Privacy Commissioner and Others Up In Arms about Sony PlayStation Network Hack

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. On April 20th, 2011, disappointed gamers discovered they could no longer connect to the PlayStation Network. While Sony initially blamed the outage on technical problems, it was later revealed that the service had been deliberately hacked. The incident has sparked a flurry of activity among government […]

US Busts Up Botnet Called "Coreflood"

Matt Londale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. On April 13, 2011, US authorities seized 29 domain names and 5 computers located in several US states in an attempt to break up a cybercriminal ring believed to have stolen millions of dollars from US residents through the use of malicious software called Coreflood. FBI […]

Web 2.0 Companies in France Challenge Data Retention Law in Court

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. A French government decree (English translation via Google Translate) dated February 25th requires online communication service providers to maintain detailed records on their users, including full names, addresses, telephone numbers and passwords. A number of affected organizations, including Google and Facebook, have come together as the French […]

Privacy Commissioners Worried About Lawful Access Initiative

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. In an open letter to the Deputy Minister of Public Safety dated March 9, 2011, the federal Privacy Commissioner of Canada and her provincial and territorial counterparts expressed their concerns with the government’s lawful access initiative, a series of bills which would grant new surveillance powers […]

World Health Day 2011: Thoughts on Drug Resistance and Health Privacy

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. April 7th, 2011, will be the 11th annual World Health Day. This year the World Health Organization (WHO) is encouraging organizations to host events focusing on the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance. The improper use of medicines can create conditions where viruses, bacteria and parasites develop resistance […]

The Final Battle in Star Wars Copyright Dispute

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. Andrew Ainsworth fabricated suits of Imperial Stormtrooper armour for the filming of Star Wars. Decades later, he began selling reproductions to fans. Lucasfilm Limited sued Mr. Ainsworth in a California court for copyright infringement. The case made its way across the world to the UK and […]

Corporations Have No Personal Privacy Interests Says U.S. Supreme Court

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. In a ruling heavy with statutory interpretation, the U.S. Supreme Court held on March 1st that for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, corporations have no “personal” privacy interests that would allow them to qualify for exceptions to the mandatory disclosure rules of the Act. AT&T, […]

Court Rejects Settlement Agreement In Google Books Class Action

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York released their decision in the fairness hearing on the latest proposed settlement in the Google Books class action proceedings. Judge Denny Chin refused to grant final approval for the Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA). “The […]

Missing Appointment of Agent Proves Fatal To Patent Application

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a decision of the Commissioner of Patents to refuse to accept maintenance fees and reinstate an application because the fees were not paid by the agent of record.  The agent's mistake of omitting an Appointment of Agent proved fatal.

Righthaven Seeks Appeal of Fair-Use Ruling

Matt Lonsdale is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University. U.S. copyright litigation corporation Righthaven is appealing an October ruling by a U.S. District Court judge that the copying of eight sentences of a newspaper article by a Las Vegas real estate agent qualifies as a “fair use” of the material under U.S. copyright law.