Author of Archie Challenges Alta Vista Patents Patents 1/30/2001; 4:27:00 PM The author of Archie, a search engine for the Gopher system which pre-dated the web, challenges the AltaVista patents by claiming he already did what they were patenting.  I'm linking to the Slashdot story because there are some interesting comments in there, pointing out that it may not even matter if he has prior art claims. Patents are nasty little things.

Judge Orders 'Master' for Sex.com General IP Issues 1/30/2001; 4:20:54 PM 'The dispute over the domain name sex.com took a new twist Monday when a federal judge decided to add a special court adviser to the case. 'Following a hearing in U.S. District Court here, Judge James Ware told the gathering of sex.com attorneys that he would seek expert advice in bringing the case to a conclusion.' Including a nice summary of the whole sordid, yet important, affair.

Napster confirms membership charge Music & MP3 1/29/2001; 2:18:08 PM 'Napster's chief executive Hank Barry has told BBC News Online in an exclusive interview that users will soon be charged a membership fee. 'Mr Barry also said royalties would be paid to artists whose material is swapped over the internet with the help of Napster software.' We all knew this was coming, now we know this is coming. No, wait.

Web Site Tests Verio's Role as Copyright Police DMCA 1/27/2001; 10:05:13 PM 'Standing by its customer, hosting firm Verio has refused to take down a Web site that the Motion Picture Association of America claims is breaking the law. 'The situation is testing the role of ISPs as copyright cops in the wired world and demonstrating the limits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the law that gives ISPs a safe harbor as long as they respond quickly to takedown notices.

Despair Suing 7,000,000 Email Users Over :-( (TM) Humor/Amusing 1/26/2001; 11:33:36 PM 'DALLAS, TX - January 2nd, 2001 - In a move that has millions across the Internet community frowning, Despair, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had awarded them a registered trademark for the 'frowny' emoticon which serves as their logo. 'At a press conference, Despair's COO, Dr. E.L.Kersten, announced his intentions to sue "

Hands Off My Web Site Free Speech 1/26/2001; 2:02:07 PM 'But lately, I've run into a rather annoying something about the Web's "fixability." It has emboldened certain companies to try to cross the line between what, in journalism, is called the separation of church and state. 'In the last few weeks, on separate occasions, two writers on our staff have approached me to say they were getting grief from the companies they interviewed, with the way a story had been written and appeared on the Web site.

Web-filter data is put up for sale Privacy from Companies 1/26/2001; 1:38:15 PM 'Few companies know more about what children do on the Internet at school than N2H2 Inc. The company’s Web-filtering software, called Bess, is used by more than 12 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and new federal rules are likely to push the number higher. 'BECAUSE IT TYPICALLY is installed as a school’s gatekeeper to the Internet, Bess knows where the students go on the Web and how long they spend there.

Ego Surfing: Is your Online Personality Preventing Hiring? Misc. 1/26/2001; 1:27:34 PM 'What do your online activities say about you to potential employers? 'Recently I entered my name into a search engine to see what would turnup - a practice called "ego surfing." Within seconds I was browsing through scholarly letters I`d posted to the Linguist List in 1995, websites whose address books I`d signed, listings for my own web site - and a VERY dirty joke I posted to the Humor List.

U.S. vs. Europe on Online Privacy Privacy from Companies 1/26/2001; 12:54:15 PM 'A group called Consumers International has released a report about online privacy in the U.S. and Europe. The report's sound-byte conclusions - "U.S. beats Europe in online privacy protection" - have been widely reported in tech media, but I'd like to take issue with the report in a brief analysis below.' Unusually insightful critique of an article for Slashdot.

Etoy Wants Trademark 'Closure' General IP Issues 1/26/2001; 12:41:06 PM 'A European Internet artists group called etoy -- with all lower-case letters -- said on Thursday it has filed a complaint in a U.S. court against online toy retailer eToys Inc. alleging trademark infringement. 'The action, filed in the U.S. District Court of Southern California in San Diego, is the latest shot fired between etoy, an international artist's collective whose medium is the Internet, and the U.