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Hi Friends,

As promised… here is the Conrad Johnson – Jimi Hendrix montage of multimedia, legal education and Google.

As you may know, Conrad runs the Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic at Columbia Law School. He also plays guitar.

Hi Friends,

Here are some photos from the Jurist 10th aniversry conference.
Jurist’s Bernard Hibbitts opens the conference.

If you’ve never heard of ConnectU, you are not alone. In a case of Ivy League intringue, ConnectU filed suit against Facebook for copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets, among other charges. The story goes that ConnectU, formerly known as the Harvard Connection, had engaged Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg to complete computer programming and database definitions for the Harvard Connection website. Instead, Zuckerberg allegedly takes the code and trade secrets from the Harvard Connection to launch Facebook, a competing website.

Here’s my favorite line from the Complaint: “With respect to Internet websites, the first to enter a market has a substantial advantage.” So, how much of a lead in launch time did Facebook have over ConnectU? Facebook launched on February 4, 2004 and the ConnectU website launched on May 21, 2004. So, it only takes 107 days to build such a substantial advantage that your competitors are sent packing their bags and closing shop. Right.

Read the ConnectU Inc. v. Facebook Inc. et al. Complaint

UPDATE: Looks like the USPTO is working on fixing the ability to have permanent links and bookmarks to individual patents.

Hi Friends,

Here is some interesting news… the United State Patent and Trademark Office has broken all of the static URLs of links to patents. In fact you can not even get a new static URL to link or bookmark to as each URL is now tied to browser session. Erik Heels has a post on this here and what you can do communicate with the USPTO.

Yesterday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed a “new fee structure” to fund a modernized immigration service. Of course, in governmentspeak, a new fee structure can only mean higher fees. 🙂

Actually, USCIS did propose waiving the current $270 fee for T Nonimmigrant Status applicants, who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons. However, other than that, the proposed fees for all other applications are higher than the current fees.

With the new fee structure, USCIS contends that it will be able to improve its facilities, upgrade its data systems, expand online services and reduce application processing times.

The Daily Business Review reported on a federal class action settlement by Sharper Image over its air purifiers. Unfortunately, for Sharper Image, Judge Cecilia Altonaga denied the settlement without prejudice. Fortunately, for us, Sharper Image had filed the Settlement Agreement already with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Here are some of the more interesting provisions:

§ 10.2 Settling Defendant agrees to pay an amount not to exceed $1,875,000.00, plus the additional expenses outlined in paragraph 9 above, subject to application for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses and Court approval, as full payment for all attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses incurred in connection with this Class Action.

For $1,875,000, the settling defendants’ lawyers got them…

As many recent homeowners have discovered, the only mortgage that offers a predictable payment plan is the 30-year fixed. Sure, the interest rate may be higher than for an adjustable rate mortgage, but fixing the rate shields the borrower from interest rate risks and rising mortgage payments—risks that have only now become apparent.

Homeowners who had taken out 3- or 5-year adjustable rate mortgages a few years ago are now facing higher monthly mortgage payments as banks prepare to reset the interest rates on their loans. Since interest rates have rebounded from their historical lows, you may find yourself unable to make your mortgage payments. Potential options include refinancing the loan, renting a room or the house, selling the house, or consulting with a legal professional to see what other avenues remain open.

Here are some articles to consider:

What do you think of when someone mentions the USA PATRIOT Act? Fahrenheit 9/11? Long lines at the airport? Domestic spying by the NSA? Well, I have a new item to add to that list. As the winter cold season takes its toll, honest citizens trying to buy some nasal decongestant will discover that Sudafed® has been replaced by Sudafake—courtesy of the USA PATRIOT Act.

I found the original Sudafed at a local Walgreens. Had to take a product card to the pharmacist behind the counter and exchange it for the actual contraband. Oh, and they asked for my driver’s license. I could see all my personal information being zapped into some database for the government to data mine. Thanks! And, if I somehow end up on the No-Fly List…

Walgreens doesn’t offer all cold products in their original formulation. For example, Robitussin only comes with Phenylephrine HCI and not Pseudoepedrine HCl (the active ingredient in the original Sudafed). So, buy accordingly. Personally, I think Sudafake is really a placebo pill, because it had no effect. Hence, my search for the tried and true.

Voice of America reports that a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has collided with a Japanese oil tanker in the Arabian Sea. If the submarine was not covertly following the oil tanker, I would be seriously disappointed. Maybe the submarine and the oil tanker were playing a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse. Please let me believe that was the case.

After all, submarines belonging to the U.S. Navy must have the most advanced navigational gear onboard. To truly strike a lumbering oil tanker despite all the costly electronics and trained personnel? Well, the thing speaks for itself.

“The Team, The Team, The Team”