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Archive for the ‘IT Law’ CategoryR18+ on the waySunday, July 24th, 2011 All states and territories of Australia (except for NSW) have agreed to introduce a new adult R18+ category of classification for computer games. It is anticipated that current M15+ classified games, which are inappropriate for children will be reclassified to a new R18+ rating. Justice Minister Brendan O’Connor today said that the new classification was required to protect children from adult content, and that the existing refused classification system would be maintained to ensure that the most inappropriate content was not classified. There has been significant debate on the introduction of a new adult category for computer games, with strong lobbying from the computer games industry. The debate has been ongoing for approximately 9 years. It is expected that NSW will review and consider the agreement reached including amendments included in the draft proposal.  Tags: classification of computer games, computer games, computer law, IT Law, IT Lawyers, technology law, technology lawyers Keeping it clean: trade mark owners and .xxx domainsMonday, July 11th, 2011 In September 2011, the adult industry will get its own internet ‘red light district’ when the new .xxx top-level domains become available for registration. ICM Registry, which has been approved by ICANN to administer the .xxx TLDs, has announced a pre-registration ‘sunrise’ period, starting on 7 September 2011 and running for 30 days. In Sunrise A, members of the adult entertainment industry will be able to pre-reserve their desired .xxx domain names. In Sunrise B, which will run concurrently with Sunrise A, trade mark owners in non-adult industries will be able to pre-emptively block the registration of a .xxx domain name that matches their trade mark. It’s a defensive measure that ensures that a brand is not associated with explicit or adult-oriented content by removing the associated .xxx domain name from the pool of domain names able to registered. The important points:
Sunrise B opens soon and will run for a very limited time. Contact us to take advantage of this one-time opportunity to pre-emptively keep your valuable brands out of the .xxx neighbourhood. Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain lawyers, domain name law, ICANN, technology law, trademark, trademark registration ICANN Approves New GTLDsMonday, June 20th, 2011 The ICANN Board meeting in Singapore, today approved the expansion of top level domain names. The vote means that applicants may now seek to create their own domain name extension, for example .sport, .music and .bank. In announcing the result of the vote, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN, Rod Beckstrom said:
The board vote was 13 vote for, 1 against, with 2 abstentions. People or organisations wishing to create their own top level extension will need to comply with the Applicant Guide Book, which includes a requirement for the payment of a $185,000 application fee. It is expected that there will be hot competition for generic extensions such as .food. Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain name law, ICANN, new GTLDS, technology lawyer Cooper Mills Bulletin on ACMA CrackdownWednesday, June 1st, 2011 The Australian Communications and Media Authority today foreshadowed six telco / ISP action areas it intends to address. While the six areas are described as ‘proposals’, ACMA is making it very clear that they will become law. ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman is reported in today’s Age Online as follows: Telcos will be given time to implement ACMA’s recommendations in their own self-regulatory industry codes but if they do not do so in a satisfactory way ACMA said it would force them to do so with new regulations. “The outcomes that we are seeking … are non-negotiable,” Mr Chapman said. There will be a six-week consultation period after which ACMA expects the industry to begin implementing its recommendations. “The die is cast, we’ve put it all out there in the report, the ‘guidance’ has been provided … the clock is ticking,” he said. You can read more about in the Cooper Mills Telecommunications Law Bulletin. Tags: ACMA, Chris Chapman, ISP, isp law, IT Law, Telco, Telco Lawyers, Telecom Lawyers, Telecommunications Lawyers National Cyber Security Awareness Week StartsMonday, May 30th, 2011 National Cyber Security Awareness Week starts today and runs to 3 June. It is an initiative of the Australian Government, with a number of government agencies and business becoming involved in partnership. This year it has added significance with internet security breaches increasing, including high profile security breaches involving Sony and Vodafone customers. The aim of National Cyber Security Awareness Week is to protect online security and online privacy. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has published a summary of some simple things that everyone can do to improve online security:
Tags: Internet Security, IT Law, National Cyber Security Awareness Week, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Privacy Law, Privacy Lawyer, technology lawyer ‘Max Cap’ lands Optus in Hot WaterThursday, May 19th, 2011 The ACCC has fined Singtel Optus Pty Ltd $178,000 for misleading conduct arising out of its ‘Max Cap’ marketing campaign. The ACCC’s view is that the Optus’ Max Cap advertisements:
The advertisements at issue contained the Max Cap $49, which wasn’t a cap, but rather the minimum a customer would need to spend. In commenting on the conduct of concern to the ACCC, acting ACCC Chairman Mr Peter Kell said: “If you advertise a service as a ‘$49 Max Cap’ when $49 is the minimum that consumers have to pay, then you risk breaching the law by misleading consumers about the cost of the service,” and “Claims that a service allows consumers to call ‘anyone’ are likely to be misleading if the reality is that some types of calls are excluded“. All ISPs and Telcos should have a process in place to review advertisements, not only to ensure compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 but also the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. Tags: Competition and Consumer Act 2010, technology lawyers, Telco Law, Telecom Lawyers, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers ICA files letter of comment on URSMonday, May 16th, 2011 The Internet Commerce Association (ICA), the peak body representing domain name investors and developers, has filed its letter of comment to ICANN concerning the revised Verisign contract for the operation of the .Net registry. As part of the contract review process, ICANN is being lobbied by intellectual property owners to implement a draconian Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system in the .Net space. The URS has been proposed for new GTLDs, and there are now moves to introduce it into the .Net space by intellectual property holders. The ICA is opposed to the implementation of the URS. In the ICA’s letter to ICANN it argues that (in relation to the URS):
Among its submissions the ICA also says:
To view a full copy of the ICA submissions click here. Tags: domain lawyer, domain name lawyers, ICA, IT Law, lawyers, technology law, technology lawyer Microsoft to Buy Skype for $8.5 BillionThursday, May 12th, 2011 In one of the largest acquisitions in recent history Microsoft is set to acquire Skype for $8.5 billion. Microsoft hopes to use the acquisition to bolster its real time communications strategy to supplement Lync, Outlook, Messenger, Hotmail and Xbox LIVE In 2010 Skype was reported to have ’170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations’. According to Microsoft, ‘Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms‘. While Microsoft has pledged to continue supporting non Microsoft platforms, critics have claimed that the acquisition could eventually lead to Skype only being supported on Microsoft platforms. Tags: IT Law, IT Lawyer, Microsoft, Skype, technology law, technology lawyer, telecommunications law Privacy Week SurveyWednesday, May 4th, 2011 As part of Privacy Week, the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities have released an animation and e-survey to learn more about privacy and social networking. The emergence of social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and others raise new challenges to privacy. Provide your feedback today, and complete the survey. Tags: IT Law, Privacy Law, Privacy Lawyers, Privacy Survey auDA Calls for Public CommentTuesday, May 3rd, 2011 auDA, the Australian Domain Name Regulator has today released the draft recommendations of the 2010 Names Policy Panel for public comment. The 2010 Names Policy Panel (“the Panel”) have considered the following policies (as part of auDA’s request for a review):
Public comment on the draft recommendations will be open until Friday 10 June 2011. A full copy of the draft recommendations are available from the auDA website. The draft recommendations clearly show a reluctance by the auDA Panel to change the excessively regulated .au domain space. Among some of the draft recommendations, the Panel has recommended that:
The public are encouraged to provide feedback to the Panel – a copy of the draft recommendations can be found here. Tags: auDA, domain law, domain lawyers, domain name lawyers, domainers, IT Law, IT Lawyers, technology lawyers |
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