Law Videos: Legal News & Law School Advice Videos // Current

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8 hours ago

Breakthroughs in the Battle Against Spam

We’ve been developing a way of detecting and blocking spam that analyses not just content and IP address, but by applying... more

Paisano1
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9 hours ago

YouTube wins key ruling in class action case

Google and its YouTube video-sharing site won dismissal of some claims for money damages in a proposed class-action copyright infringement lawsuit by England's Football Association Premier League.

In a July 3 ruling by U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan, the group's claim for punitive damages under U.S. copyright law was dismissed, and a claim for statutory damages was mostly dismissed, with an exception for live broadcasts.

"There is no circumstance in which punitive damages are available under the Copyright Act of 1976," Stanton said in the ruling. Statutory damages were dismissed with respect to most "foreign" works that weren't registered in the U.S.

YouTube, bought by Mountain View-based Google for $1.65 billion, was sued in May 2007 for allegedly permitting rampant postings of copyrighted material without permission. A separate lawsuit by Viacom, owner of MTV Networks and Comedy Central, also is pending in the same court.

"The punitive and statutory damages claims dismissed by the court were baseless from the start," Adam Barea, an in-house lawyer for Google, said in an e-mail. "We are very pleased with the court's decision and will continue to vigorously defend against the remaining baseless claims in the case."

YouTube and Google have said their actions are permitted under U.S. copyright law, which allows "fair use" of protected material. They also have argued that the Premier League hasn't done enough on its own to limit illegal postings.

"I don't think this is going to limit our case," said plaintiffs' lawyer Louis Solomon of Proskauer Rose in New York. "It's going to shape how we go about proving damages. We still have all of the other statutory remedies, such as compensatory damages and disgorgement of profit."

Proposed class members can still seek actual damages, and statutory damages will remain available to plaintiffs whose copyrights for live broadcasts were allegedly violated, such as the Premier League, the Scottish Football League and a French tennis association, Solomon said.

"There's a group of our class members for whom statutory damages are very important, because they have live broadcasts, and it's particularly hard for them to capture damages for those," Solomon said. "They still have the right to get statutory damages."Google and its YouTube video-sharing site won dismissal of some claims for money damages in a proposed class-action copyright... more

Apocalipstick
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1 day ago

Pro-Marijuana Ad to Air on TV

"So the cool cats over at the Marijuana Policy Project have paid for and launched a 30-second television commercial that... more

DeliaTheArtist
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31 responses

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1 day ago

Police confirm McNair girlfriend behind murder-suicide

Police confirmed Wednesday that ex-NFL star Steve McNair’s(notes) 20-year-old girlfriend killed him before turning the gun... more

retro_Syl
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22 responses

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1 day ago

Massachusetts sues US over gay marriage

Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the United States over defense of marriage act (DOMA) which defines a marriage as between a... more

uroborus8
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1 day ago

Cyber Attack downs Federal Websites, N. Korea responsible

A widespread computer attack that began July 4 knocked out the Web sites of several U.S. government agencies as well as sites in... more

bansheewail
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4 responses

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1 day ago

Rove deposed — over eight hour period — in US Attorney firings

Former Bush White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove was deposed by lawyers for the House Judiciary Committee, Judiciary... more

bansheewail
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17 responses

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1 day ago

Protecting Your Children From Identity Theft

As a result of this kind of identity theft, victims are sometimes turned down for college loans, denied welfare or other benefits,... more

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2 days ago

ISAlliance Targets Threats to IT Cybersecurity

We need to reduce the risk of accidental or malicious and criminally-funded access to confidential and private information by... more

Paisano1
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3 days ago

Online Legal Forms Present Business Risks

If the form is “neutral,” is that good enough for you or are you more interested in using a document that provides... more

Paisano1
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4 days ago

San Diego's War on Medical Marijuana Continues

In California it has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the California Attorney General's guidelines. We have even had The California Third District Court of Appeal last week issue a ruling reaffirming patients rights to collectively cultivate medical marijuana.

However here in San Diego we still have our leadership debating whether marijuana is medicine. The San Diego DA’s Office and Bonnie Dumanis have stated numerous times that there is no such thing as a legal collective or cooperative, and that anyone who engages in an attempt to cultivate and distribute collectively is obviously in it for profit, "why else would they get in to this activity".
In California it has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the California Attorney General's guidelines. We have even had The California Third District Court of Appeal last week issue a ruling reaffirming patients rights to collectively cultivate medical marijuana.

However here in San Diego we still have our leadership debating whether marijuana is medicine. The San Diego DA’s Office has stated numerous times that there is no such thing as a legal collective or cooperative, and that anyone who engages in an attempt to cultivate and distribute collectively is obviously in it for profit, "why else would they get in to this activity".

We have judges who refuse to accept a written physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana as a valid patient status in court, and refuse to allow court qualified expert witnesses to testify in medical marijuana cases that are brought in by the defense.

In these same cases, San Diego narcotics detectives are allowed to testify as ‘experts’ on medical cannabis, even though they have received no more then 1 hour of medical marijuana training in their entire career, are not familiar with the laws already in place, and have testified in court that they have never seen a legal collective.

All while the San Diego county board of supervisors makes “illegal dispensaries illegal” adding more confusion to the already confusing serpentine roadmap of laws that patients have to go through.In California it has been over a decade since the Compassionate Use Act. Several years since SB420, and almost a year since the... more

copperdragon
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4 days ago

EXPOSED: Take a Tour of The Worlds Largest Prison with No Justice System

We are NOT the Story, Its Not Just Our 21 Kidnapped Passengers. Palestine, the world's largest openair prison- episode 5... more

WorldPeaceTV
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5 responses

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4 days ago

UN says Israeli seizure of aid ship a crime; US rep still jailed. Israel Above Law

A UN representative has called Israel's seizure of a ship carrying relief aid to Gaza "unlawful" as an ex-US... more

WorldPeaceTV
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6 days ago

From Muslim terrorists to american citizens pt2 with

From Muslim Terrorists to American Citizens part 2 exposes the real enemies of free speech.

maasanova
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7 days ago

U.S. Senate Committee Scraps Florida Drilling Protections

-- 2006 Compromise Betrayed as Oil Rigs Allowed as Close as 45 Miles --

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted today to remove Florida’s unique and critical protections against offshore oil and gas drilling. The amendment, offered by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), revokes long-term protections against Eastern Gulf drilling within 125 miles of Pensacola and 250 miles from Tampa Bay and replaces it with a buffer just 45 miles from Florida’s coastline, effective immediately.

“We’re deeply disappointed that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee broke its promise to Florida,” said Environment Florida Advocate Adam Rivera. “This is a cautionary tale not to compromise with oil companies and their allies in Congress, since such compromises will not be upheld for long.”

The 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act put in place current protections for Florida’s federal waters, which last until 2022. The Dorgan Amendment, which was adopted by a margin of 13-10, also opens the “Destin Dome,” long sought after by oil and gas interests, a mere 25 miles from the coast of Pensacola.

Florida would bear huge risk from increased drilling, while receiving a negligible reward. Based on the experience of other Gulf drilling operations, small spills—like the 500 gallon spill off a Louisiana rig in June 2006 that killed hundreds of endangered pelicans in a National Wildlife Refuge—would be common if Florida’s coastal and marine waters were opened to drilling. A catastrophic spill, one that could spoil the ecology and economic value of Florida beaches for generations, would be a real possibility.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the impact on gasoline prices in both the near and long terms from offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf is “insignificant”—a mere fraction of the savings America could achieve from a slight increase in automobile fuel economy standards or smart investments in urban planning and better public transit.

“Environment Florida thanks Senator Bill Nelson for fighting for our coastal environment and economy. We urge all U.S. Senators to join him in focusing on creating a clean energy economy and stopping global warming, rather than pursuing false solutions that jeopardize our natural heritage,” said Rivera.-- 2006 Compromise Betrayed as Oil Rigs Allowed as Close as 45 Miles -- WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural... more

julesrs007
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8 days ago

Gay sex decriminalized in India

A 148-year-old colonial law has been overturned, with a Deli court ruling that consensual homosexual sex is not a crime. Gay... more

nazbags
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8 days ago

Pez Suing Museum of Pez Memorabilia

"Pez Candy Inc. is suing the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia over copyright infringement. The suit, filed last week,... more

DeliaTheArtist
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8 days ago

Arizona approves bill to allow guns in bars

There was a time in the Wild West that cowboys had to check their guns before they could pull up a bar stool for a drink _ rules... more

Apocalipstick
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9 days ago

Bills seek to reduce stigma of criminal records

Legislators, government officials, and community organizers called for changes in the state’s criminal records law... more

copperdragon
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11 days ago

Programs for disposing unused medication lag behind 'don't flush' advice

At the Leesburg Pharmacy, located in a Loudoun County strip mall, a big, round fish tank sits atop the prescription counter. There are no fish inside, not even any water: The tank is a repository for unused medications. People can drop off the Vicodin that didn't get used once the pain of a root canal subsided. Or the heart pills remaining after a grandmother's death. Or an asthma inhaler that had passed its expiration date. Or an antidepressant that turned out to have unpleasant side effects.

Once a week, the tank is emptied; the drugs are packed in cartons by pharmacy personnel and ultimately incinerated by a commercial waste firm.

"Our customers are thrilled because they had no idea what else to do with this stuff," said Cheri Garvin, chief executive of the employee-owned pharmacy.

These are customers who are trying to do the responsible thing. Over the years, Americans have been alerted to the dangers of a lot of problematic waste materials -- paint thinner, batteries, air conditioners. But leftover pills can seem so small, so easily disposable, that many people routinely flush them down toilets, wash them down sinks or throw them in trash that goes to a landfill.

And then they often end up in places where they shouldn't be, like the public water supply.

The average American takes more than 12 prescription drugs annually, with more than 3.8 billion prescriptions purchased each year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The most commonly cited estimates from Environmental Protection Agency researchers say that about 19 million tons of active pharmaceutical ingredients are dumped into the nation's waste stream every year.

The EPA has identified small quantities of more than 100 pharmaceuticals and personal-care products in samples of the nation's drinking water. Among the drugs detected are antibiotics, steroids, hormones and antidepressants. Last year, the Associated Press reported that trace amounts of drugs had been found in the water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas; water piped to more than a milllion people in the Washington area had tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.

The EPA does not require testing for drugs in drinking water and has not set safety limits on allowable levels. While the minute quantities now being detected appear not to pose an immediate health risk, according to federal authorities, "there is still uncertainty about their potential effects on public health and aquatic life" over the long term, the EPA's water chief, Benjamin Grumbles, told a Senate committee last year. But the impact of long-term exposure of drugs on humans as well as on other species is less clear. Hormone-disrupting pharmaceuticals, for example, are one possible cause of a high incidence of "intersex" fish in the Potomac River basin: male smallmouth bass producing eggs, females exhibiting male characteristics.

Until recently, federal guidelines recommended that surpluses of highly toxic medications be flushed down the toilet; the same advice applied to drugs with a high potential for abuse or "diversion" -- the industry's word for what happens, for example, when kids help themselves to the OxyContin or Percocet in their parents' medicine cabinet. For other drugs, consumers have been directed to adulterate the medication by mixing it with an unpalatable substance -- such as cat litter or coffee grounds -- and put it out with the household trash.

But this spring, concerns about pharmaceuticals in the water supply led the Office of National Drug Control Policy to amend its advisory, telling consumers to avoid flushing unless the label or patient information specifies that method of disposal. The new guidelines still describe the cat-litter method of putting drugs in the trash, but they also encourage consumers to make use of community drug take-back programs.

Article Continued at: http://climate.weather.com/articles/wpolddrugs_newtricks.html?page=2At the Leesburg Pharmacy, located in a Loudoun County strip mall, a big, round fish tank sits atop the prescription counter. There... more