Old news for March 2007

MySpace Brings Phishing and Spam Suit against Sanford Wallace 

2007.03.27MySpace alleges in the suit that beginning in October 2006 Wallace implemented a phishing scheme to falsely gain access to MySpace user profiles. Wallace created profiles, groups, and forums on MySpace to direct users through deceptive means to websites owned and/or operated by Wallace. Wallace also spammed thousands of users with unwanted advertisements that promoted his websites. Wallace created 11,000 fake profiles using automated software programs in violation of MySpace's terms of use agreement, the company said in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. According to the LA Times

Yahoo Launches Mobile Ad Network & Publisher Services

2007.03.26Yahoo Inc. launched new services on Tuesday to help publishers put their content on mobile phones and take advantage of an emerging medium for advertising. The company is offering to help publishers retool their content so it can be accessed through Yahoo oneSearch, Yahoo's mobile search service for consumers. It is also launching a mobile advertising network that will serve syndicated ads beside the publishers' content. Mobile phone users are unlikely to relish the idea of more ads on their phones. But Yahoo said the services will increase the content available to them, which includes local business listings, TV programs and games.

Give privacy to domain owners

2007.03.24Many owners of Internet addresses face this quandary: Provide your real contact information when you register a domain name and subject yourself to junk or harassment. Or enter fake data and risk losing it outright. Help may be on the way as a key task force last week endorsed a proposal that would give more privacy options to small businesses, individuals with personal websites and other domain name owners.... ...At issue is a publicly available database known as Whois. With it, anyone can find out the full names, organizations, postal and e-mail addresses and phone numbers behind domain names. Hearings on the changes are expected next week in Lisbon, Portugal, before the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, the main oversight agency for Internet addresses.

MySpace Restrictions Upset Users

2007.03.20At stake is the ability of MySpace, which is owned by the News Corporation, to ensure that it alone can commercially capitalize on its 90 million visitors each month. But to some formerly enthusiastic MySpace users, the new restrictions hamper their abilities to design their pages and promote new projects. ... MySpace says that it will block these pieces of third-party software — also called widgets — when they lend themselves to violations of its terms of service, like the spread of pornography or copyrighted material. But it also objects to widgets that enable users to sell items or advertise without authorization, or without entering into a direct partnership with the company.

Are YouTube Users At Risk When Using The Site?

2007.03.17"YouTube users likewise face exposure to liability for copyright infringement, to the extent that they distribute copyrighted works to YouTube or other users by 'digital phonorecord delivery,' which the Copyright Act defines as an individual delivery which results in a reproduction of a phonorecord by or for any transmission recipient," Norgaard concluded. Just last year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) targeted YouTube -- and its users. Many YouTube users received cease-and-desist orders from the RIAA. At issue, once again, was the alleged illegal posting of copyrighted material...

MySpace Restrictions Upset Users

2007.03.20At stake is the ability of MySpace, which is owned by the News Corporation, to ensure that it alone can commercially capitalize on its 90 million visitors each month. But to some formerly enthusiastic MySpace users, the new restrictions hamper their abilities to design their pages and promote new projects. ... MySpace says that it will block these pieces of third-party software — also called widgets — when they lend themselves to violations of its terms of service, like the spread of pornography or copyrighted material. But it also objects to widgets that enable users to sell items or advertise without authorization, or without entering into a direct partnership with the company.

Are YouTube Users At Risk When Using The Site?

2007.03.17"YouTube users likewise face exposure to liability for copyright infringement, to the extent that they distribute copyrighted works to YouTube or other users by 'digital phonorecord delivery,' which the Copyright Act defines as an individual delivery which results in a reproduction of a phonorecord by or for any transmission recipient," Norgaard concluded. Just last year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) targeted YouTube -- and its users. Many YouTube users received cease-and-desist orders from the RIAA. At issue, once again, was the alleged illegal posting of copyrighted material...

Microsoft Takes Google Task on Copyright

2007.03.05Microsoft is taking aim at Google Inc.'s rival book-scanning project, saying the search company "systematically violates copyright." In prepared remarks he is scheduled to deliver Tuesday to a publishing industry group, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer also said Google is cutting into the profits of authors and publishers.

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