This blog originally appeared on the Wiliam Galkin’s Law Blog. It’s no secret that piracy of music and movies over the Internet is rampant and costs industry billions of dollars annually. Most people involved in this activity are not hardened criminals, and if asked, will probably admit that it is a technical violation of the law,…

On May 12, 2011, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP Act) to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The bill is a revised version of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which was unsuccessful a year ago. The…

After filing for an IPO in Februrary, 2011, streaming music company Pandora went public on June 15, 2011 with little fanfare.  In contrast to LinkedIn which went public last month with a soaring valuation, Pandora’s valuation has been largely as expected.  Off the heels of LinkedIn, this could be seen as disappointing. Here is a…

In recent years, the secondary market for stocks – a platform through which investors can buy and trade shares of private companies – has grown exponentially in size and use.  This year,    transactions on the online platforms of SharesPost and SecondMarket alone have totaled over $ 4.6 billion, and are projected to exceed $ 6.9…

Being that my brand is BrandGeek®, when I saw the Wall Street Journal headline, “Now That Everyone Wants to Be a Geek, Lawyers Have Been Called,” I thought trouble surely was headed my way.  Thankfully, I’m not pedaling electronics, nor religion via VW Beetle, so it appears I’m safe.  For now.  Imagine the panic when…

On June 20, 2011, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved a new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program, first introduced in 2008.  The program will greatly increase the number of gTLDs allowed for use on the internet, which is currently limited to 22 (such as .com, .org, and .net). It allows new…

On March 14, 2011, Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar introduced a bill titled the Startup Visa Act of 2011, which is an updated version of a 2010 bill.  If passed, the act would provide temporary work visas to various kinds of foreign workers if certain financial benchmarks are met. 1.       For foreign entrepreneurs: (a) a…

As discussed in my December 13, 2010 post, the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) offers a streamlined, self-regulatory mechanism for remedying false advertising claims made in nationally distributed advertisements.  While NAD has a 95% success rate, those advertisers who fail to follow NAD’s recommendations may find themselves before the FTC upon NAD’s recommendation. On February 16, 2011,…

By a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected Microsoft’s argument and affirmed the Federal Circuit’s strong presumption of proof that granted U.S. patents are valid. On June 9, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit’s judgment, which had affirmed the district court’s judgment that awarded i4i $240 million for Microsoft’s infringement of U.S.…

Recent moves into Israel by companies from the Silicon Valley are a reminder that there are still many untapped opportunities for economic cooperation between two of the world’s foremost centers of high technology.  Innovative business cultures and common values make Israel and the Silicon Valley natural partners in the world of high-tech and venture capital.…