Level Heads Continue to Prevail: MPAA to be a “Trusted Notifier” With Radix
As we noted in our issue brief on the impending ICANN transition, given the vast scope of the problem, voluntary relationships between registries, registrars and private industry will be a critical aspect of controlling online piracy. Last week the MPAA and registry operator Radix announced a new “trusted notifier” program under which the MPAA will ... Level Heads Continue to Prevail: MPAA to be a “Trusted Notifier” With Radix
Trade Secret Protection Gets a Federal Shot in the Arm
Trade secrets are frequently one of the most powerful forms of intellectual property that a company has in its competitive arsenal. Particularly given the ongoing interest in whittling away at the property rights of patent holders (e.g. the enhanced IPR process, and even the more tame VENUE Act), trade secrets are a critical means for ... Trade Secret Protection Gets a Federal Shot in the Arm
Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms
The lifecycle of a law is a curious one; born to fanfare, a great solution to a great problem, but ultimately doomed to age badly as lawyers seek to shoehorn wholly inappropriate technologies and circumstances into its ambit. The latest chapter in the book of badly aging laws comes to us courtesy of yet another ... Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms
The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
It appears that White House’s zeal for progressive-era legal theory has … progressed (or regressed?) further. Late last week President Obama signed an Executive Order that nominally claims to direct executive agencies (and “strongly encourages” independent agencies) to adopt “pro-competitive” policies. It’s called Steps to Increase Competition and Better Inform Consumers and Workers to Support ... The Essential Facility of Obama’s Competition Policy
Rationally Defeating Cronyism in the Boston TNC Suit
On March 31, a federal judge gave the city of Boston six months to rectify the disparities between the way it treats Transportation Network Companies (“TNC”) (such as Uber and Lyft) and taxicab companies. This comes pursuant to an order by US District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in a suit filed by members of ... Rationally Defeating Cronyism in the Boston TNC Suit
In ICANN We Trust: Assuring Accountable Internet Governance
Today, the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) released its Innovation Policy Research Program White Paper entitled: IN ICANN WE TRUST: ASSURING ACCOUNTABLE INTERNET GOVERNANCE. This article is an abbreviated excerpt of a forthcoming scholarly article that explores various aspects of the proposed transition of the IANA Internet governance functions from U.S. oversight to ... In ICANN We Trust: Assuring Accountable Internet Governance
The FCC, Privacy, and Authority Over the Edge: Forborn, not Forbidden
The FCC doesn’t have authority over the edge and doesn’t want authority over the edge. Well, that is until it finds itself with no choice but to regulate the edge as a result of its own policies. As the FCC begins to explore its new authority to regulate privacy under the Open Internet Order (“OIO”), ... The FCC, Privacy, and Authority Over the Edge: Forborn, not Forbidden
Time To Make The Donuts: Self-Help Agreements and ICANN Accountability
It seems like debates that involve the ability to access the Internet fall into absolutism very quickly. One could almost construct a corollary of Godwin’s law: As the length of a policy discussion involving the Internet increases, the probability of someone claiming a nefarious plot to destroy the Internet approaches 1. Should there be zero-rated ... Time To Make The Donuts: Self-Help Agreements and ICANN Accountability
ICLE files an Amicus Brief In Fox v. Aereo Killer
On Wednesday, the International Center for Law & Economics, along with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the appellants in Fox Television Stations, Inc. v. Aereo Killer LLC. The case arose out of Aereo Killer’s Internet video platform, from which it would retransmit content without ... ICLE files an Amicus Brief In Fox v. Aereo Killer
A Win for Free Speech: Federal Circuit Holds (part of) §2(a) of the Lanham Act Unconstitutional
It is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment that the government may not penalize private speech merely because it disapproves of the message it conveys. The Federal Circuit handed down a victory for free expression today — in the commercial context no less. At issue was the Lanham Act’s § 2(a) prohibition of trademark registrations that ... A Win for Free Speech: Federal Circuit Holds (part of) §2(a) of the Lanham Act Unconstitutional
No good deed goes unpunished: EFF slams Google for alleged violation of ambiguous privacy pledge
I have small children and, like any reasonably competent parent, I take an interest in monitoring their Internet usage. In particular, I am sensitive to what ad content they are being served and which sites they visit that might try to misuse their information. My son even uses Chromebooks at his elementary school, which underscores ... No good deed goes unpunished: EFF slams Google for alleged violation of ambiguous privacy pledge
Geoffrey Manne at Cato to Discuss the Federal Circuit’s Error in ClearCorrect
Tomorrow, Geoffrey Manne, Executive Director of the International Center for Law & Economics, will be a panelist at the Cato Institute’s Policy Forum, “The ITC and Digital Trade: The ClearCorrect Decision.” He will be joined by Sapna Kumar, Associate Professor, University of Houston Law Center and Shara Aranoff, Of Counsel, Covington and Burling LLP, and ... Geoffrey Manne at Cato to Discuss the Federal Circuit’s Error in ClearCorrect
