The verdict on outgoing privacy watchdog
As Richard Thomas prepares to step aside as the UK's Information Commissioner and his successor is named, we ask: how good a job did he do?
Jan 15, 2009•12 sec
OUT-LAW Radio
OUT-LAW Radio, a weekly broadcast covering news and developments in technology law
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Episodes
Parody libel defence gains traction
How Elton John's failed libel action has introduced a US-style defence of parody into UK law, and one Dutch firm's holey solution to an eco-problem
Jan 08, 2009•12 sec
Santa's wasteful wonderland
We find out where all that cardboard from your online Christmas shopping goes, and whether it stops some recipients even getting their gifts
Nov 13, 2008•12 sec
Top EU court changes web contact rules
We talk to the lawyer who wants ad and search giant Google to pay out one thousand dollars a time for typosquatting sites that display its ads
Nov 06, 2008•12 sec
Should Google pay out typosquatting billions?
We talk to the lawyer who wants ad and search giant Google to pay out one thousand dollars a time for typosquatting sites that display its ads
Oct 30, 2008•12 sec
How to keep your corporate secrets safe
We look at some of the technologies companies can use to avoid becoming one of the shocking 92% of British firms which do not encrypt their precious data
Oct 23, 2008•12 sec
Wi-Fi file-sharing guilt must be proved
We talk to the Danish lawyer who won a key ruling against the music industry from a court which said record companies have to prove that Wi-Fi users shared files
Oct 16, 2008•12 sec
Are ISPs about to betray our trust?
We hear from a US law professor who thinks that ISPs are in a position of unprecedented privilege and yet are preparing to invade our privacy for profit
Oct 01, 2008•12 sec
Piracy: not the enemy, but the competition
We talk to an anti-piracy pro who says that content producers should stop trying to stifle piracy and concentrate on competing with it better
Sep 25, 2008•12 sec
Are new house-sale competitions illegal?
We investigate the legality of a rash of new competitions in which £25 tickets buy the chance to win a house. Are they competitions or illegal lotteries in disguise?
Sep 18, 2008•12 sec
Why database law is bad for business
An expert in the byzantine field of database law explains why the protections given by Brussels to databases have been counter-productive
Sep 04, 2008•12 sec
Are patents and copyrights making innovation impossible?
We hear from an academic who believes that intellectual property law could smother the very innovation it is designed to protect, leaving the economy in gridlock
Aug 28, 2008•12 sec
The secrets of the emerging moderation industry
We talk to the major players in the emerging moderation industry whose workers keep forum comments clean from bases in locations from Kiev to Senegal
Aug 21, 2008•12 sec
Avoiding customer review pitfalls
We look at how two sites allowing customers to review doctors and lawyers plan on keeping themselves out of the courts
Aug 14, 2008•12 sec
The battle for Narnia
We talk to the woman who fought and lost a battle to keep the narnia.mobi domain name, which she said was bought for her son
Jul 31, 2008•12 sec
How software escrow could help you keep software suppliers in line
We look at the esoteric world of software escrow to find out if it can give your company the edge in negotiating with suppliers
Jul 24, 2008•12 sec
The search engine that has no idea who you are
While privacy activists protest at Google and others' keeping of data about our searches, we talk to the man behind a Dutch search engine that almost instantly deletes users' data
Jul 17, 2008•12 sec
The legal hurdles facing fantasy news service
We talk to the team behind an entertaining new fantasy news service about the legal hurdles they have had to leap to promote their business in the US
Jul 10, 2008•12 sec
Why limitless domains will anger big brands
We look at the disastrous impact on big brands of ICANN's decision to allow any internet domain to be registered, and we explain why the EU wants more returns on university research
Jul 03, 2008•12 sec
Crooked worker database could land employers in trouble
We investigate a new database of dishonest workers, and the pitfalls that could lie in wait for participating employers
May 29, 2008•12 sec
Web TV operation says copyright law gives it licence
Live web TV operator Zattoo.com defends its approach to simulcasting UK broadcasters' content without their permission
May 15, 2008•12 sec
TV phone scandals claim another scalp
As ITV faces a £5.7m fine, we ask an industry rep why nobody noticed the abuses while they happened
May 08, 2008•12 sec
Is content scraping legal?
We ask whether the website scraping that underpins the emerging aggregator industry falls foul of the law
May 01, 2008•12 sec
Why blind users are having trouble with PDFs
We find that few authors of PDFs know how to make them accessible to blind users
Apr 24, 2008•12 sec
RSS re-publishers are liable for unlawful content
We report on the French court ruling that could put many a publisher off using RSS feeds
Apr 17, 2008•12 sec
Google's trade mark tweak could cost businesses dear
We investigate the change Google has made to trade mark rules in its AdWords system, and find it could increase ad costs by a factor of six.
Apr 10, 2008•12 sec
Will the court bridge the software patent divide?
We look at whether or not the UK courts are trying to make UK patent law more like that in Europe, where software can sometimes be patented. Plus we find out how large companies can save time and money implementing the Companies Act
Apr 03, 2008•12 sec
Can remote software be private?
Software as a service is an emerging trend, but can you use US-based services and keep your documents from the prying eyes of the US authorities?
Mar 27, 2008•12 sec
Has the internet failed on the law?
The internet has brought free, valuable information to people all over the world, so why has it not brought free access to the most basic building block of society, the law?
Mar 19, 2008•11 sec
Is off the record legally protected?
As an Obama aide resigns over off the record comments, we investigate if a law that protected Prince Albert can do the same for journalists' sources. Plus we talk to an MEP who wants to decriminalise file sharing
Mar 13, 2008•12 sec
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