry trade group, such as the Business Software Alliance (BSA) or the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), informing you that it knows your company has unlicensed—or illegal—software within the network. They tell you to audit your whole system for improperly licensed software and hand over detailed results |
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| Hot Topics in Open Source Software Licensing |
| Businesses and software developers who incorporate new or pre-existing open-source software (OSS) code as part of their hardware or software solutions are on the leading edge of a new dynamic in software licensing. Where the historical, proprietary model was based on protection and enforcement of the original developer’s ability to control how and by whom the software could be copied or modified, the new framework is based instead on protection and enforcement of subsequent developers’ and users’ abilities to freely copy, modify and re-distribute the original work. |
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| Privacy, Network Security, and the Law |
| Data breach paper discussing legal issues in network security and data privacy. Since California took the lead and enacted SB 1386, many states have followed suit and enacted similar legislation. While many state data breach noticication laws are similar, the laws contain varying definitions of personal information. The laws also provide for different types of notification after a data breach security breach. |
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| Laptop Data Breaches |
| Since February 2005, the identities of approximately 93 million people have been exposed because of data leaks.1 Ponemon Institute conducted a recent survey of
almost 500 corporate information technology departments regarding the security risks associated with portable devices, such as laptops, personal data assistants (PDAs)
and USB memory sticks. Ponemon reported that 81 percent of respondents have experienced a lost or stolen laptop or portable storage device. |
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| Managing Software License Disputes |
| Software audit strategy article. When company executives are approached by software publishers who claim that the companies are violating the terms of their software licenses, they often wonder whether they should cooperate or dig in and prepare for litigation. |
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| Ethical Considerations for Attorneys in Responding to a Data-Security Breach |
| Attorneys are increasingly confronting the significant ethical issues raised when a data-security breach occurs. Many traps exist for the unwary in this newly evolving area of the law, where the applicable statutes have yet to be interpreted by the courts and e-discovery concerns abound. This article provides a legal framework in this area of the law and explores ethical considerations arising when an attorney represents a client that has suffered a data-security breach. |
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| Complying with the GLBA Privacy and Safeguards Rules |
| In 2006 an estimated 9 million American adults were the victims of identity fraud at a total cost of $56.6 billion.2 There are a number of legislative efforts designed to protect the privacy, security, and confidentiality of customer data. One such law, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the “GLBA”), also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, effectively repealed the Banking Act of 1933 and amended the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. |
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| Choosing and Challenging Venue in a Patent Case |
| Properly selected, the litigation forum can set the tone for an entire patent infringement case. There are many positives and negatives attached to every venue forum, and they differ depending on the party and perspective. For the individual inventor, a “rocket-docket” forum, like the Eastern District of Virginia or the Eastern District of Texas, or the newly available federal pilot program districts that are trying to duplicate the rocket-docket formula, can mean imposing early and strict case discipline, reigning in the paper chase, and placing David and Goliath on equal footing |
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| Check Those Credit Card Recipts: A FACTA Primer |
| A once fairly obscure law regarding credit card receipts has recently become a serious issue for numerous businesses. Consumers are becoming more aware of their data privacy rights, and attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits across the country based on alleged violations of Fair and Accurate Transaction Act of 2003 (“FACTA”). Attorneys representing any company that accepts credit cards should learn about FACTA, their clients’ potential exposure, and ways in which liability can be avoided. Businesses that handle a wide range of consumer information should also be advised regarding the effects of the FACTA Disposal Rule, another provision intended to lessen the possibility of identity theft. |
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| Attorney Malpractice Claims Regarding Patents |
| Patent infringement litigation article. According to the Federal Circuit, a state-law claim that an attorney committed legal malpractice in connection with patent prosecution or patent litigation must be heard in federal court even when there is no diversity jurisdiction and all the claims are based on state law. The decision may impact malpractice claims in other areas as well, given the court’s pronouncement that “a federal court ought to be able to hear claims recognized under state law that nonetheless turn on substantial questions of federal law. |
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| Managed Services Legal Guide |
| If you offer or are planning to offer managed services, it is important to select the right entity structure and work with experienced counsel to construct agreements with your employees, customers, and partners. This document identifies the legal issues facing MSPs from their inception, outlines strategic objectives, and provides sample contractual provisions used to achieve those objectives. |
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| Some Software Police Tactics are Questionable |
| Over the past several years, software trade associations like the Business Software Alliance and the Software & Information Industry Association have aggressively pursued businesses around the nation, accusing them of software piracy. The outcome of this pursuit for many enterprises is significant fine money, the need to purchase additional software licenses at inflated prices and meaningful damage to their brands. |
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| Software Licensing: A Legal, Not Technology Issue |
| The Business Software Alliance is aggressively going after small and mid-size businesses, accusing them of software piracy. Many businesses are already under investigation, and facing potentially steep fines and bad publicity that could hurt their reputation with customers and business partners. |
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| Understanding the Connection Between Software Compliance and Sarbanes-Oxley |
| Most public companies treat SOX compliance and Software License Compliance as separate initiatives and rarely understand that compliance with SOX Section 404 is impossible without the tools, processes, and expertise necessary to achieve and maintain software compliance. |
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| Successfully Defending Software Audits |
| Shrinking IT budgets and fierce competition among software publishers have created explosive growth in the incidence and frequency of software audits—a mechanism by which software publishers investigate their customers to determine if they are in compliance with software licenses and copyright laws. In addition to developing internal enforcement operations, many publishers have engaged trade associations to perform enforcement activity under power of attorney. |
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| Jurisdictional Issues on the Frontiers of Cyberspace |
| While companies and individuals around the globe struggle to identify and understand the various regulations and laws that can be brought into play due to the international nature of the internet, courts are also struggling with new and complex issues of personal jurisdiction raised by internet activity. |
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| Avoiding Spoliation Sanctions Under the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure |
| While the new federal rules governing electronic discovery appear on the surface to offer parties a relatively simple means of avoiding discovery sanctions should discoverable electronic information be destroyed, the new rules, in reality, are not so simple. |
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| Does the Constitution Protect the Privacy of E-mails? |
| A government investigation of the company responsible for those ubiquitous “Enzyte” commercials and an indictment of individuals operating a lab manufacturing Ecstasy have given two federal appellate courts the opportunity to consider the privacy of e-mail communications. |
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| Beware of the License Police |
| Shrinking IT budgets, fierce competition and a mature software market have increased the motivation for software publishers (such as Microsoft Corp., Adobe Systems Inc., Oracle) to conduct software licensing audits -- investigating their customers to determine if they have purchased enough licenses. |
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