======================================================================== COMPUTER LAWYER E-NEWS Issue #002 March 13, 1996 News and views on new media, telecommunications and computer law for legal practitioners. ======================================================================== CITICORP OBTAINS PATENT FOR ELECTRONIC MONETARY SYSTEM The use of digital cash for commerce on the Internet is currently a hot topic. A number of companies such as Cybercash and Digicash have developed their own "electronic currency". After four years of internal research and development, Citicorp, has developed its own version, known as Electronic Monetary System. In order to protect its development of these new technologies for electronic cash transfers, Citicorp recently (September 26, 1995) obtained patent protection in the US (Patent No. 5,453,601) and is attempting to win similar patents in other jurisdictions. Citicorp's patent has set alarm bells ringing in the Japanese financial community. A group of top Japanese banks have filed formal objections in Japan to the patent application. They fear that the patent could give Citicorp broad rights over the development of electronic monetary systems in Japan and that it would hinder their ability to develop a broad range of electronic services. SINGAPORE TO FURTHER RESTRICT INTERNET ACCESS Singapore has joined other governments in trying to exert greater control over material sent on the Internet. Internet Access Providers operating in Singapore have been ordered to restrict access to materials on sex, religion and politics. The Singapore government had previously ordered IAP not to carry newsgroups whose titles include "alt.sex". As well, attempts to access certain Web sites, such as Playboy's, was being blocked. The new regulations extend the ban to material that might incite religious or political unrest. Singapore has three IAP who provide Internet access to about 100,000 users. Each will be considered to be a "broadcaster" and must take reasonable measures against distributing objectionable content. As well, the Singapore Broadcasting Authority has been asked to ensure that Singapore companies do not distribute material that could "undermine public morals, political stability or religious harmony". Online sites belonging to religious and political groups must be registered. BILLS AFFIRM RIGHTS TO USE ENCRYPTION On March 5, 1996 Senators Leahy, Murray and Burns introduced the Encrypted Communications Privacy bill. The bill that would make changes to the export restrictions currently holding back greater deployment of encryption and legalize the use of "electronic envelopes" to protect private information. No license would be required to export generally available shrink-wrapped or public domain software, and computers that incorporate such software. Control over the export of cryptographic devices would be transferred to the US Commerce Department. The bill also contains a provision that would make it a crime to "use encryption to obstruct justice" (use of cryptography to obstruct a felony investigation). The penalty would be a 5-10 year sentence plus fines. The full text of the bill is available at "http://washofc.epic.org/crypto/". NBA SEEKS TO STOP BROADCASTING OF GAMES The National Basketball Association has brought suit against Motorola, Inc. and Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems Inc. (Stats Inc.) for their operation of SportsTrax. SportsTrax is a wireless pager-sized device that provides batter-by-batter status of Major League Baseball games. The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement, unfair competition, false advertising misappropriation and other violations. COMPUSERVE LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE VENTURE This month CompuServe will launched its new consumer online service called WOW! The service's patent-pending design will incorporate the latest in high performance technology to allow users to quickly customize the online experience so that it is relevant for every member of the household. Some of the service's many features include seamless Internet access, custom views for adults and children, easy electronic mail and use of multimedia such as sound and motion. Incredible Universe and Computer City outlets will be the exclusive retail launch channels for WOW! Customers purchasing Windows95 or a multimedia PC from those stores will receive a free WOW! CD-ROM. CHINA AND RUSSIA SINGLED OUT BY SPA AS WORST OFFENDERS For the second year in a row, the Software Publisher's Association (http://www.spa.org) has identified China and Russia as "one-copy" countries - places where a single legitimate copy of a software program can satisfy virtually the entire country's demand. A report filed by the SPA for the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) estimates that more than 90 percent of business application software used in China and Russia in 1995 was illegal. South Korea and Greece were close behind with an estimated 80 percent infringement rate. BECOMING A PLAINTIFF USING THE WEB There are currently four US federal lawsuits that have been launched against the Communications Decency Amendment to the Telecom Act. One of these was brought by the Center for Democracy and Technology, the American Library Association, Wired Magazine, the Citizen's Internet Empowerment Coalition (CEIC) and a number of the online services. You can join the CIEC and add yourself as a plaintiff simply by filling out a Web form at http://www.cdt.org/ciec/ by March 15, 1996. INTERNET IS NOT A COUNTRY The March 6, 1996 issue of EFFector Online carried a story about "virtual" software company which was developing a software program using Hungarian and US developers. The Hungarian developers shipped a diskette to the US and marked the "Country of Origin" on the form as "Internet" because the product was not developed at a single location but rather through collaboration across the Internet. The US Customs inspectors did not accept "Internet" as a valid country and slapped an $85 fine on the shipment. RADICAL DEPARTURE FROM FAIR USE On February 12, 1996, in the case of Princeton University Press v. Michigan Document Services, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit held that the selling of anthologies composed of excerpts of copyrighted books to students as "coursepacks" by a for-profit copy center was a "fair use". The case signals a radical departure from the US's "fair use" precedents. [Source: McCutchen Update - March 1, 1996 - McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen] ON-LINE SOFTWARE LICENSING The WWW Multimedia Law site announced the release of "On-Line Software Licensing" - a succinct reference for attorneys advising their clients on how to structure an online software deal. http://www.oikoumene.com/oikoumene/olswlicense.html COMPUTER LAW ASSOCIATION WEB PAGE Many North American lawyers practicing in the computer and technology law area are members of the Computer Law Association. The CLA's Web page can be accessed at "http://cla.org" CLEARINGHOUSE FOR REUSE OF MATERIALS IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA The National Writers Union has formed a Publication Rights Clearinghouse to facilitate the reuse of magazine and journal articles in electronic databases. ONLINE INDUSTRY NEWS: APPLE TO DISCONTINUE eWORLD Apple intends to shut down its eWorld online service at the end of March. It will attempt to migrate existing users to America Online where it is establishing new programming called Apple Interactive. ----------------------------------- Upcoming Conferences ----------------------------------- Doing Business on the Internet R@ainmaker March 12, 1996 (Toronto) (416) 363-7930 http://www.rainmkr.com "Communicating and Conducting Business Online," the annual Computer Law Conference sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, will be held in Austin, Texas May 16-17. Contact Michael Esposito (mesposito@mail.law.utexas.edu) for more information. ------------------- Administrivia ------------------- (c) 1996 by Alan Gahtan (http://www.io.org/~agahtan). Copyright and responsibility for content in individual submissions remain with the author. The information contained in this publication does not constitute legal advice. Information contained may not be applicable to all jurisdictions. 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