Rivera Law Group Internet and Technology Law

Internet Law Resources

The United States Supreme Court

United States Circuit Courts Opinions

United States District Courts Opinions

United States Department of Justice - Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section

ICANN - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

The Canadian Internet Law Resource Page

Cyber Lawyer Blog

Our Internet Law Practice Areas

Whether your Internet legal issues relate to online copyright infringement, online trademark infringement, Internet contracts, web development contracts, Internet site documents, domain name law, Internet defamation, trade secret misappropriation, cyber crimes, Internet sex crimes, spam issues, Internet privacy, or whether you desire to create a legally solid website, we are your cyber law attorneys.

Our Internet Law practice areas include:

* Copyright Infringement

* Trademark Infringement

* Internet Contracts and Online Contract Disputes

* Website Development Contracts

* Domain Name Disputes

* Website Documents

* Online Defamation and Internet Free Speech law

* Misappropriation of Trade Secrets

* Hacking and Unauthorized Access

* Cyber Crime Defense

* Internet Sex Crimes

* Website Legal Compliance Audit

* SPAM and CAN SPAM Act

* Internet Privacy

Internet Privacy

In the Internet age, the right to privacy has taken many twists and turns. Some states, including Virginia have statutes providing for prosecution for computer invasion of privacy.

In a worldwide market, how can the protections against the appropriation of name and likeness, online defamation, intrusion into seclusion, false light in the public eye, and public disclosure of private facts be preserved?

In fact, can you comfortably say that as you read this page there is no spyware program which is lodged deep within your system tracking your every move? Internet privacy is a complex legal area and requires the knowledge and experience that our Internet privacy attorneys can provide.

Take for example email privacy at your place of employment:

Some courts have held that Your employer can lie to you about reading your emails… and then fire you for relying on these lies! Most employees probably know that the emails sent from their work email accounts are probably being monitored.

However, what if your employer repeatedly assures you that all e-mail communications would remain confidential and privileged? What if your employer tells you that e-mail communications could not be intercepted and used against you as grounds for termination or reprimand? Can your employer still intercept your emails, read them, and then fire you for the contents…? The answer may surprise you... and make you realize that the assistance of an Internet Law attorney is paramount.

In Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 914 F. Supp. 97 (1996), Pillsbury maintained a company e-mail system which the employees used to communicate among themselves. Mr. Smyth was an employee of Pillsbury. Pillsbury assured Mr. Smyth as well as the other employees that all e-mail communications would remain confidential and privileged and that the e-mail communications could not be intercepted and used against the employees as grounds for termination or reprimand. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania surprisingly held that despite the assurances made by Pillsbury, its employees did not have a “reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail communications voluntarily made by an employee to his supervisor over the company e-mail system.” The Court went on to hold that no “reasonable person would consider the . . . interception of these communications to be a substantial and highly offensive invasion of his privacy.”

The Pillsbury case, although decided under Pennsylvania law and dating back to 1996, has been cited with approval by courts in other states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Oregon, and Texas.

Our Internet Privacy attorneys understand the complex Internet Privacy laws and can assist you and/or your business in sorting out these complicated Internet legal issues.

Internet Law Office Locations

Our attorneys can provide you with the resources of a big firm and the individualized attention of a mid-sized firm.

Our Internet attorneys are located in Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts, but most of our Internet Law work comes from clients throughout the entire United States and Internationally, from Europe to Latin America and Asia. Our Internet lawyers and staff speak the following languages in addition to English: Spanish, and Portuguese. Our language proficiency, technical ability, and litigation record are unique among law firms practicing Internet Law. We believe that given the global nature of the Internet, an effective Internet lawyer must be prepared and competent to handle Internet Law matters throughout the world.... We have served lead Cyber Law counsel in Internet cases throughout the Nation, from Virginia, to Arizona, to California... coast to coast... Although admitted to practice law in Virginia, we have appeared in Internet Law matters in a pro hac vice capacity, allowing clients throughout the entire Nation to obtain quality representation for Internet Law matters.

Our offices are located in:

Richmond, Virginia:
11551 Nuckols Road
Suite N
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
Phone: 804-332-6585

Manassas, Virginia:
10432 Balls Ford Road, Suite 300
Manassas, Virginia 20109
Phone: (703) 652-0878

We are experienced attorneys specialized in Internet Law. Whether you need an Internet lawyer, web lawyer, cyber lawyer, Internet law specialist, domain name lawyer, online lawyer, computer lawyer, or Internet business attorney... Contact our Internet Law Attorneys.

Internet Law Litigation

Each Internet Lawyer firm is an aggressive and experienced Internet Law litigator. Because of its complex technical aspects, Internet law litigation is different from all other forms of litigation. Even experienced "big firm" attorneys specialized in Intellectual Property Law litigation may lack the required knowledge to understand the technical concepts associated with the Internet. A typical big firm Intellectual Property litigator probably does not have a Computer Engineering and advance business administration background. A typical Intellectual Property litigator probably does not have years of experience with the Department of Defense working with cutting edge technology. Our Internet Law litigators do!

Our Internet Law litigation attorneys are experienced in:

- Internet Copyright Infringement litigation
- Internet Trademark Litigation
- Internet Defamation Litigation
- Internet Hacking and Unauthorized Access Litigation
- Internet SPAM (unsolicited bulk email) law litigation
- Internet Domain Name Litigation and Domain Name Disputes
- Internet and computer crime defense

When you need an Internet Law Attorney, who has knowledge and experience with Cyber Law Litigation and Online litigation... Contact one of our Internet Law Attorneys.

Internet Copyright Infringement Litigation

Each Internet Lawyer firm is an aggressive and experienced Internet Copyright Law litigator. Because of its complex technical aspects, Internet copyright law litigation requires specialized knowledge and experience.

An Internet copyright infringement litigation lawyer from our firm handles all aspects of copyright infringement occurring on the Internet. Whether the Internet copyright infringement litigation involves the interpretation of copyright laws, the DMCA, copied website contents, stolen website photographs, or even criminal prosecution resulting from allegations of copyright infringement on a website, we are experienced in Internet copyright infringement law and litigation.

Recently, the RIAA and movie studios have initiated aggressive litigation against people accused of sharing copyrighted files through point-to-point (P2P) software as well as Internet websites and forums. Ignorance of the law is generally not a good defense against claims of Internet copyright infringement. The posting of movie files, music, or photos can land you in expensive litigation. An Internet copyright infringement litigation attorney has the technical knowledge and mastery of law required to defend you against claims of Internet copyright infringement.

If you or your business is faced with Internet copyright infringement litigation, an our Internet copyright attorneys are experienced in cyber copyright issues. Our technical knowledge and experience is unique and our successful track record speaks for itself. We not only claim to be experienced in Internet copyright law and Internet copyright litigation.... We also get the job done!

Are Domain Names Property or Contract Rights?

Some courts have held that that domain names are property. In Kremen v. Cohen, 337 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2003), the plaintiff registered the domain name sex.com. The registrar transferred the name to a different individual on the basis of a forged letter.

The Court reversed the district court’s holding that domain names were intangibles not subject to conversion. The Court held that the registrar was subject to liability “for giving away someone else's property.” Id. at 1035. Other courts, however, have concluded that "a domain name registration is the product of a contract for services between the registrar and registrant.” Network Solutions, Inc. v. Umbro Int'l, Inc., 259 Va. 759, 770 (2000) (citing Dorer v. Arel, 60 F. Supp. 2d 558, 561 (E.D. Va. 1999)).

If considered property rights, domain names would be subject to state property laws and state property causes of action, such as conversion, would be applicable. However, if domain names confer only contractual rights, the nature of the protection afforded to the registrant would be quite different. Under ICANN rules, a domain name owner must intervene within five days to stop an inter-registry transfer request. Therefore, whether a domain name is treated as property or as a contractual right can make a huge difference in the remedies available to victims of domain name hijacking who do not intervene within the five-day period prescribed by ICANN.

Our domain name attorneys can assist you with all your domain name issues. We are your domain name law experienced Attorneys.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Lawyer

The Computer Fraud and abuse Act (CFAA), codified under 18 U.S.C. § 1030 applies to both civil cases and criminal prosecution. An Internet Lawyer with our firm has knowledge of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and can explain to you the legal application of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Although the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act was originally enacted to target computer hackers and computer crackers, the Computer Fraud and Abuse is being applied far beyond the Act’s original intent. Our Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Attorneys may assist you in recognizing and resolving violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

A violator of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is one who:
i. Knowingly;

ii. Accesses a computer;

iii. Without authorization; to

iv. Obtain information;

v. From a protected computer; and

vi. Conduct involves Interstate or foreign communication.

If you are served with a civil or criminal complaint or accusation of violations to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, our Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Attorneys are ready to assist you to protect your legal rights. Similarly, if someone accesses your computer system without authorization and obtains information from the computer, our Computer Fraud and Abuse Act experienced attorney can assist you in protecting your rights.

Some important Court decision regarding the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act include:

America Online, Inc. v. LCGM, Inc., 46 F.Supp.2d 444 (E.D.Va., 1998)

ISP brought action against operators of web sites, and principals of those operators, alleging that defendants sent unauthorized and unsolicited bulk e-mail. The Court held that Defendants violated 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2)(C) of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits individuals from “intentionally access[ing] a computer without authorization or exceed[ing] authorized access, and thereby obtain[ing] information from any protected computer if the conduct involved an interstate or foreign communication.” Defendants used their AOL membership to harvest the e-mail addresses of AOL members. Defendants have stated that they acquired these e-mail addresses by using extractor software programs. Defendants' actions violated AOL's Terms of Service and such was unauthorized.

Physicians Interactive v. Lathian Systems, Inc., 2003 WL 23018270 (E.D.Va., 2003)

Plaintiff filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, and Motion for Limited Expedited Discovery contending that Defendants secretly hacked Plaintiff's website and stole their confidential customer lists and computer software code. The Court held that the Plaintiff showed probable cause to demonstrate that Defendants directed two computer attacks against its website and computer file server. The attacks appeared more likely than not to fit within the definition of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a) (4). These attacks were an unauthorized entry into Plaintiff's website. The activity was geared towards copying confidential data. The end result was the loss to Plaintiff of something of value - a significant amount of its confidential customer list information.

Hacking and Unauthorized Access Lawyer

The term "hacker" is no longer used to refer to those who break into another's computer network to damage it. Businesses, the government, and some overly litigious law firms are using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to create liability where common sense creates none. Now, anyone who exceeds the access granted under a website's Terms of Use can be accused of hacking and unauthorized access.

Businesses have posted "Terms of Use" which prohibit competitors from even viewing the businesses' website. Moreover, even the innocent use of commercially available scripting software may result in the receipt of a cease and desist demand letter from an Intellectual Property attorney accusing you of hacking and unauthorized access!

Unauthorized access to computer networks is often prosecuted under the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Virginia Computer Crime Statutes and Virginia Computer Trespass Statutes.

1. The Computer Fraud and abuse Act, codified under 18 U.S.C. § 1030 is being applied very broadly for civil cases and criminal prosecution for hacking and unauthorized access. A violator of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is one who knowingly access a computer without authorization to obtain information from a protected computer involved Interstate or foreign communication.

If you are served with a civil or criminal complaint or accusation of violations to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, our hacking and unauthorized access attorneys are ready to assist you to protect your legal rights.

Under Virginia law, computer trespass is the use a computer to make a copy of computer data without authorization.

Whether you are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Virginia Compter Crime Statutes, Virginia Computer Fraud Statutes, Virginia Computer Trespass Statutes or a State's Computer Crime statutes, you are best served by contacting an attorney who specializes in these hacking, unauthorized access and Computer Crimes issues.

Our Internet Lawyers have unique knowledge. When it comes to understanding the operation of the computer code used by the real hackers, curious website visitors, and others, who better than a Computer Engineer who is an experienced computer programmer? Other Internet attorneys cannot navigate through computer code the way our attorneys can in order to provide you the best hacking law knowledge available.