Author Archives: Elliot Zimmerman

Warner Brothers’ portrayal of the swordboat captain “Billy” Tyne in the movie, The Perfect Storm, did not violate the rights of his heirs under F.S. 540.08, Florida’s statute regarding unauthorized pulbication of name or likeness. On April 21, 2005, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against Appellants/Plaintiffs in Tyne v. Warner, Case No. SC03-1251, because “… the term ‘commercial purpose’ as used in section 540.08(1) does not apply to publications, including motion pictures, which do not Continue reading Warner Weathers Perfect Storm→

Jon Johansen aka DVD-Jon, who was acquitted in 2003 for developing and distributing DVD copy protection code in 1999, has done it again. This time he has developed a Windows interface for purchasing and decrypting songs from iTunes. Apple is in the process of preparing its response. Read the full article at CNET here. Read a realted article at CNET here.

Agence France Presse filed suit against Google in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday, March 17, 2005, alleging that Google includes its photos, news headlines and stories at Google.com without permission.

This week an open-source programmer, Harald Welte, told Motorola and 12 other companies at the CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany, that he believes they’re using Linux in violation of the general public license that governs the software. Read the CNET article here. Welte has gone to bat for this issue before and stated he’s settled more than 25 cases so far. Additionally, he’s won two rounds in a court case against one company, Sitecom, Continue reading Programmer Contends Motorola Violates GPL→

On February 11, 2005, Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision to suppress captured real time communications in O’Brien v. O’Brien, Case Number 5D03-3484, a dissolution of marriage case. The use of Spector software or other spyware to monitor real time chats and/or communications on a computer without all parties’ consent constitutes an illegal intercept under Florida’s Security of Communications Act (Chapter 934) as well as the Federal Wiretap Act found Continue reading Spector Spyware Violates State and Federal Wiretap Laws→

Florida Senate Bill 750, submitted by State Senator Baker, removes talent agencies from DBPR’s authority, sets business and bonding requirements for talent agencies, and provides for civil and criminal remedies for violations of the act. Click here to view.

Two men plead guilty to violating copyrights on peer-to-peer networks, marking the first federal criminal convictions for file sharing. According to the Justice Department, William R. Trowbridge, 50, of Johnson City, N.Y., and Michael Chicoine, 47, of San Antonio, each operated an online hub that let people exchange video games, computer programs,digital music and movie files. Both were members of the Underground Network which used Direct Connect software to copy files. The Justice Department stated Continue reading First Federal Convictions for P2P File Sharing→

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision today that will stop entertainment corporations from gaining access to the names of people using peer-to-peer (P2P) networks unless the companies file lawsuits against them and furnish actual evidence of copyright infringement. Read the article here.

Jathan Desir, 26, of Iowa City, pled guilty on 12/22/04 to copyright infringement and conspiracy charges stemming from his part in “Warez,” which is a web ring that distributes pirated software, games, music and movies over the internet. Desir faces up to 15 years in prison and will be sentenced in March, 2005.

On December 10, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court decided it will hear MGM’s appeal in MGM Studios v. Grokster, No. 04-480. Oral argument is set for March, and a decision is expected by July.