Online technology, as this column frequently has noted, presents numerous challenges to attorneys during litigation,[1] while managing their firms and marketing their services,[2] and in trying to keep up with the newest legal developments and rulings.[3]  A recent decision in a case of first impression by Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the U.S. District Court

On June 18, 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) issued a blockbuster 2 to 1 decision cancelling six federal trademark registrations owned by the Washington Redskins.  All six registrations feature some variation of the term “REDSKINS” used in connection with professional football services. 

The decision was issued

On a nearly daily basis, each of us is asked or asks others to agree to be bound by “terms of use” or “terms of service” (TOS) as a condition of using an Internet website or obtaining goods or services offered through a website. Whether or not TOS are enforceable continues to be a question

In an ironic twist, China’s largest search engine, Baidu, has successfully argued that it was entitled to First Amendment protection in regard to its search engine results in the United States, which excluded statements by the plaintiffs, a group of New York residents who “advocated” for “the Democracy movement in China.”   In a question of

All of the elements necessary for defamation claims seem to have coalesced on the Internet. There is the ease of posting content, including videos, on blogs and chat sites; the ubiquity of tweets, email, blogs and text messages; the pervasive abandonment of personal privacy; and the ability for almost anyone to quickly set up a

Not so fast.

With the emergence of online companies advertising discounted trademark registration services, one could easily be misled into believing that securing a trademark registration has been relegated to nothing more than a ministerial act; that with the insouciant wave of the hand, a trademark registration will instantaneously appear at your door step.

Nothing

Not so fast. 

With the emergence of online companies advertising discounted trademark registration services, one could easily be misled into believing that securing a trademark registration has been relegated to nothing more than a ministerial act; that with the insouciant wave of the hand, a trademark registration will instantaneously appear at your door step.  

Nothing

Work-related email accounts are ubiquitous and often are used by employees for personal reasons. Employees also may use their own personal email accounts on employer provided resources ? with or without the permission of the employer.  Many cases have considered the right of an employer to access an employee’s email accounts from the employee’s work

Much has been written (in this column and elsewhere) regarding lawyers’ adoption of social media and other Internet enabled applications for such diverse purposes as discovery, advertising, client communication,  research and the like.  Indeed, due to the proliferation of portable devices, including laptops, smartphones and tablets, whether in their offices or not, lawyers now rely

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.[1]

It is a lesson that lawyers should take to heart when incorporating technology in their every day best practices.  Technology may have changed the speed, immediacy, and even the formality of communication, but the effect of the communication will be determined by its content as interpreted by