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FTC clears Epiq’s planned purchase of De Novo Legal – Kansas City Business Journal (Alyson Raletz)

December 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Federal Trade Commission    gave Kansas City, Kan.-based Epiq Systems Inc. the go-ahead to purchase a New York-based electronic legal services provider.

The FTC announced on Tuesday that it had provided Epiq (NASDAQ: EPIQ) early clearance of antitrust concerns to buy De Novo Legal LLC.

Epiq, a software company that supports the legal profession in electronic discovery and document review services, ranked 20th on the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of area public companies, based on revenue of $247.17 million in 2010.

Representatives of Epiq and De Novo could not be reached immediately for comment. A De Novo employee declined to answer questions about company details, including a current employee count, saying that there had been recent changes.

via FTC clears Epiq’s planned purchase of De Novo Legal – Kansas City Business Journal.

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Privacy: Will Facebook Ever Get It? | PCWorld

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With Facebook reportedly close to cutting a deal with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy sins dating back to 2009, the question remains whether or not the social network’s brain trust really gets the privacy issue.

The details–reported by the Wall Street Journal–of Facebook’s imminent pact with the FTC describe an agreement that gives the socnet plenty of room to violate its members’ privacy in the future. That’s because the deal affects a standing target–all the data currently on the system–and not the moving one, which is data added to the network in the future. It is the latter Facebook needs to address if privacy is truly going to be protected on the network.

Under the reported agreement, Facebook would need to obtain your permission before subjecting you to changes in its privacy policy that will “materially” affect how it handles your information. In the case before the FTC–which the agreement would settle–Facebook changed its privacy policy in 2009 so that information previously kept private, such as name, picture, city, gender and friends list, was suddenly made public.

The date you joined Facebook will affect the agreement’s notification requirement. What Facebook can do with your data will vary depending on what version of its privacy policy was in effect when you joined the network. Not only will that be totally confusing to you and everyone else on the network, but it should create some nightmares for Facebook’s administrators, too.

In addition, expressed consent won’t be needed for all changes nor will it be needed for new changes. That means if Facebook rolls out a feature like facial recognition or Timelines, which have significant privacy implications, it can do so whether you want to participate in the rollout or not

via Privacy: Will Facebook Ever Get It? | PCWorld.

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Mobile Technology Units that provide full range of self-contained E-Discovery services | Global EDD Group

November 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Global EDD Group leverages specialized mobile technology units (“MTUs”) that can deploy worldwide with short notice and provide a full range of self-contained electronic discovery services, including:

◊  Data Mapping
◊  Data Collection
◊  Digital Forensics
◊  Data Minimization
◊  Early Data Assessment
◊  Email Analytics & Conversion
◊  Key Term Analysis
◊  Offline Content Review
◊  TIFF/PDF Conversion

 

The MTUs provide an extremely portable and cost-effective alternative to the typical industry approach of “copy and ship” data to an offsite facility for downstream processing.  While this approach may be suitable for some projects, it can prove challenging to cases with cross-border privacy concerns, tight deadlines, trade secrets or lack of appropriate resources.  Global EDD Group has designed the MTU services to not only alleviate these challenges of shipping data, but to do so at competive price points often comparable to using a local vendor.

Typical Usage Scenarios:

◊  FCPA Investigation
◊  Due Dilgence Matters
◊  Cross-Border Litigation
◊  Remote Client Facilities (regional, national or international)
◊  Data Protection Act Jurisdictions
◊  Trade Secret Security Concerns

 

 

Law Firms and Corporations interested in learning more about Data Minimization Services from Global EDD Group should call +1.888.690.DATA (3282) or email info@globaledd.com for additional information. Global EDD Group also provides these services under subcontract to other industry vendors and service providers.

 

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Employee Theft Investigations: Intellectually Property Theft and Business Trade Secrets Investigations | Computer Forensics Associates

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Intellectual property theft and trade secret theft often go unnoticed until an employee is terminated. Suddenly a competitor introduces a new product or process that is virtually identical to yours. By performing a computer forensic investigation on any electronic devices the employee had access to, sufficient evidence can be found to prove theft of intellectual business property and and business trade secrets. This evidence can be used in court to stop the competitor’s use, prosecute the responsible party(s) and win compensatory damages.

Computer Forensic investigations help businesses uncover suspected intellectual property theft, trade secret theft and patent infringement by investigating computers, smart phones, cell phones, hard drives, servers and other data storage devices. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets including but not limited to intangible assets like musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.

Take these steps if you suspect theft of intellectual property by an employee:

  1. Identify all computers, laptops, smart phones,and external devices that may hold potential evidence.
  2. Secure the suspect computers and prevent further use until a forensic image can be collected.
  3. Begin documenting why you suspect IP theft, fraud or patent infringement.
  4. Contact a computer forensics company like Computer Forensics Associates and make arrangements to capture a forensically sound image so you preserve the evidence and prevent tampering or spoliation.

via Employee Theft Investigations: Intellectually Property Theft and Business Trade Secrets Investigations.

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E-Discovery At Your Office, Not Ours – Mobile Technology Units from Global EDD Group

October 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Today’s electronic discovery industry has been designed around powerful data centers that provide robust processing and hosting capabilities from a centralized location.   While these centers most certainly provide valuable performance and economic advantages,  it is often not possible to simply ship data to the data centers due to cross-border privacy concerns, tight deadlines, trade secrets or lack of budget-friendly resources.

Realizing these concerns, Global EDD Group has developed specialized mobile technology units (“MTU”) that can deploy worldwide with short notice and provide a full range of self-contained electronic discovery services, including:

◊  Data Mapping
◊  Data Collection
◊  Digital Forensics
◊  Data Minimization
◊  Early Data Assessment
◊  Email Analytics & Conversion
◊  Key Term Analysis
◊  Offline Content Review
◊  TIFF/PDF Conversion

 

Global EDD Group has designed the MTU services to not only alleviate these challenges of shipping data, but to do so at competive price points often comparable to using a local vendor.   Typical usage scenario include:

◊  FCPA Investigation
◊  Due Dilgence Matters
◊  Cross-Border Litigation
◊  Remote Client Facilities (regional, national or international)
◊  Data Protection Act Jurisdictions
◊  Trade Secret Security Concerns

 

Law Firms and Corporations interested in learning more about Mobile Technology Units from Global EDD Group should call +1.888.690.DATA (3282) or email info@globaledd.com for additional information. Global EDD Group also provides these services under subcontract to other industry vendors and service providers.

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Google agrees to privacy audits for 20 years – chicagotribune.com

October 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google Inc. agreed to submit to third-party privacy audits for the next 20 years to settle allegations it misused users’ personal information.

The settlement with the Federal Trade Commission would resolve the agency’s complaint over Google Buzz, a social notification service the company built last year into Gmail. The feature allowed users to share photos, videos and updates with friends but attracted controversy when the automatically enabled service effectively made users’ email contacts public.

Under the proposed settlement, Google would prominently disclose when it transfers user information to third parties, identify the kind of third parties receiving the data and explain the purposes of sharing the data. The disclosures would come apart from the company’s standard end-user license agreement.

The agreement also requires biennial assessments of its privacy safeguards by an independent third-party professional.

via Google agrees to privacy audits for 20 years – chicagotribune.com.

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Court Orders Defendant to Re-Post Facebook Profile Picture Showing Infringing Trade Dress to Allow Plaintiff an Opportunity to Print Chosen Posts : Electronic Discovery Law

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Katiroll Co., Inc. v. Kati Roll & Platters, Inc., No. 10-3620 (GEB), 2011 WL 3583408 (D.N.J. Aug. 3, 2011)

In this trademark infringement case, Plaintiff sought sanctions for defendants’ alleged spoliation of several categories of evidence, including the contents of the individual defendant’s Facebook page.  Specifically, plaintiff sought sanctions for the defendant’s failure to preserve his Facebook pages in their “original state” i.e., before they were taken down, and because he changed the Facebook profile picture (which had previously displayed the infringing trade dress at issue) without preserving the prior image.  The court held that while the spoliation was unintentional, it was nonetheless “somewhat prejudicial” and ordered the defendant to change the picture back for a brief time, to allow plaintiff to print whatever posts it found relevant.

via Court Orders Defendant to Re-Post Facebook Profile Picture Showing Infringing Trade Dress to Allow Plaintiff an Opportunity to Print Chosen Posts : Electronic Discovery Law.

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Microsoft Says Motorola’s Android Phones Infringe Its Patents – Bloomberg

August 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world’s largest software maker, began arguing its U.S. trade case that Android- based smartphones made by Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. use technology derived from Microsoft inventions.

In a trial that began today before the International Trade Commission in Washington, Microsoft accused Motorola Mobility of infringing seven of its patents and requested a halt to imports of certain Motorola phones. The ITC has the power to stop imports of products that violate U.S. patent rights.

The case is the first smartphone dispute to be heard by the agency since Google Inc. (GOOG) said Aug. 15 it would buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion to obtain patents that could be used as a bulwark against a surge of lawsuits targeting handsets and tablet computers that use Google’s Android operating system.

“We have a responsibility to our employees, customers, partners and shareholders to safeguard our intellectual property,” David Howard, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for litigation, said in an e-mail. “Motorola is infringing our patents and we are confident that the ITC will rule in our favor.”

via Microsoft Says Motorola’s Android Phones Infringe Its Patents – Bloomberg.

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Patriot Act vs. European law: What are the likely outcomes? | ZDNet

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Between the transposing of the EU Data Protection Directive in 1998 and the terrorist attacks in New York in September 2001, trade relations between the United States and the European Union were mutual, bilateral and safe.

The arrangement between the U.S. and the EU — for which both continents vary a great deal on data protection and citizen privacy — were shot down when the Patriot Act was rushed through Congress in October 2001.

The European Parliament is debating its own laws, to determine whether the Patriot Act is a threat to European data.

A senior Microsoft executive has already stated that in, short, the Patriot Act does not allow them to guarantee the safety or privacy of European data.

A clear disparity between the laws is ever present and becoming clearer each and every day.

The question now to ask is: how could the data protection war between the two continents be solved?

via Patriot Act vs. European law: What are the likely outcomes? | ZDNet.

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FTC and DOJ Announce Changes to HSR Premerger Notification Form | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati – JDSupra

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

On July 7, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Premerger Notification Rules and the Premerger Notification and Report Form, following a public comment period that ended on October 18, 2010. Prior to the most recent revisions, the FTC and DOJ last made modifications to the HSR form in 2005; however, unlike the relatively minor 2005 changes, the 2011 changes are extensive and may significantly affect the burden placed on filing parties. The new rules and HSR form will go into effect 30 days after the publication of the changes in the Federal Register.

Most of the changes are minor and will only slightly impact the complexity and associated burdens of the HSR form. However, filing parties should be aware that several changes—found in Items 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the HSR form — represent significant departures from the previous HSR form…

Please see full alert below for more information.

via FTC and DOJ Announce Changes to HSR Premerger Notification Form | Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati – JDSupra.

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