BizTech Law Blog

"Private" Information on Social Networking Websites Deemed Discoverable

In what has become an increasing trend, a plaintiff in a personal injury suit has been ordered to produce otherwise "private" postings on her Facebook and MySpace social networking profiles.  In Romano v. Steelcase, Inc., a New York Supreme Court case, the plaintiff alleged that she suffered serious and permanent injuries after falling off a defect desk chair manufactured by Steelcase.  The plaintiff further claimed that, as a result of these injuries, she was almost entirely bed-ridden.  Read More ›

Categories: Social Media

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Software Licenses Do Not Automatically Transfer in a Merger or Acquisition

Software licenses provide businesses with the right to use software programs.  Many of these programs become interwoven into the fabric and function of the company.  As a general rule companies do not own the software they license.  The corollary is that they do not, unless expressly agreed, possess the right to transfer or assign the licensed software they use to a new entity when later involved in a merger, acquisition or internal corporate restructuring.  Read More ›

Categories: E-Commerce, IT Contracts

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.CO Domain Names: the .COM Alternative?

A new land-grab is occurring on the World Wide Web.

There are presently more than 90 million domain names registered with the .COM extension. Now, 25 years after the launch of the .COM domain extension, domain space is crowded and availability is sparse; thereby, making the selection of a suitable domain name difficult.

Recently, however, a new .COM domain name competitor has entered the fray. On July 20, 2010, in a described "landrush event," the ".Co" domain became available worldwide via participating registrars (e.g., Go Daddy). In the first 24 hours, nearly 250,000 .Co domain names were registered. Read More ›

Categories: E-Commerce, Intellectual Property

Posted by: Nicholas M. Oertel

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Some Modern Guidance on a 30-Year-Old Substance Abuse Confidentiality Law

While Health Care Reform and HIPAA's HITECH Regulations are hot topics in the health care world, receiving less attention is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's recently published Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs") for applying Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations to electronic health information.  While receiving less media attention, these FAQs are no less important as they give guidance on a law and regulations that were enacted nearly thirty years ago (the federal confidentiality law is codified as 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2 (“Part 2”)).  Not surprisingly, given that the law was enacted thirty years ago, prior to the FAQs there was little government guidance on substance abuse confidentiality that contemplated modern technology such as electronic health records.  Read More ›

Categories: News

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