Tag: LEGAL

Bruce Slutsky, a 61-year-old from Flushing, NY was recently called to jury duty to hear a civil case, which involved a plaintiff filing assault charges against his neighbors. Unlike most jurors, however, Slutsky decided to document his courtroom experience on his blog. And, although the Queens, NY court ultimately determined that Slutsky's online actions didn't pose a threat to the trial's ...

Wikileaks may have garnered a lot of attention from national security departments recently, but the FBI is apparently more concerned with another, more visible Wiki. In a July 22nd letter (PDF) addressed to Wikipedia, the Bureau threatened the site with legal action unless it removes the FBI seal from its page. FBI deputy general counsel David Larson justified the request by citing a specific ...

Everyone and their mama's mama will be tuning in this Sunday for the big game, and to that end, you might be planning a get-together with some buddies involving a few six-packs, snacks and of course, the TV. But is that Super Bowl shindig infringing upon copyright law? That's what one Ars Technica writer wondered aloud after a friend mentioned he couldn't watch the Super Bowl on a TV 55-inches ...

Apple is developing a knack for ignoring products already on the market, and picking whatever name they choose. Back in 2007, it was the iPhone, which shared its name with (or, robbed its name from) a VoIP handset sold by Cisco Systems. Those two companies eventually reached a settlement allowing Apple to use the name, and, now, with the release of the iPad, the Cupertino lawyers will have to go ...

Stick and stones may indeed break bones. But causing someone to lose Facebook friends? Well, that'll land you a lawsuit. A Chicago-based woman is suing her former lover and employer for defamation, after rumors he spread about her being delusional and "post-partum" resulted in a loss of friends on Facebook. WBBM 780 reports that the plaintiff, Annmarie Swatos, asserts that she and Richard ...

All it took for thousands of Rocky Mountain Bank customers' confidential information to be compromised was one unlucky employee's slip of the mouse. Now, the bank is scrambling to protect its customers, but Google isn't cooperating. According to Wired, Rocky Mountain Bank is suing Google to reveal the identity of a Gmail account holder who mistakenly received an e-mail containing a bank ...

If you purchased and downloaded your first digital album this year, then congratulations, you're not alone! Demand for legal music downloads increased an impressive 29-percent last quarter over the same quarter in 2007. Interestingly, while illegal downloads of music also increased over the same period, they rose only 23 percent. This means that more and more people are turning to legal ...

The art of dodging a legal summons has been practiced for decades, trying to avoid receipt of some unwelcome document by hiding in your home or going on vacation. That process is getting quite a bit harder these days, and if a recent case in Australia sets a precedent, avoiding a summons could get very difficult indeed. A couple was recently served a document indicating they had defaulted on their ...

If you had any urge whatsoever to try to your hand at drug trafficking over water while these "weird" economic times sort themselves out, uh, you may want to reevaluate your options. The ever-so-stealthy Stiletto has come to life after tracking down a remarkably quick drug-running boat near Florida; the bad guys were cruising at 42 knots, but that comic book-esque thing you're undoubtedly ...

Though not quite as bad as toting the GPS module around with you, one particular marijuana farmer had to be mighty embarrassed / wondering what he ever did to deserve such bad luck when a GPS-equipped turtle meandered into his crop. As the story goes, a close friend of the police -- a box turtle with no fear of Big Brother -- just happened upon a pot stash on US park property. Clearly, Mr. Isiah ...

We've seen countries institute some pretty weird regulations when it comes to wireless handsets, but this one is apt to seem patently absurd to anyone outside of (and possibly within) Sri Lanka. Government officials are reportedly gearing up to implement legislation that would require handset owners to "to carry a certificate of ownership at all times when carrying their phone around." The new ...

Alright, this is getting a little silly. First it was Gibson claiming that Rock Band and Guitar Hero violated a patent covering "simulating a musical performance," and now Konami is suing Harmonix, Viacom, and MTV Game because Rock Band allegedly violates a similar set of patents covering "simulated musical instruments" and "musical rhythm-based matching games." Filed in good ol' Marshall, the ...

Americans are adept at adopting new technology, and texting (sending a text message via a cell phone) is one of the new tools that has been easily learned and utilized among a population that seems driven to constant communication -- and in many cases, driven to distraction. Take the rise in incidents in which someone writing or reading a text message while driving ends up causing an automobile ...

Here's another tale of e-mail messages gone awry that ought to teach you to be careful the next time you hit the "send" button. A lawyer for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly mistakenly sent an important e-mail to a New York Times reporter whose name is similar to that of another lawyer working with her on a billion dollar settlement between the drug company and the U.S. government. Eli Lilly is ...

The facility with which you can advertise what you have for sale, whether by eBay or Craigslist, also means you're under scrutiny from the public at large and local authorities. Case in point: a woman in Ontario, Calif., who tried to sell the fixtures and other installed items from her historic home was found out via her Craigslist ads and is now barred from her home by city officials concerned ...