New rules go into effect December 1 requiring organizations that are parties to federal legal cases to be able to provide "electronically stored information" as evidence in those matters. Many courts have begun requiring such evidence, and the new rules clarify that federal courts will also insist on similar procedures. Some observers noted that as a result, routine purges of old electronic records, including those for e-mail, could be seen as tampering with evidence in the event that a lawsuit has been filed and the records at issue might pertain to the case. Organizations will need to be cautious, therefore, in how and when they delete electronic data, possibly resulting in considerable increases in costs of running computer systems.Wall Street Journal, 1 December 2006 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116499202029638214.html
As part of its legal defense in a lawsuit over its book-scanning project, Google has sought information from other companies about similar projects. The lawsuit was brought by a group of publishers and the Authors Guild, alleging that Google violates their copyrights when it scans protected books. Amazon.com offers shoppers previews of books they are considering buying, and Yahoo and Microsoft are members of an alliance that is working to develop a vast online library, not unlike what Google is building with its Book Search program. Google believes that information about those efforts will bolster its defense. Following Amazon.com's refusal last month to provide Google with requested details, Yahoo has similarly declined to furnish Google with the information it seeks. In a letter explaining its decision, an attorney from Yahoo said, "There is simply no need for Google to be peering into the minds and computers of Yahoo employees."Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 29 November 2006 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1700AP_Yahoo_Google.html
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that although laptop-using students have more flexibility in when and where they study and spend more time on assignments than students who visit computer labs, their academic work shows no measurable improvement. Both groups of students get approximately the same grades. The researchers discovered that the laptop users spent considerable time on e-mail, instant messaging, and surfing the Web.Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 November 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/11/2006112901t.htm
The U.S. Copyright Office granted narrow, three-year exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that permit circumvention of access-control technologies on electronic media if specific conditions are met. Under one exemption, professors of film and media studies can circumvent the access-control technology of DVDs in their libraries to use film clips in class. Another exemption permits circumvention of access-control technology to test, explore, and fix security flaws in copy-protection software included on audio compact discs. Chronicle of Higher Education, 28 November 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/11/2006112801t.htm