The Communications Decency Act was first made law in 1996 and has been one of the most important and volatile sets of rules and regulations ever since. Immediately after its passing, free speech groups filed suits to rule it unconstitutional due to it being vague in a number of areas, which would result in it violating the first amendment. Much of the original law was indeed ruled unconstitutional, but some of it Read More
What is Litigation?
Litigation is the legal process through which the plaintiff and defendant (litigants) argue their side in court to achieve a specific outcome (monetary award, injunction to stop use of patented invention, avoidance of paying a settlement, etc.). Both businesses and individuals can file complaints with the court to start the process. In the end, the side that provides the best argument or demonstrates enough proof Read More
Mediation and Arbitration: Alternatives to Litigation
Litigation is not the only option when it comes to reaching a settlement with another party. Litigants can agree to other means such as mediation or arbitration to reach an agreement that's fair for both sides. Unfortunately, once a complaint goes to trial, a judge or jury will have the final say in terms of damages paid, injunctions, and other rulings. During a trial, both sides will be able to present evidence, Read More
Washington DC Attorney Eric Menhart Quoted on Online Sales Tax
Recently introduced legislation entitled "The Main Street Fairness Act" seeks to require online retailers to collect sales tax for the benefit of states on most online purchases. Internet Retailer recently examined the bill in some detail. CyberLaw PC attorney Eric Menhart is quoted in the piece, entitled "Online sales tax proposed in Congress." Eric was asked if the recently proposed legislation, introduced by Read More
Understanding Attorney Hourly Billing and Tips for Saving Money
Everyone wants great value when they spend money. The same is true when it comes to law firms and legal services. Occasionally, clients have questions about hourly billing and want to know how to keep their costs as low as possible without sacrificing the quality professional services to which they are accustomed. This short article is intended to answer some of those questions and offers tips to clients Read More
Menhart Quoted on Internet Taxation
CyberLaw P.C. attorney Eric Menhart was recently quoted in a Forbes.com article entitled “Web Sales Tax Looms.” The article discusses the potential for additional sales taxes on online transactions, particularly in light of dwindling state budgets. Menhart is the author of the article “Taxing the Internet: Analyzing the States’ Plan to Derive Online Sales Revenue,” published in 2007 by the Journal of Read More
Update on Verizon Blackberry 8830 Case
Not much has happened in the proposed class action lawsuit against Verizon for it’s disabling of the built-in GPS in the Blackberry 8830. The parties have primarily been engaging in some preliminary procedural matters. The biggest issue so far addressed was whether an arbitration provision in the Customer Agreement could be enforced. The Court issued an order on May 13, 2008 denying Verizon’s Read More
Presidential Candidate Views on Technology
Technology Review has a nice tool that allows visitors to see the remaining presidential candidates’ positions on various technology issues, including net neutrality, broadband, privacy, stem-cell research, global warning and biofuels. You can also see some of the applicable legislation each introduced or handled in their time in the Senate. Overall, this is a nice resource for “at a glance” analysis of the Read More
Menhart Appears in Privacy Articles
Attorney Eric Menhart recently commented in two articles in “The Daily Tar Heel,” the newspaper serving the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill community. The first article, entitled “Facing Scrutiny,” examines information on social networking sites as it is used to investigate and screen college students. The second article, entitled “Google Puts Chapel Hill Streets on View,” examines the Read More
Happy MLK Day
Working for protection of individual rights, whether for civil rights, privacy rights or IP rights, requires leadership. The holiday is a good opportunity to be reminded that Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent style of leadership, which relies on truth, justice, and belief in force of law, is an effective method of resolving disputes and bringing about change in a variety of arenas. Read More
