Lawyer Trademarks "Cyberlaw"

BigTimOBrien writes to mention the EFF is reporting that self-proclaimed cyberlawyer, Eric Menhart, has decided to trademark use of the term "cyberlaw" and is threatening other lawyers with legal action over the term. "I wish I could say I was surprised by this one, but such overreaching invocations of IP rights are all too common -- even where, as in this case, there are no actual "rights" to speak of. But an IP lawyer should know that courts (and trademark examiners, and many tech companies that might be potential clients) don't look kindly on efforts to abuse trademark law to control everyday language. Here's hoping Menhart figures that out fast."

Google reports 340,000 hits for "cyberlaw"

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll wish the fellow luck on his quest (nothing like taking on a hard problem) but I don't like his chances of succeeding in trademarking the term . . .

EFF invented "CyberLaw"

[Per Abrahamsen]

At least, the first mention of "cyberlaw" I can find on Google Groups is this EFF newsletter from 1992-04-30:

    http://groups.google.com/group/comp.org.eff.talk/msg/bc39f25662095d9a >

linkfix

[Per Abrahamsen]

Oops, reading old Usenet groups took me back. Here [google.com] is a proper link.

Related information

[Jay L]

1. Eric, who graduated law school around 2005, was one of the lawyers who was scammed [washingtoncitypaper.com] in a work-from-home scheme on craigslist.

2. He is currently suing the scammer, but apparently without success so far; his motion for discovery was denied [justia.com].

3. His client successes [washingtoncitypaper.com] page consists of, essentially:
  (a) we won an anti-spam appeal... after we lost the initial case... in which we were the plaintiffs when we were in law school.
  (b) A startup needed some startup forms. We drafted some startup forms.
  (c) A journal needed some licensing forms. We drafted some licensing forms.

4. His "Attorneys" page talks about "the people in the organization", and then lists: Eric Menhart. His two "Appellate Advocacy" cases include (a) his own case, from 3(a), and (b) one other case, which appears to be a TCPA junk fax lawsuit.

5. His "Alliances" page starts by pointing out that he's only a few blocks from the White House, and "near" the Supreme Court and other courthouses - including being within 100 miles of other circuit courts. It then addresses the actual issue of alliances: They have "numerous strategic alliances with other lawyers and law firms around the nation." That's it.

6. Among his seven "Practice Areas" pages, the only page actually claiming any experience is the "Litigation" page, which states: "CyberLaw® offers substantial litigation experience. When you retain the firm, your matter will be handled by an attorney with state and federal trial and appellate experience. The firm is also experienced with alternative dispute resolution proceedings, such as before the American Arbitration Association."

We know from #3 that Eric gained "state and federal trial and appellate experience" by... filing a lawsuit on his own behalf as a law student, losing it, appealing it, and winning on appeal. And one other case. We don't know if he has other experience in a courtroom. We don't know what he means by "substantial".

7. His "binary logo" - probably mandatory for any firm calling itself CyberLaw - is "11010101011010100101000". That's 23 bits.

Stupid Stupid Word

[MulluskO]

Am I the only one who things cyber is a stupid, stupid word?
I never use it, even though it seems I'm sometimes surrounded by people that do.

I prefer Electronic Crime or eCrime to Cybercrime, for example.
Internet Cafe or Net Cafe to CyberCafe and so on.

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