Auction fraud happens when the purported seller misrepresents material facts to the buyer. For example, the seller may defraud the buyer by not disclosing the truth about the product’s description, price, delivery date, or other material fact related to the transaction.
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology that can be used to interconnect with electronic devices. The IEEE has standardized this technology as IEEE 802.15.1. Now, it is managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
Cloud computing makes use of remote servers for processing and storage needs that individuals or companies may have as opposed to using local servers. The advantages of using cloud computing, include, data protection from local hardware failures, lower costs for data storage and management, and the ability to access files from anywhere.
There are few disadvantages associated with cloud computing, such as, limits on bandwidth which can be problematic when using the cloud for video and audio. The security of any data stored in these remote servers is in the hands of the service provider, which poses a major concern because sensitive information is unlawfully accessed more frequently these days.
Copyright is a form of protection provided under 17 U.S.C. Sections 101, et seq. to the authors of "original works of authorship" including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and other intellectual works. This protection is available to published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the Copyright Act generally gives the copyright owner the exclusive right to do and authorize others to do the following:
The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description. It would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by copyright laws. However, these rights are not unlimited in scope. In some cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation is the "Fair Use Doctrine" which carves out an exception to the rules. In other instances, the limitation takes the form of a "compulsory license" under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions.
Crowdfunding is a way of obtaining funds from other individuals, without going through accredited investors. This can be achieved through equity crowdfunding or non-equity crowdfunding.
Equity crowdfunding is a new form of crowdfunding approved by the JOBS Act. It allows an entity to sell equity (e.g., corporate shares) to others. The JOBS Act then would allow unaccredited investors with lower income to invest a small percentage of their income in private companies. It also caps funding at one million dollars per year.
Non-equity crowdfunding is a form of crowdfunding where no equity in a company is given, but instead there are gifts or other non-monetary rewards for funding. This is commonly seen on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo.
Cyberbullying takes place when the victim, who is usually a minor, is targeted by known or unknown individuals on the internet. For example, the culprits may create a website under their victim’s name and post embarrassing comments or pictures. They may also send embarrassing emails to third parties and include their victim in those messages.
A cybercrime takes place when an individual, or a group of individuals, use the internet, and related technologies, to instigate a crime. The criminals may initiate their actions in order to seek money from a third party. For example, they make steal the victim’s identity to open bank accounts or obtain loans.
Cyberextortion happens when the culprit communicates with the victim by using the internet and makes a threat against the victim unless money is paid beforehand.
Cyberstalking happens by using the internet to stalk, harass, or threaten the victim. It usually takes place by transmitting emails, text messages, or online posts. In some cases, the culprit creates a website to annoy, harass, intimidate, torment the victim.
Cyberterrorism usually takes place for political, religious, or ideological reasons. The culprit uses computers, including, but not limited to, special software programs to target critical infrastructures in order to intimidate the government. In some cases, the culprit may cause financial damages to persuade a group (or state agency) to change its policies.
Cyberwarfare takes place between state-sponsored groups in order to cause network disruption or other similar problems. The involved parties are usually government agents that use the internet to cause financial damages to other government agencies. In most cases, there is also an armed attack between the parties which includes physical attacks.
Cyber law is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative, transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.
Our firm's expertise and accomplishments in these fields include:
A denial-of-service (also referred to as “DoS”) takes place when the culprit prevents the users from accessing a specific service. The attack is initiated by sending a significant amount of authentication requests which overwhelms the network resources and causes a disruption. Ultimately, the disruption prevents legitimate requests to come through the network system.
A digital currency (also referred to as “cryptocurrency” or “virtual currency”) is a digital form of currency that has no physical form. It can be used as fiat currency to purchase products and services on the internet. A digital currency is unique and usually impossible to double spend it.
It is usually stored on a digital currency wallet and can be transferred between individuals by using special software. The digital currency wallets are special software programs that can securely store digital currencies for an indefinite period. A digital currency is created through mining in the blockchain system which is an automated public ledger of the transactions.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) is a federal statute that includes five separate titles and imposes the following: It imposes rules prohibiting the circumvention of technological protection measures. It limits copyright infringement liability for online service providers. It expands an existing exemption for making copies of computer programs. It updates the rules and procedures for archival preservation. It mandates a study of distance education activities in networked environments. In addition, it mandates a study of the effects of anti-circumvention protection rules on the First Sale Doctrine.
Digital signatures are more complex e-signatures, relying on a form of encryption to ensure that the individual signing the contract is indeed that individual. It does so by creating two “encrypted keys,” one for the individual signing, and another for all other individuals.
A domain name is the address of a web site that is intended to be easily identifiable and easy to remember, such as atrizadeh.com, copyright.gov or uspto.gov. These user-friendly addresses for websites help connect computers - and people - on the Internet. Because they are easy to remember and use, domain names have become business identifiers and, increasingly, even trademarks themselves, such as amazon.com. By using existing trademarks for domain names - sony.com, for example - businesses attract potential customers to their websites. (See www.wipo.int).
Domain name disputes arise largely from the practice of cybersquatting, which involves the pre-emptive registration of trademarks by third parties as domain names. Cybersquatters exploit the first-come, first-served nature of the domain name registration system to register names of trademarks, famous people or businesses with which they have no connection. Since registration of domain names is relatively simple and inexpensive - less than $100 in most cases - cybersquatters often register hundreds of such names as domain names.
As the holders of these registrations, cybersquatters often then put the domain names up for auction, or offer them for sale directly to the company or person involved, at prices far beyond the cost of registration. Alternatively, they often keep the registration and use the good name of the person or business associated with that domain name to attract business for their own sites.
There is no agreement within the Internet community that would allow organizations which register domain names to pre-screen the filing of potentially problematic names. The reasons vary ranging from allowing easy registrations to stimulate business to the practical difficulties involved in determining who holds the rights to a name or the principle of freedom of expression. The increasing business value of domain names has led to cybersquatting which may result in more disputes between the cybersquatters and businesses or individuals whose names have been registered in bad faith. Please visit the World Intellectual Property Organization's website for information on domain name dispute resolution services.
E-commerce is described in the American Heritage Dictionary, as “Commerce that is transacted electronically, as over the Internet.” Simply put, e-commerce is the online transaction of business, featuring linked computer systems of the vendor, host, and buyer. Electronic transactions involve the transfer of ownership or rights to use a good or service. Most people are familiar with business-to-consumer electronic business (B2C). Common illustrations include Amazon.com, llbean.com, CompUSA.com, travelocity.com, and hotels.com.
E-commerce can be divided into:
E-commerce Disputes
Disputes are inevitable in the course of the life of a business, whether online or offline. The business disputes which the enterprise may encounter include the following:
A) Contractual disputes
B) Non-contractual disputes
These are the common kinds of non-contractual disputes that may arise in an online enterprise.
Sites Where Dissatisfied Consumers May Report Internet Fraud
Economic espionage takes place when the culprit steals trade secrets (e.g., confidential or proprietary information) from a commercial enterprise for the benefit of a foreign government, instrumentality, or agent. So, it is usually conducted by foreign governments, or their agents, to obtain valuable information such as manufacturing techniques, or research and development secrets. These violations may take place by using special tools and resources like malware or other specialized software programs to infiltrate the victim’s computer network.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”) is a federal statute that was enacted to expand or revise the federal wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping provisions. One of its objectives was to promote the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy and law enforcement agency’s legitimate needs. It has amended the Wiretap Act, and created the Stored Communications Act and Pen Register Act. It provides guidelines for law enforcement agency’s access to information. Now, pursuant to the Stored Communications Act, the government can access stored information without a warrant. It also allows the issuance of a National Security Letter (“NSL”) to compel the disclosure of basic subscriber information. What is Encryption?
Encryption is the procedure to convert information from its original form – which is called plaintext – to another form that’s known as ciphertext. It’s a cryptographic method to scramble the original information to another undetectable form. It’s used to block access to sensitive information, including, but not limited to, financial information, intellectual properties, and trade secrets.
Electronic signatures, or e-Signatures, are signatures for contracts you may execute on the web in order to indicate assent to a contract. This may be accomplished by using a check box or requiring an individual to type his/her name.
Fair use is a way of using a protected intellectual property without having to pay or seek permission from its owner. This can apply to trademarks or copyrights, with different requirements. Trademarks, for example, may be used nominatively (e.g., comparative advertising) and determining fair use may include factors such as the likelihood of confusion.
For copyrighted material, fair use is determined by balancing the purpose of the work (e.g., commercial or non-commercial), nature of the copyrighted work, economic impact of the new work, and amount of the protected work taken by the third party. Ultimately, this latter example of fair use tends to be complicated and difficult to predict without proper legal analysis.
A firewall is a hardware device or software program that is configured in a way to block incoming network traffic. It is designed to prevent unauthorized access into the local area network. Firewall devices are designed to block access to a secure network infrastructure.
In general, hacking is defined as the unauthorized intrusion into an electronic communication device, including, but not limited to, computers, servers, and smart devices. It is the illegal act of gaining access to another person’s computers with the intent to steal property or cause financial damages. The hackers may use password crackers to gain access to computers.
In California, Penal Code Section 502 makes hacking a crime. There is also a federal statute known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") that’s codified under 18 U.S.C. Section 1030. In essence, it’s a pseudo civil-criminal federal statute that allows for private lawsuits.
A honeypot is an intrusion detection or prevention system that is configured to detect, deflect, or defuse a third-party’s attempt to gain unauthorized access into a computer. It can be setup as a trap that the computer expert sets against the malicious hacker to obtain identifying information. It is meant to mimic a cyberattack target for the malicious hackers.