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Enron Mail |
To All Legal :
BNA Computer Technology Law Report is a bi-weekly web-based publication. Issue highlights come through email to subscribers. Jan 5 Highlights is attached FYI. Click on the URL for interested item, it will take you to the full-text of that report. I have attached a screen shot of 1st page of item #2 for your reference. Once you are in the report, you may search back issues and browse TOC. If you just want to go to BNA site to view this publication. Go to BNA Publication Alpha list http://www.bna.com/prodcatalog/all/alpha.html, select Computer Technology Law Report, sign on with USER ID: enrony2k Password: bnaweb22 . ID/PW are in lower case. Please evaluate the publication and let me know if you would like to be on distribution. I am also getting ready to renew BNA Daily Labor Report (USER ID: enrondlr PW: bnaweb22), Daily Environment Report (USER ID: enronden PW: bnaweb22), Antitrust & Trade Regulations Daily (USER ID: enronatd PW: bnaweb22). If you are not already on distribution for these titles and are interested to receive them, let me know which ones to add your name. Thanks, Sylvia Hu Corporate and Law Information Services 713-853-6775 sylvia.hu@enron.com ----- Forwarded by Sylvia Hu/Corp/Enron on 01/05/2001 09:16 AM ----- "BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com< 01/04/2001 11:15 PM To: "BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com< cc: Subject: Jan. 5 -- BNA, Inc. Computer Technology Law Report ______________________________ COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY LAW REPORT Highlights & Table of Contents January 5, 2001 ______________________________ ISSN 1529-9376 Registered Web subscribers can access the full text of these articles by using the URL link supplied. Information about becoming a subscriber or signing up for a FREE Web trial is available at http://web.bna.com or call BNA Customer Relations at 1-800-372-1033, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 am - 7:00 pm (ET). __________ HIGHLIGHTS __________ AOL, MICROSOFT FIGHT OVER INSTANT MESSAGING AS FCC CONSIDERS MERGER Two information technology giants--America Online and Microsoft--are pulling the Federal Communications Commission in different directions as the agency reviews AOL's planned merger with Time Warner. Microsoft urges the FCC not to clear the deal without imposing instant-messaging "interoperability" conditions on AOL. . . . Page 9 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u6d9q8_ CLAIM THAT AOL 5.0 CODE WRONGLY DENIED ACCESS TO COMPETITORS ADVANCES The class action litigation against America Online Inc. and its version 5.0 software, alleging a common law product liability claim and a violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, moves forward with a trial date set for 2003 and an amended complaint recently filed. In essence, the suits claim that the AOL 5.0 software makes it impossible to get access to another ISP, once the software is installed with AOL chosen as the default ISP. Also, the plaintiffs claim, AOL knew from its beta testers that these and other problems existed, but that the online giant refused to fix the software before releasing it. . . . Page 5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u5f3f7_ LICENSE AMBIGUOUS ON REMOTE SERVICE AND STAND-ALONE PRODUCTS A software license that did not specifically enumerate permitted uses and contemplated purposes was ambiguous, a federal district court in Michigan rules. Under the license agreement, the licensee could sublicense the software only as a component of its products. The dispute comes after the licensee announced plans to offer services from the company's premises remotely, via Internet. . . . Page 7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v0h7u3_ CIVIL SERVANT'S E-MAIL MESSAGES EXEMPT FROM RELEASE AS PUBLIC RECORD The contents of e-mail messages sent and received by a county employee were public records under Washington state law, but were nevertheless exempt from disclosure as personal information, a Washington appeals court rules. The court says that the number of personal messages sent by the employee, who was being paid to perform government administrative duties, was a matter of public concern, but the contents of the messages were personal in nature and outside the realm of interests promoted by the state open records law. . . . Page 6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1e2q9_ Lead Report YEAR 2000: Xerox Corp.'s "considerable" three-year delay in giving notice to its insurance carrier of potential liability for Y2K remediation expenses prejudiced the carrier and warrants dismissal of the action, a New York trial court rules. The ruling appears to be the first to address the notice issue, which is expected to affect several other similar pending cases, including those brought by Kmart Corp. and Nike Inc. . . . Page 4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v0z0r1_ ________________ ALSO IN THE NEWS ________________ ANTITRUST: An action against Microsoft Corp. alleging injury from unlawful monopolization of the licensing market for Intel-compatible computers is stayed by a New York trial court, pending a decision by the plaintiff on opting out of a similar federal action. The court also dismisses state law class action claims. . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u6b9c9_ ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE: The final report issued by an independent review team for Carnivore, the FBI's Internet surveillance tool, reiterates an earlier conclusion that the system does not provide adequate protection from the risk of unauthorized FBI interception of private electronic communications. The report is largely unchanged from a previous draft. . . . Page 10 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u1x3c9_ TRADE SECRETS: Alleged trade secrets concerning pen-based computer technologies, acquired by Microsoft Corp. after they had been placed in a patent application, were not sufficiently secret to support an action for trade secret misappropriation by the software giant, a federal district court in California rules. . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1c6q7_ ____ TEXT ____ YEAR 2000: Text of "American Guarantee & Liab. Ins. Co. v. Xerox Corp.," (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty.). . . . Page 13 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1c7r3_ _________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS _________________ LEAD REPORT YEAR 2000 Three-year delay in giving notice to insurer doomed claim for Y2K remediation expenses . . . Page 4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v0z0r1_ _________________ COURT PROCEEDINGS _________________ ANTITRUST New York action against Microsoft put on hold . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u6b9c9_ CONSUMER PROTECTION Case against America Online 5.0 software marches on with new complaint, trial date . . . Page 5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u5f3f7_ CONTRACTS License ambiguous on remote service, stand-alone product offering provisions . . . Page 7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v0h7u3_ COPYRIGHTS Call to hotline yields piracy settlement . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u1j1h7_ Telemarketer settles piracy claims as part of BSA's 'software truce' . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u1h9u5_ PUBLIC RECORDS Civil servant's e-mail messages were private, thus exempt from release as public record . . . Page 6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1e2q9_ TRADE SECRETS Microsoft did not misappropriate trade secrets . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1c6q7_ ____ NEWS ____ ANTITRUST AOL presses FCC for quick merger decision; Microsoft, AOL fight over instant messaging . . . Page 9 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u6d9q8_ COMPUTER CRIME Congress approves bill allowing grants to local law enforcement for computer crime . . . Page 10 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u3b7g9_ ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE Final report on Carnivore mostly unchanged; audit trail, use approval suggestions added . . . Page 10 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u1x3c9_ ____ TEXT ____ YEAR 2000 New York Supreme Court, New York County, American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co. v. Xerox Corp. filed Dec. 20, 2000 . . . Page 13 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1c7r3_ ______________ TABLE OF CASES ______________ America Online Inc. Version 5.0 Software Litigation, In re (S.D. Fla.) . . . Page 5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u5f3f7_ American Guarantee & Liab. Ins. Co. v. Xerox Corp. (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty.) . . . Page 4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v0z0r1_ Compuware Corp. v. Tetranet Software Inc. (E.D. Mich.) . . . Page 7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v0h7u3_ Cox v. Microsoft Corp. (Supreme Court, N.Y. (N.Y. County)) . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3u6b9c9_ Forcier v. Microsoft Corp. (N.D.Calif.) . . . Page 8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1c6q7_ Tiberino v. Spokane County, Wash. (Wash. Ct. App., 3d Div.) . . . Page 6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/ctl.nsf/id/a0a3v1e2q9_ _________________________________________________________ __ Computer Technology Law Report (ISSN 1529-9376) Highlights & Table of Contents are published weekly by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1231 25th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037. For Customer Service including subscriptions and address changes, call 1-800-372-1033. For retransmission of the Highlights, more information or to order full text of summarized stories, call BNA PLUS at 1-800-452-7773 (202-452-4323 in DC), FAX # 202-822-8092, Internet:bnaplus@bna.com. Copyright © 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Washington, D.C. 20037. Use of this service is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement with BNA. Unauthorized access or distribution is prohibited.
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