dmca and extraterritoriality
A motion to dismiss was filed in a case which asks a judge to Just Say Nyet to U.S. Net Laws. In Russia, it is against the law to release software which does not allow you to create a backup copy to archive. The Adobe ebooks programs don't enable you to create archival copies.

A Moscow company released software on servers located outside of the United States which would enable you to make additional copies of the ebooks released by Adobe. Is the Russian company in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, for releasing their software?

This case, and some others like it, which deal with questions about a country's overview and regulation of internet activities will be important in mapping out our rights online and are worth watching carefully. Another case, referred to in the wired article involves Yahoo.

There have been few other decisions on how one country's legislation affects Internet users and businesses in other countries, the most sensational of which involves Yahoo's battle with the French government over the Internet company's sale of Nazi-related memorabilia on its site.

A French court initially required Yahoo to abide by the French law, but last November U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel ordered that the French law violated Yahoo's First Amendment rights.

In a tit-for-tat move last month, the French court brought criminal charges against Yahoo and Timothy Koogle, its former chief executive, for allegedly condoning war crimes with its Nazi sales. A trial date will be set on May 7.

Does it matter that the server you download the Russian software from resides in Michigan? The attorney for the defense claims that that it shouldn't, but I'm not so certain. Playing devil's advocate, I just have to ask, does any of the Adobe ebooks software download from a Russian server?

blog indexing
Want to find a blog near you? The Pepys Project indexes weblogs by geographical regions, and added us as their first Delaware listing yesterday. Any other Delaware weblogs out there? We're a small state, but I know that there are some other diamond staters keeping a weblog.

always carry your ID?
I can't count the number of times that I've done this, but I live on a one-way street. The California Supreme Court ok'ed the arrest (ny times - reg. reg'd) of a bicyclist who didn't have ID on him when he was pulled over for pedaling down a one-way street the wrong way. (via Organizing the Anarchy) Note to self: must remember to carry ID when riding bike.

always buckle up?
I was stopped today at a seatbelt checkpoint on Delaware Avenue, in Newark. Delaware has a website dedicated to getting the word out about the requirements to wear your seatbelt. You can't get a citation for not wearing your seatbelt unless you are pulled over for some other moving violation first. That's a fortunate thing for me, since I wasn't wearing mine when I was stopped. I usually strap myself in, but didn't today. The police officer kindly reminded me of the legal requirement in Delaware to wear a seat belt. Note to self: must remember to buckle up when driving.