The Business Law Brief ^sm (November 01, 2002)

Compiled by Donna J. Cunningham, J.D., Assistant Professor of Management, Valdosta State University. To contact Professor Cunningham, please send e-mails to dcunning@valdosta.edu or Editor@PerfectlyLegalPubs.com. For a free subscription, click on the link at the bottom of this page. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. We'd love to hear from you.

1. ADA Does Not Apply to Business Websites, Since They Have No Physical Place of Public Accommodation.
   In a novel interpretation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the Miami Beach-based disability group Access Now filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines' online reservation service, alleging that the service violated the ADA by not accommodating blind people. In particular, the group alleged that the ADA required the website to be compatible with screen-reading software used by the blind. However, a Miami District Court Judge dismissed the suit, ruling that a website is not a place of public accommodation, since it has no physical, concrete structure. See the article at law.com. Access Now vs. Southwest Airlines Co., 02-CV-21734, (October 18, 2002).
2. Copyright I: Movie Trade Groups to Universities: Stop Students From Swapping Files on University Networks.
   In their letter to more than 2,000 university presidents, several Hollywood movie trade groups warned the universities to take steps to stop file swapping over university networks. Citing their concern that "an increasing and significant number of students are using university networks to engage in online piracy of copyrighted creative works," the groups want universities to take strong steps to stop the conduct and punish those who continue to share "pirated" movie files. Although the letters stop short of threatening legal action, the trade groups ask that the letter be sent to the university legal departments. In another case, the RIAA is suing Verizon Communications for information to identify an alleged file-trading subscriber. See the article at CNet news.com.
3. Copyright II: Bill Proposes Amendment to Copyright Act to Permit Copies for Personal Use.
   The "Digital Choice and Freedom Act" (H.R. 5522), proposes to amend the Copyright Act to permit consumers to make copies of DVDs and other digital works for their personal use. The bill would also permit consumers to bypass copyright protection technologies to make such copies, and would prohibit licenses that forbid such action. Story at BNA's Intellectual Property Center. To see the bill, go to thomas.loc.gov, and search for H.R. 5522.
4. Copyright III: Bush Expected to Sign Bill Authorizing Use of Copyrighted Materials for Distance Education.
   President Bush is expected to sign H.R. 2215 Enrolled, a Justice Department Funding bill which contains a provision which would permit college and university professors to use certain copyrighted materials for distance education, without running afoul of the Copyright Act. To see the bill, go to thomas.loc.gov, and search for H.R. 2215; See Subtitle B, Section 13209.
5. Use of Trademarks in Metatags Permissible if not Deceptive.
   Revising its August, 2002, opinion in Promatek Industries v. Equitrac Corp.# 00-4276, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has clarified its opinion to provide, “The problem here is not that Equitrac, which repairs Promatek products, used Promatek’s trademark in its metatag, but that it used that trademark in a way calculated to deceive consumers into thinking that Equitrac was Promatek. Id.” In its Order revising the opinion, the Court also added a footnote declaring, "It is not the case that trademarks can never appear in metatags, but that they may only do so where a legitimate use of the trademark is being made." (emphasis in the court's order.)

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