Tag Archives: commerce

The iBooks Author EULA does not create an exclusive license, and doesn’t steal your copyright

This is a follow up to my previous post on the iBooks Author End User License Agreement (EULA) and what it actually means. Rather than posting an update to that post, I decided to follow it up with a simple breakdown of why all of the people who believe the EULA takes away (or tries …

January 27, 2012 – 11:28 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Economics & Commerce, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Bitcoins, trademarks, and a roadmap for the Bitcoin community

A lawyer from New York filed a trademark application for the mark ‘bitcoin’ on behalf of a client. This has caused an uproar in the Bitcoin community. The uproar has led to statements by the lawyer that he will be withdrawing the application in the U.S. and seek registration of the mark abroad. According to …

July 15, 2011 – 11:19 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Trademark | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Why Bitcoin isn’t a security under federal securities law

There are questions as to whether Bitcoin falls under the regulations of federal securities law. Federal securities law is a complex area of law that grants courts and the SEC great leeway in classifying investment products as securities. Nevertheless, a Bitcoin in-and-of-itself is not a security that can be regulated under federal securities la. NOTE: …

June 26, 2011 – 11:49 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Property, Securities | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (42)

The Consumer’s IP Law: A review of trademarks

Two trademark stories on Techdirt highlight the power of trademark law.  The first deals with Walmart being sued by the makers of Sillybandz — this generation’s slap bracelets — for selling and distributing a competitor’s products that, Sillybandz claims, are too similar.  The second concerns trademark law causing problems for Etsy, an online marketplace for …

November 7, 2010 – 10:45 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Trademark | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

Ownership vs. License: How an English Pub highlights copyright ownership shifts

Karen Murphy, the landlord of a British Pub, wanted to provide her customers the ability to watch British Premiere League football (soccer).  The commercial licenses offered by the exclusive UK broadcaster of BPL football –  Sky — became too expensive.  Murphy turned to a Greek broadcaster, NOVA, to supply her the broadcasts for a tenth …

October 12, 2010 – 10:00 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Economics & Commerce | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (6)

If not Terms of Service, then what?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an article discussing the recent banning of thousands of user-modified XBoxes. 1  The EFF’s article is intended to illustrate the dangers of Terms of Service (ToS) or Terms of Use (ToU) entered into by consumers when they use a service.  The danger is the wholesale signing away of your right to …

December 4, 2009 – 10:22 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

The Death of Middlemen, the Death of Lawyers

Middlemen are dying left and right.  Technology is making them obsolete, redundant. One way technology does this is by breaking down communication and travel barriers.  It is easier to communicate with someone across the world.  It easier to transport large volumes of goods across the world. Another way technology does this is by automation.  On …

November 29, 2009 – 11:52 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in General, The Future of Law | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Capturing the value of information — How Newscorp and AP can profit from the news, and how they can’t

Information is valuable.  Governments know this.  Companies know this.  Consumer rights know this.  The Associated Press and NewsCorp know this. Those last two run an entire business on the gathering and dissemination of information.  Both want us all to stop stealing their product. The Associated Press announced details on how they are going to be …

November 17, 2009 – 3:51 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Economics & Commerce | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Myth of Electronic Identity

Conventional thought is that transactions occurring over a distance create problems that are new and unique to those posed by face-to-face transactions. The reality is that both of these transactions face the same problem: verifying the identities of the parties involved. Many may take issue with this simplification of the ‘identity problem.’  ‘Of course,’ you’ll …

November 12, 2009 – 11:52 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Economics & Commerce | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)