Volume III

Issue : 14: July 14, 2005

• Company Sues Wayback Machine over Law Firms Circumvention of the Websites Blocking Mechanisms
• Maryland Court Refuses to Take Jurisdiction over Website Offering Software Downloads
• Alberta Privacy Commissioner Comments on Keystroke Logging
• Google Sued by Advertiser for Losses Arising out of Click Fraud
• FTC Receives Complaint to Investigate Online Sale of Personal Information Including Cell Phone Records
• RIAA Sues another 784 Alleged File Swappers
• U.S. Banks to Pool ID Theft Data to Provide to FTC

Home > Volume III > Issue 14: July 14, 2005 > Company Sues Wayback Machine over Law Firms Circumvention of the Websites Blocking Mechanisms

Company Sues Wayback Machine over Law Firms Circumvention of the Websites Blocking Mechanisms

The Internet Archive, a non-profit organization in San Francisco, provides the popular Wayback Machine for finding old stuff on the Internet. Healthcare Advocates has sued the Internet Archive for failing to ensure that access to Healthcare Advocates' old web pages were blocked during a trade secrets dispute with a rival health care advocacy firm in 2003.

A Philadelphia law firm acting for Healthcare Advocates' rival allegedly circumvented the Wayback Machine's blocking mechanisms. The law firm obtained old web postings to assist with the defence of the rival company against claims that it misused trade secrets after a merger unravelled. Healthcare Advocates allege they followed the Wayback Machine's procedure to prevent access by inserting specific commands on its own web server that are intended to block archive requests made to the Wayback Machine. This is believed to be the first challenge to an exclusion policy and the industry is watching the case with interest.

For a copy of the complaint, visit:

http://shorl.com/gufrobruditopry

For additional information, visit:

http://shorl.com/folidogidara