Although a popular adage says “children do not come with a manual,” there are manuals or programs that help parents to better educate their children; particularly after divorce. Most states in the U.S. have parenting programs to teach parents how to be better parents and to handle the difficulties that divorce brings. These courses educate parents on the development stages of children, adjustment of children to parental separation, conflict management, dispute resolution mechanisms, guidelines for visitation, cooperative parenting, and stress reduction, among others.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows a copyright owner who observes infringing content on a Website to have the content taken down. The DMCA, 17 USC § 512 (2000), introduced the take-down notice to help copyright owners to protect their rights in the Internet era. DMCA, however, also introduced a provision to prevent the abuse of the takedown procedure. Copyright owners or those exercising the take-down provision through misrepresentation are subject to liability under § 512(f) of the DMCA.

Last week, a German court ordered YouTube to filter copyrighted works uploaded in its site in violation of copyright laws. This is a huge win for GEMA, a German copyright organization that represents copyright holders. This case was pending for long time in a German court, and an appeal is expected. The ruling has two major consequences: first, GEMA is expected to receive some share of YouTube advertising revenues; and second, it imposes a burden on YouTube regarding copyright violations by its users.

Why is Facebook on its way to become a $100 Billion dollar enterprise? Because, the corporate world is very comfortable with 'predictability driven marketing' surrounded by 'search based social mediums' expects'click based' returns on investments and believes in 247/365 multidirectional expansion while the rest of the world loves the freedom to engage online.

Public and private organizations and schools use Internet-filter systems to block certain websites that contain harmful and obscene materials, among others. The use of internet-filter systems is legitimate and even necessary to comply with some legislation such as the CIPA (the Children's Internet Protection Act). These internet-filter systems, however, may also block websites that bring positive, but controversial, information. For instance, some filters may block websites about gays and lesbians that have decent and positive information about this group; is this blocking constitutional?

The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, commonly known as exequatur, is regulated by domestic law. Regional groups such as the European Union (EU), however, have uniform rules for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judicial decisions among the member states. Thus, European countries have their own domestic laws and the EU Directives on how to enforce foreign judgments. This article informs on how to enforce a foreign judgment in Spain. [More..]

Any successful e-commerce endeavor requires knowledge of the customs and trade regulations in the foreign countries where goods or services are to be delivered. Customs duties and foreign trade regulations will definitely influence the ultimate price of goods or services and the time expected to reach the consumer. Obviously, e-commerce trade will not be successful in those countries with high customs duties and strong foreign trade regulations; contrary, free trade agreements and customs exemptions between countries favorably impact e-commerce transactions.

Last week, the ex-Rutgers student who used a webcam to spy on his roommate and later published the video showing the gay roommate's love affair was convicted of a hate crime and invasion of privacy, among others. The convicted may expect up to 10 years in prison and possible deportation to India, his native country. Internet and hate crimes are definitely modern-age crimes. Although the hatred and civil tort of defamation have always existed; the Internet is facilitating the proliferation of hate crimes, which are sanctioned with imprisonment.

This is not the first time that Marketing and the Law have coincided. Balance must be achieved, and achieving such b alance, in the law is not always easy.

On May 20, 2011, Angola’s new private foreign investment law, Law No. 20/11, became effective. The new law introduced some changes to the regulation of foreign investment in that country, and some of those changes are still in need of clarification. This article introduces some of the principal facts of Angola’s new foreign investment law. [More..]