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No Electronic Theft Act Is A Partial Success
In 1997, the No Electronic Theft Act radically changed the underpinnings of criminal copyright infringement. Before the act, criminal copyright infringement targeted infringers making profits. The act focuses instead on copyright owners' losses, treating criminal copyright infringement as a type of theft ' like shoplifting.
Prior to the act, criminal copyright infringement required willful infringements committed for commercial advantage or private financial gain. In 1993, David LaMacchia, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, operated a bulletin board system that allowed users to upload and download infringing software applications and videogames.
LaMacchia operated the bulletin board system for fun, without any profit motive. Because of that, prosecutors couldn't charge him with criminal copyright infringement. Instead, prosecutors charged LaMacchia with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In Dowling v. United States, 473 U.S. 207 (1985), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that intangible intellectual property couldn't be taken by fraud. The court then dismissed the indictment. U.S. v. LaMacchia, 871 F. Supp. 535 (D. Mass. 1994).
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?