2 Legal Cases to Watch

19 September, 2007

Whirlpool

Is a forum owner liable for comments made by it’s members?

With no existing case law in Australia on liability in Internet forums, the stakes are high for publishers, consumers and corporations alike.

Nicely covered at APCmag

Shrink-Wrap Licences

An eBay seller wants to resell AutoCAD licences, but the AutoCAD licence prohibits this. Is the shrink-wrap licence enforceable?

I am asking for $10,000,000 (ten million dollars) in punitive damages. This is a reasonable amount due to Autodesk’s size and sales volume. Autodesk’s revenues are almost 2 billion dollars per year. I feel Autodesk’s repeated use of illegal and unfair business practices to limit competition require a substantial penalty. Each new copy of Autodesk’s software cost almost $4000.00. Keeping used copies from being sold through illegal means have provided a large profit for Autodesk. AutoCAD’s illegal conduct is calculated to maximize profit at the expense of the individual consumer.

AECNews broke the story and have the full text of the complaint

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