Welcome to "On the 50 Yard Line" The Blog of Stuart L. Pardau, Attorney, Professor and Observer of Political Economy; It’s not just about football.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Cyber Attacks Hit Law Firms

How robust is the network security of most law firms? As I have long-suspected, not very.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/06/25/dont-click-on-that-link-client-secrets-at-risk-as-hackers-target-law-firms/

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Friday, June 15, 2012

Retired NFL Veterans Antitrust Lawsuit Dismissed by Federal Court

Named plaintiffs included crusty defensive tackle Diron Talbert and wide receiver Gene Washington (though not clear if it is the Gene Washington of former Viking fame or the Gene Washington from the 49ers). The basic claim is that the NFL is engaging in unreasonable restraints of trade (antitrust violations) by virtue of not allowing the former footballers to receive any royalties in connection with the use of their images and likeness on NFL film and other footage wherein NFL and team logos/marks appeared.  (Not surprisingly, there are few if any of images where this NFL property was absent.) The Court was not persuaded by the former players' argument and without much effort dismissed the case. It does seem to me that in terms of reaching the appropriate end result, this is an issue for the players association to take up in the next round of collective bargaining discussions. There are real dollars here and the formers players should receive some compensation.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/97015946/Washington-v-NFL-Opinion#fullscreen

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Hulu, Net Flix and the Video Privacy Protection Act

Hulu users claimed that the subscription-based video streaming service disclosed their viewing history to third parties. Specifically, their complaint alleges that Hulu worked with KISSmetrics, a data analytics company, to track subscribers’ viewing histories and then share that information with third parties such as Facebook. Hulu asserts it is not subject to the VPPA because it is not a “video tape service provider,” which is defined in relevant part as “any person, engaged in the business, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, of rental, sale, or delivery of prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual materials…” The case is headed to mediation.


As to Netflix, they recently settled a class action lawsuit in connection with maintaining viewing history records beyond the allowed time under the statute. 


http://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2012/06/articles/recent-cases-focus-attention-on-the-video-privacy-protection-act/#more-3062

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Big Apple: Technology Giant Reveals 3-D Mapping Service That Photograph Activity Through A Window or a Skylight

Apple’s military-grade cameras are understood to be so powerful they could potentially see into homes through skylights and windows. The technology is similar to that used by intelligence agencies in identifying terrorist targets in Afghanistan.


Yet another instance of technology racing ahead of the legal and regulatory environment.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157150/Apple-reveal-3D-mapping-service-week-campaigners-say-privacy-window-thanks-high-resolution-images-spy-home.html

Saturday, June 2, 2012

PCI SECURITY STANDARDS COUNCIL PROVIDES GUIDANCE TO MERCHANTS ON MOBILE PAYMENT ACCEPTANCE SECURITY


PCI SECURITY STANDARDS COUNCIL PROVIDES GUIDANCE TO MERCHANTS ON MOBILE PAYMENT ACCEPTANCE SECURITY


https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/pr_120515_PCI_Mobile_Merchant_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Friday, June 1, 2012

More on the High Cost of a Law Degree


The average debt of law graduates tops $100,000, and most new lawyers do not earn salaries sufficient to make the monthly payments on this debt. More than one-third of law graduates in recent years have failed to obtain lawyer jobs. Thousands of new law graduates will enter a government-sponsored debt relief program, and many will never fully pay off their law school debt.
– Washington University Law professor Brian Tamanaha, author of Failing Law Schools (affiliate link), painting a rosy picture of what life is like for recent law school graduates.



http://abovethelaw.com/2012/06/quote-of-the-day-the-broken-economics-of-legal-education/

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