Introducing the Fastcase Quick Reference Guide
We just added a handy one-page reference guide to the most commonly used Fastcase features to the Documentation and Downloads section of our Help & Training page. Click here to download the document as a PDF file.
And drop us a line at comments@fastcase.com to let us know what you think.
Memorial Day Weekend
The first long weekend of the summer is here! Time to fire up the grill, visit the pool, and most importantly, take a moment to remember those who gave their lives in service of our nation.
Fastcase will be closed on Monday, May 31, 2010 in observance of Memorial Day.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by hookbrother
Can a Google Adwords Campaign Constitute Evidence of Copyright Infringement?
Happy Friday!
By now you have probably heard about the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) big win against file-sharing service, LimeWire. If not, you can check out excellent coverage of Judge Kimba Wood’s summary judgment decision, issued on May 11, via the New York Times, CNET, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
While reading the 59-page opinion, one nugget that caught our eye was that one of the factors that persuaded Judge Wood that LimeWire had “purposefully marketed” to folks known to be copyright infringers, was the company’s selection of terms for Google AdWords campaign such as: “napster mp3″, “napster download”, kazaa morpheus”, and “mp3 free download” .
We know that Google AdWords has been a battle ground in the arena of trademark infringement. Google has historically allowed companies to purchase keywords for AdWords campaigns even if the trademark to the keyword is owned by a competitor (albeit with a number of restrictions). This has made Google and its AdWords advertisers frequent targets of trademark suits. Interestingly, Google recently scored a victory on this front in a suit filed by language software company, Rosetta Stone. In the suit, Rosetta Stone, alleged that Google was liable for trademark infringement for selling its trademarked keywords to third parties. The suit was dismissed by Judge Gerald Lee of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virgnia. [Rosetta Stone Press Release] [CNET]
Could the LimeWire suit be the first time that a party’s selection of terms for an AdWords campaign has been used as evidence of copyright infringement? If it’s not, we are sure you will set us straight.
Write to us at info@fastcase.com if you know of an earlier copyright suit in which AdWords keywords were an issue.
Library of Congress Creates One-Stop Resource on Elena Kagan
SCOTUS watchers, the Library of Congress just made your job much easier.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by Harvard Law Record
To serve congressional and public requests for resources pertaining to this historic nomination, the Law Library of Congress has developed an incredibly thorough web presentation on Elena Kagan on its Supreme Court Nominations site.
The LOC site is a one-stop shop for Kagan resources: you can browse Kagan’s law review articles, Supreme Court oral argument transcripts, news stories, and watch clips from YouTube and C-SPAN.
[Click here to visit the site.]
Bonus: With all the chatter out there about Elena Kagan’s qualifications, experience, and positions, here’s one story you might have missed: the nominee’s batting stance received high marks from MLB players. What on earth are we talking about? Get the full story at MLB.com.
Updates to the Federal Rules, Coming this December to a Courthouse Near You
It’s official. The Supreme Court, on April 28, 2010, approved proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. Now that they have been approved by the Supreme Court, the changes will be effective December 1, 2010.
Here’s a list of the rules that were amended/added:
-Appellate Rules: 1, 4, and 29
-Bankruptcy Rules: 1007, 1014, 1015, 1018, 1019, 4001, 4004, 5009, 7001, 9001 and new Rule 5012
-Civil Rules: 8, 26, and 56
-Criminal Rules: 12.3, 21, and 32.1
-Evidence Rules: 804
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has a terrific website with information on the rule-making process, copies of the amended rules, and a summary of the proposed changes.
Among the changes that caught our eye, were:
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 — the amended rule extends work-product protection to the discovery of draft reports by testifying experts.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 — the amended rule requires party asserting that a fact cannot be genuinely disputed to provide a pin-point cite to the summary judgment record.
Fed. R. Crim. P. 21 – the amended rule requires the court to consider the convenience of the victims as a factor when a party moves to transfer a case to a more convenient forum.