Newsletter Archives

• Space flight is impossible

  Posted on September 26, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  I read it in the New York Times.

  Two cases currently making their way through the federal court system may determine what you will or will not be able to post and see on the Internet.

  The states of Missouri and Louisiana have sued President Biden, his former press secretary Psaki, Surgeon General Murthy, HHS Secretary Becerra, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (and Chief Medical Advisor to the President) Fauci, Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Easterly, and Director Jankowicz of the so-called “Disinformation Governance Board” of the Department of Homeland Security.

  The suit is, as would be expected, highly political. Putting aside the specific allegations of the case, it does raise important issues for the control of social media.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.39.0, 2022-09-26).

  Legal Brief Communications Decency Act, Freedom of speech, Legal Brief, Newsletters, Section 230, Social Media, Truth

• The new privacy policy’s here! The new privacy policy’s here!

  Posted on August 8, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.32 • 2022-08-08

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  On July 26, Meta (aka Facebook) changed its privacy policy.

  So this is a good time to ask two questions: what’s in the new policy, and what should you do about it?

  You can find the new privacy policy here. Settle in — it’s enormous.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.32.0, 2022-08-08).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Legal Brief Facebook, Legal Brief, Meta, Newsletters, Privacy Policy

• The right to repair

  Posted on June 27, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.26 • 2022-06-27

  Look for our special issue on July 4, 2022!

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Purchasing a product gives you broad rights to do with it as you please.

  Those rights are not unlimited. For example, you can’t drive your new Ferrari through town at 120 mph; you can’t use your new hammer to smash anyone’s thumb but your own.

  Those rights are also limited by two legal constraints: you cannot infringe on someone else’s intellectual property rights, and you cannot use the product in a way you promised not to by entering into a contract to that effect.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.26.0, 2022-06-27).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Legal Brief Hardware, Legal Brief, Newsletters, Repair, Right to Repair

• The one thing you need to know about the metaverse

  Posted on May 9, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.19 • 2022-05-09

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Nike is trying to convince a court that the metaverse is a real place, where the rules of the real world (as I think of it) do not apply.

  If it succeeds, it will be a revolution in thinking on a par with the introduction of the theory of relativity. Because the one thing you need to know about the metaverse is this — it is not real. The tools that create the metaverse create projections into the real world, but the metaverse itself is no more real than Pandora.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.19.0, 2022-05-09).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Legal Brief Legal Brief, metaverse, Newsletters, nonfungible token, Trademarks

• Trust no one: The case for blockchain

  Posted on February 28, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.09 • 2022-02-28

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  How you read the title above says a lot about how you should approach blockchain and its popular implementations (cryptocurrency and NFTs).

  If you read it as “there is no one who can be trusted,” then cryptocurrency may be of interest as a way to keep your finances hidden from the prying eyes of others (perhaps, notably, the government). However, if you read it as “trust the crowd rather than anyone in particular,” then blockchain may offer the means for reaching your goal, offering a way to establish ownership without having to trust any one individual or entity. In either case, you are using a tool and should respect its limitations and risks.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.09.0 (2022-02-28).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Newsletter 19.09.F (2022-02-28).

  Legal Brief blockchain, Legal Brief, Newsletters

• Take a selfie – NOW!

  Posted on November 22, 2021 at 02:43 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Deepfakes are a growing problem. Could taking a selfie be your best defense?

  In the last column, we saw why law must lag technology. It must, because legislators have no better crystal ball than the rest of us — and judges, faced with the task of extrapolating existing statutes to situations that were not foreseen, reach different conclusions as to how to draw the curve. Therefore, a period of uncertainty — until a legislature reacts or a judicial consensus is reached or imposed by the Supreme Court — is inevitable.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.45.0 (2021-11-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Legal AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Copyright, Deepfakes, Legal Brief

• Dickens was right (for the wrong reason)

  Posted on September 6, 2021 at 02:42 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  In Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens wrote, “The law is a ass …”

  He went on to say the law is also an idiot, but there we part company. The law is, in fact, an ass in the sense that it is slow to change and easily spooked by sudden moves.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.34.0 (2021-09-06).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Legal Law, Legal Brief, Legislation, Technology

• The sheriff in the inbox

  Posted on August 9, 2021 at 02:45 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.30 • 2021-08-09

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Has the International Trade Commission come up with the opening wedge in eliminating important protection against lawsuits — or merely the worst idea ever for a holiday toy?

  Do you have a Facebook or LinkedIn or Amazon.com profile? Have you ever annoyed a foreign individual or company? How would you feel about opening one of your accounts and discovering a summons to appear in, say, Beijing, to explain yourself? The US International Trade Commission (ITC) may have just opened the door to that possibility.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.30.0 (2021-08-09).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.30.F (2021-08-09).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Legal AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, lawsuit, Legal Brief, process
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