On the local (Australian) front (pardon the anchor cliché), the recent tabling of a tough national Spam law has received industry accolade, and looks set to pass when it is read for a second time next month.

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First up on today's menu: more DMCA legal shenanigans, with a United States copy-protection software developer filing suit against a graduate student at Princeton University under s1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998.  Read more »

'According to a ZDNet report, authorities in Australia are investigating Google and a few other search engines for possible breach of the country's online gambling laws. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth) prohibits advertising of gambling services on Web sites where "it is likely that the majority of that site's users are physically present in Australia".  Read more »

'"Lawmakers in Washington are considering changes to the patent code that would bring U.S. law closer to intellectual property standards in the rest of the industrialized world." The stated result of the Patent Reform Act of 2005, HR 2795 is supposed to make the system work "more efficiently" and be "less prone to litigation."'

Originally by ScuttleMonkey at Slashdot: Your Rights Online, 12:49 PM

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'The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act [US] has been effectively used to combat gripe sites; improper profiting from the commercial use of another's mark; and tarnishing of a mark by using it in the domain of a Web site with pornographic or other undesirable content. Martin H. Samson, a partner at Phillips Nizer, explains how to efficiently harness the ACPA to prevent the misuse of your mark in another's domain.'

Originally by Law.com - Tech Law Practice Center, 8:49 PM  Read more »

'The NSW government will consider bolstering its power to act against ticket scalpers, including the introduction of laws similar to those in Victoria which give authorities power over the sale and distribution of tickets for major events.'  Read more »

Considering the coup de grâce

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday welcomed testimony from parties seeking the legislative final solution to P2P networks during a Capitol Hill hearing confidently entitled "Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a Post-Grokster World."…

Originally by The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs, 9:54 PM  Read more »

Anonymous Coward writes "Finland has adopted European Union Copyright Directive with new changes to its national legislation, giving Finland one of the most record label friendly pieces of legislation in Europe. The article has a good summary of the new law's changes to the old, rather flexible legislation."

Originally by ScuttleMonkey at Slashdot: Your Rights Online, 9:55 PM

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Phishing is an increasingly common practice employed by fraudsters to procure an individual's access credentials, typically in relation to an online financial service such as a bank or eBay.  Read more »

The Prime Minister has described the ACT Chief Minister's decision to place the draft anti-terrorism laws on the Internet as irresponsible.

Originally by ABC News: Politics, 6:33 PM

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As part of the federal government's terrorism response, changes will be made to the laws of evidence during trials of suspected terrorists. Andrew Lynch* writes that the proposals deserve close examination if Australia wants to retain the integrity of its courts and justice system.

Originally by CCH Australia, 9:58 PM

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While conducting some research on extraterritorial copyright infringement, I noticed a new bill that was tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament today. The Cross-Border Insolvency Bill 2007 (Cth) (second fireading speech) is essentially designed to transplant the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law into Australian law.  Read more »