Blawgs: A Reader’s Guide for IT Lawyers
Laurence Eastham reviews the blogs that might help you keep informed, sharpen up your opinions or just help fill the slack working days which so many IT lawyers complain about….
Litigation & DR
SCL Response to Data Sharing Consultation
In December 2007, the Data Sharing Review Secretariat sought responses to a range of questions on the steps that might be taken to improve the workings of the Data Protection Act 1998 with a particular focus on data sharing. SCL’s Privacy and Data Protection Interest Group has worked on a meaningful response, with Andrew Sharpe…
Data Protection and CCTV
The new CCTV Code of Practice makes it clear that the data protection legislation applies to CCTV in many cases. It describes the use of sound recording as ‘highly intrusive’ and warns organisations that its use would only ever be justified in highly exceptional circumstances. The Code outlines the key issues which organisations and businesses…
ISPs and File-exchangers’ IDs: Promusicae v Telefonica
The following details are taken from the judgment of the court. The full judgment can be accessed here. Promusicae is a non-profit-making organisation of producers and publishers of musical and audiovisual recordings. By letter of 28 November 2005 it made an application to the Juzgado de lo Mercantil No 5 de Madrid (Commercial Court No…
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IPR: Is It Good or Bad For Business?
Do intellectual property rights still provide the right framework to promote innovation and protect investment in the fast moving world of technology? This pressing question brought a packed house to Linklaters on Wednesday 23 January to hear from the experts. When Trolls Attack The first speaker was Roger Burt of IBM who tackled the tricky…
Reform of Data Protection Powers and Penalties
In a paper published by the ICO on its Web site, the Information Commissioner sets out the case for changes to be made to the Data Protection Act 1998. The changes seek to create: • a penalty for knowingly or recklessly failing to comply with the data protection principles so as to create a substantial…
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ICO Enforcement Action against Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk
Carphone Warehouse and sister company TalkTalk have been found in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner made the ruling after investigating complaints concerning the way in which both organisations processed and stored personal information. The ICO has now issued Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk with an enforcement notice. The two companies must…
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E-disclosure: Giant Haystacks and the Needle of Doom
Messrs Charlton and Lavy make sound points with regard to poor execution of e-disclosure, and make some sensible suggestions as to how this can be avoided in the future in their article (E-disclosure, Needles and Haystacks, Vol 18, Issue 1). It is regrettable that anyone should have to wade through such a large number of…
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Gowers Review Consultation
The UK Intellectual Property Office has published its proposed changes to the copyright exceptions in a document entitled Taking Forward the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. Responses are sought by 8 April 2008. While the focus for many with an interest in technology has generally been on format shifting, all of the proposed changes…
Cross-border Small Claims in the EU
Pablo Cortés reviews the proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Small Claims Procedure, which is due to be implemented by January 2009…