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Electronic Signature May Not Bind to Arbitration Agreement in California
February 4, 2015
Gary Gansle and Nisha Patel, attorneys at Patton Boggs, recently summarized a decision from the California Court of Appeal, holding that an employee's electronic signature to an arbitration agreement may not have been sufficient evidence that the signature was the act of the employee. The court then refused to enforce the arbitration agreement. The California's court's decision is here. The decision is worth reading because it discusses how the company should have authenticated the employee's electronic...
February 4, 2015
Gary Gansle and Nisha Patel, attorneys at Patton Boggs, recently summarized a decision from the California Court of Appeal, holding that an employee's electronic signature to an arbitration agreement may not have been sufficient evidence that the signature was the act of the employee. The court then refused to enforce the arbitration agreement. The California's court's decision is here. The decision is worth reading because it discusses how the company should have authenticated the employee's electronic...
Times and Other News Organizations to Test Use of Drones
February 1, 2015
A coalition of 10 news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBCUniversal, has formed a partnership with Virginia Tech to test drones for news gathering, the companies said on Thursday. The partnership, the companies said in a statement, is “designed to conduct controlled safety testing of a series of real-life scenarios where the news media could use small U.A.S. technology to gather the news.” The college is one of six sites designated by the Federal Aviation...
February 1, 2015
A coalition of 10 news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBCUniversal, has formed a partnership with Virginia Tech to test drones for news gathering, the companies said on Thursday. The partnership, the companies said in a statement, is “designed to conduct controlled safety testing of a series of real-life scenarios where the news media could use small U.A.S. technology to gather the news.” The college is one of six sites designated by the Federal Aviation...
Marriott Saga Shows Hotels Must Stop the WiFi Racket
February 1, 2015
In October, Marriott International paid a $600,000 civil penalty for jamming its US customers’ WiFi services. Just before new year, the hotel group pleaded for understanding, saying it was only trying to protect its guests’ online security — attracting the scorn of technology writers who said people looked after themselves all the time without Marriott’s protection. The story began in March 2013 when someone attending a function at the Marriott-run Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville...
February 1, 2015
In October, Marriott International paid a $600,000 civil penalty for jamming its US customers’ WiFi services. Just before new year, the hotel group pleaded for understanding, saying it was only trying to protect its guests’ online security — attracting the scorn of technology writers who said people looked after themselves all the time without Marriott’s protection. The story began in March 2013 when someone attending a function at the Marriott-run Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville...
The Big Story at Next Week’s LegalTech Isn’t a Product, It’s a Person [Monica Bay]
January 31, 2015
Next week’s LegalTech will be a glitzy, bustling showcase of the world’s largest legal technology companies. But amidst it all, one individual may prove to be the biggest story of the show. After a 30-year career with ALM (the legal publishing company that runs LegalTech) and 17 years as editor-in-chief of Law Technology News, Monica Bay is retiring. Her official last day is Feb. 9. If ever there was a giant in the legal technology field, it is Monica. Not only has she been at the helm...
January 31, 2015
Next week’s LegalTech will be a glitzy, bustling showcase of the world’s largest legal technology companies. But amidst it all, one individual may prove to be the biggest story of the show. After a 30-year career with ALM (the legal publishing company that runs LegalTech) and 17 years as editor-in-chief of Law Technology News, Monica Bay is retiring. Her official last day is Feb. 9. If ever there was a giant in the legal technology field, it is Monica. Not only has she been at the helm...
Theme Park to Get Hotel Staffed by Robots
January 30, 2015
A hotel with robot staff and face recognition instead of room keys will open this summer in Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki Prefecture, the operator of the theme park said Tuesday. The two-story Henn na Hotel is scheduled to open July 17. It will be promoted with the slogan “A Commitment for Evolution,” Huis Ten Bosch Co. said. The name reflects how the hotel will “change with cutting-edge technology,” a company official said. This is a play on words: “Henn” is also part of the Japanese...
January 30, 2015
A hotel with robot staff and face recognition instead of room keys will open this summer in Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki Prefecture, the operator of the theme park said Tuesday. The two-story Henn na Hotel is scheduled to open July 17. It will be promoted with the slogan “A Commitment for Evolution,” Huis Ten Bosch Co. said. The name reflects how the hotel will “change with cutting-edge technology,” a company official said. This is a play on words: “Henn” is also part of the Japanese...
Should Google Stop Pointing Out Police Cars on Waze Traffic App?
January 28, 2015
Add law enforcement officers to the list of those concerned about personal privacy and safety implications of Internet tracking. Among other services provided by Waze, the popular Google traffic application makes it easy for drivers to share with fellow motorists the location of any speed traps they spot. However, some fear the app also could aid those targeting law enforcement officers, the Associated Press reports. Among those concerned about a potential threat is Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford...
January 28, 2015
Add law enforcement officers to the list of those concerned about personal privacy and safety implications of Internet tracking. Among other services provided by Waze, the popular Google traffic application makes it easy for drivers to share with fellow motorists the location of any speed traps they spot. However, some fear the app also could aid those targeting law enforcement officers, the Associated Press reports. Among those concerned about a potential threat is Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford...
Toronto Students Use Watson for Predictive Legal Research
January 26, 2015
Helping lawyers reduce research time is key to the functioning of Ross, the students said. All teams were given access to Watson on the cloud, which allowed them to feed the computer program large amounts of text from Ontario corporate law decisions and statutes as reference material. The super computer Watson then processed that information and the students’ application, Ross, made that data accessible to lawyers and legal researchers. Ross can, for example, predict the outcome of court cases,...
January 26, 2015
Helping lawyers reduce research time is key to the functioning of Ross, the students said. All teams were given access to Watson on the cloud, which allowed them to feed the computer program large amounts of text from Ontario corporate law decisions and statutes as reference material. The super computer Watson then processed that information and the students’ application, Ross, made that data accessible to lawyers and legal researchers. Ross can, for example, predict the outcome of court cases,...
Google and Apple in $415m ‘Non-Poaching’ Settlement Offer
January 26, 2015
Four of the world's biggest tech giants - Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe - have agreed to a new settlement of $415m (£273.5m)...
January 26, 2015
Four of the world's biggest tech giants - Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe - have agreed to a new settlement of $415m (£273.5m)...
Using a Smartphone For One Day Has Transformative Impact On The Brain
January 24, 2015
Using smartphones profoundly changes the way the thumb and brain work together, a new study finds. The electrical activity in a smartphone user’s brain spikes when their fingertips are touched, in comparison to an old-school phone user, the researchers found. And the more people use their smartphones, the greater the spike in activity across the cortex. Dr. Arko Ghosh, who led the study, said: “I was really surprised by the scale of the changes introduced by the use of smartphones. I...
January 24, 2015
Using smartphones profoundly changes the way the thumb and brain work together, a new study finds. The electrical activity in a smartphone user’s brain spikes when their fingertips are touched, in comparison to an old-school phone user, the researchers found. And the more people use their smartphones, the greater the spike in activity across the cortex. Dr. Arko Ghosh, who led the study, said: “I was really surprised by the scale of the changes introduced by the use of smartphones. I...
Microsoft Readies Launch of Practice Management Product for Lawyers
January 21, 2015
Microsoft is quietly preparing to formally launch a new practice management product for lawyers in the coming months. The product was scheduled to be announced this month but the announcement has been delayed. It now appears that the product will be rolled out at or around the time of ABA Techshow in April. Microsoft executives have not responded to my inquiries about the project. Presumably, the launch is for Matter Center for Office 365, a document management and collaboration product for law firms....
January 21, 2015
Microsoft is quietly preparing to formally launch a new practice management product for lawyers in the coming months. The product was scheduled to be announced this month but the announcement has been delayed. It now appears that the product will be rolled out at or around the time of ABA Techshow in April. Microsoft executives have not responded to my inquiries about the project. Presumably, the launch is for Matter Center for Office 365, a document management and collaboration product for law firms....
