1.2 SHAREHOLDER REVOLT RAISES LEGAL CONCERNS
The US Securities & Exchange Commission is investigating a recent shareholders' revolt that was conducted online and used an Internet message board to solicit and collect proxy votes as part of an attempt to oust the chairman of Coho Energy of Dallas, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

What concerns the SEC is that by apparently acting in concert the shareholders may have contravened SEC rules. The shareholders say they have not done anything illegal and claim they did not solicit the proxies which were instead "volunteered" to them. Coho's own lawyers, Fulbright & Jaworski concede the dispute involves some free speech issues but say what concerns them is that some of the message postings were "flat-out lies" which are are potentially "very, very damaging" to the the operations of a company in bankruptcy.

1.3 DISPUTE OVER NET NAMES ENDED
After nearly two years of uncertainty, the long running dispute over the administration of the Internet domain names system has been resolved. Under the deal, which was brokered by the US Commerce Department, Network Solutions Inc (NSI), the commercial company that has been solely responsible for running the domain names registry since 1992, will formally recognise the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) as its successor and the online world's de facto governing body.

In return NSI will become one of several ICANN-accredited domain name registrars and retain responsibility for registering and managing the database of .COM, .NET and .ORG top level domains (TLDs) until at least the end of 2003. ICANN is now expected to appoint other accredited registrrars to handle alternative TLDs, including .ARTS and .WEB

The settlement is subject to final approval by ICANN at a meeting on 4th November.

1.4 COMMENT - US DECISION FUELS UNCERTAINTY OVER INTERNET JURSIDICTION
On 17th September, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas ruled in Mink -v- AAAA Development that claims could not be brought in Texas against out-of-state businesses operating on the web, where that business's use of its web-site in Texas was merely "passive".

This decision followed the 1997 case of Zippos Mfg Co -v- Zippo Dot Com, but the 5th Circuit also took the opportunity to establish a framework for assessing how the Courts should exercise their discretion in these matters in the future. The key indicator in all cases is the level of interactivity,and web-sites will fall into one of three categories.

At one extreme, are those businesses which engage in the "knowing and repeated transmission of computer files over the Internet". The middle tier comprises web-sites which allows users to access and make contact with their business over the Internet. Finally, there are sites which act as 'shop windows' only, and it is these which the US courts have defined as "passive".

Interestingly, the court held that the defendant's web-site was passive, even though it contained an e-mail link. One might question whether there is truly a distinction to be drawn between a click-wrap agreement, and one entered into by means of e-mail.

The decision in Mink -v- AAAA Development is in contrast to the approach taken by the English courts in R -v- Waddon, which was discussed in the last edition of New Media Lawyer. There, the English court had no hesitation in exercising their jursidiction to prosecute a British businessman who had been running a pornography site from a server based in the United States.

In the absence of an approach to this issue being taken at an international level, disputes over who governs the Internet are likely to continue for some time.
Commentary by Stuart Nuttall, Internet & Technology Law Group, Jeffrey Green Russell

1.5 NOW IT IS PAGE JACKING
In the past we have had "typo piracy", "domain name squatting", "framing" and content piracy but now the US Federal Trade Commission has coined a phrase for yet another new and novel form of online abuse, namely "page jacking".

This takes the form of cloning legitimate web pages with concealed meta-tags so that the innocent surfer is automatically diverted to sites containing pornographic material. There have even been reports that some page-jackers have managed to freeze the navigation controls on the victim's web browser so that the only way to escape from the illicit material is to reboot the computer.

Following complaints by lawyers acting for Adrenaline Vault and NewWorld, two Texas-based companies operating software games and entertainment sites for children that were recently page-jacked by pornographers, the FTC has obtained restraining orders, on the grounds of deception and unfair trade, against two pornographers currently believed to be working in Portugal and Australia.

2.0 NEW MEDIA LAWYERS, DEALS + ONLINE SERVICES

2.1 LAW FIRM NEWS IN BRIEF

2.2 LATEST DEALS

2.3 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
At a recent House of Lords reception for e-commerce lawyers, former Downing Street policy adviser Baroness Hogg commented that telecoms industry regulators "were the hedgehogs on the information superhighway".

2.4 SMALL FIRMS MISSING OUT BIG TIME
A recent initiative by the English Law Society's Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) to get more sole practitioners and small firms online has flopped badly with even the SPG admitting its target would be "missed by a mile". The initiative had hoped to see over 2000 of the SPG's 4800 members achieve Internet access by the year 2000 but at the beginning of October, with less than three months to go, only 73 lawyers had registered their e-mail address and just 23 firms had web sites.

2.5 VIP IN DESKTOP DEAL
Virtual Internet Provider Ltd (VIP), the UK's largest provider of branded Internet access, has signed a strategic reseller agreement with Epoch Software to promote and sell the Desktop Lawyer online legal service to its 500,000 subscribers and 70+ clients, which include the Prudential's Egg online banking operation and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

2.5 DINING OUT IN SILICON VALLEY
If you are planning to dine and deal in Silicon Valley, then "The American Lawyer" magazine recommends these restaurants: Emile's (408-289 1960) serving "New French" cuisine at 545 South Second Street, San Jose; Sent Sovi (408-867 3110) serving "French -American" cooking at 14583 Big Basin Way, Saratoga; Spago Palo Alto (650-833 1000) - a new offshoot of the Hollywood restaurant serving "Californian" cooking at 265 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto; and Viognier (650-685 3727) serving "Cal-Mediterranean" at Draeger's Market, San Mateo.

3.0 NEW MEDIA LEGAL PRODUCTS + SERVICES

3.1 TECHNOLOGY NEWS IN BRIEF

3.2 BOLERO AIMS TO END E-COMMERCE UNCERTAINTY
Bolero.Net, a joint venture created by the TT (Through Transport) Club of container fleet carriers, logistics companies and the SWIFT banking cooperative, has launched the Bolero Rulebook. This is a guide to drafting legal-binding electronic bills of lading for use in cross-border transactions and is based on laws applying in 18 different jurisdictions. The first company to sign up for the new rulebook was the Minneapolis-based coffee-exporter-to-industrial products Cargill group.
http://www.bolero.net

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