Liverpool Group Report: Birkenhead District Land Registry

David Rawlinson reports on demonstrations of the National Land Information Service and the Direct Access Service held at Birkenhead District Land Registry on 29 January 1998.

Liverpool Group & Liverpool Law Society Joint Meeting: Contemporary Legal Practice

David Rawlinson reports on the joint meeting held at the Liverpool Law Society Conference Suite, on Monday 23 March

City Disputes Panel Announces Year 2000 Initiative

City Disputes Panel, the dispute resolution body for the financial services industry, has announced the formation of the CDP Y2K Panel.

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From the Editor’s Chair

The main article in this issue of the magazine is that from Lord Justice Brooke on IT and the English Courts.

Trespass on the Web

Although there is a dearth of English judicial pronouncement about torts committed on or via the Internet, a number of decisions of US courts have considered the question of whether a cause of action in trespass lies against those who use and copy data from another’s Web site. Might similar results occur were such matters to be litigated here asks Helen Barnard

Professional Services Firms Must Change

John Kay of PA Consulting Group believes that gradual but inexorable change in client expectations and the business environment means more of the same is no longer enough.

Processing Anonymous Data

It was generally assumed that data which did not identify individuals fell outside the scope of the Data Protection Act 1998 and therefore the restrictions imposed on the use of “personal data” did not apply. However, recent legal guidance issued by the UK Information Commissioner has thrown this into doubt. Partner Nigel Wildish and assistant Marcus Turle, of the IT & E-commerce group at City law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse, discuss why data controllers may have to rethink how anonymous data are handled.

Protection for Whom?

The Information Commission has released its controversial code of practice, which states that employers can no longer use covert ways to snoop on employeee-mail. Employers should provide staff with private e-mail and Internet accounts and cannot monitor e-mails – even if there is reason to believe they are of a personal nature. The code is designed to be a guideline for the RIP legislation. Paul Rutherford of Clearswift asks what this means for employers and employees alike? What does this mean for Internet and e-mail monitoring companies in the security arena that have products relying on this revenue income?

SSCL Meeting Report: 21 March 2002

SSCL continued their monthly series of themed meetings, this time looking at the civil side of software industry issues. There were two speakers for the evening: Lorne Byatt looked at legal success factors from an in-house counsel standpoint, whilst Jeremy Warner focused on software licensing issues.