Your Smartphone; A Prosecutor’s Best Witness
Introduction Witnesses in the United States may choose to exercise their right to “plead the Fifth,” or refuse to answer a question because the response could provide self incriminating evidence of an illegal act. But how strong is this right if a prosecutor is already aware of where a witness was, what they saw, what [...]
Game Changes: Sony’s New Terms of Service
Last Thursday, Sony quietly added a binding arbitration and class action waiver section to its Playstation Network terms of service agreement. The result: users now agree to proceed individually in any dispute against Sony, foreclosing the option to participate in new class action suits. The terms also give Sony the option to handle any dispute [...]
STLR Link Roundup – December 4, 2009
The latest on the STLR radar: Patent Docs reviews Senator Patrick Leahy’s proposals for patent reform. Third Circuit gives “Spam filter ate my filing notice” excuse a second chance, from the Technology & Marketing Blog. EFF sues to find out how the government spies on us using social networks; Indiana University students makes a Freedom [...]
Durham Statement on Open Access
A group of law librarians recently published the Durham Statement on Open Access, calling on law journals to “mak[e] the legal scholarship they publish available in stable, open, digital formats in place of print.” The rationale, which is well worth reading, includes issues both timely (the economy) and timeless (the environment and access to education). [...]
How Legal Fees Might Stop the RIAA’s Campaign Against File Sharing
It’s no secret that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has responded to the growth of online file sharing with a wave of copyright infringement litigation. Often, the individuals targeted by the RIAA fear the overwhelming costs of defending themselves in court, and many have agreed to pay large settlements. A current federal case [...]