OUT-LAW Radio: Recent Episodes
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Different parts of the Middle East have different data protection regimes. Pinsent Masons experts talk through the various emerging data protection laws.
Data protection experts look to France for clues about how new EU rules giving data protection authorities the power to audit processes and premises might work.
New data protection laws will require many more data protection officers, but there are strict rules about who can and who can't do the job.
We put more and more information about ourselves online, and in Europe remain confident that strong data protection laws apply. But whose law, exactly, does control the use of information about us? And how is that question decided?
We look at the European Commission's competition law investigation into Google and its biggest secret – its search algorithms.
We analyse the UK Government's assertion that market competition is enough to head off any problems caused by a lack of net neutrality laws.
We analyse Twitter's decision to start protecting its trade marked terms more aggressively.
We talk to Sherron Watkins, the woman credited with bringing Enron fraudsters to account, about the international reach of a new US law which guarantees payouts to whistleblowers.
We investigate the Government blacklist of items that cannot leave the country without its permission. Seemingly innocuous items are on the list, and it covers emailed plans as well as actual items.
We talk to the man behind a system designed to make sure that hoteliers know when a potential guest has caused upset elsewhere. Is it in line with data protection law?
A data security company's research shows that what IT managers think are the best ways to stop data breaches are actually not the most effective techniques at all.
A company is causing a storm of controversy by acquiring the right to sue bloggers who repost newspaper articles online. Critics cry foul while targets of the suits look for the safety of settlements.
A dispute over footballing photo rights reveals what few fans probably knew: if they take a snap at their local football ground, the club probably owns the copyright.
The fashion industry is riddled with fakery, from internet-peddled counterfeits to artful 'homages' from designer to designer. So should the rag trade change its approach to IP?
Your online service might collect all sorts of user data – but what if your users are children? How to stay on the right side of data protection laws when your customers are kids.
One expert tells us how the long-awaited Supreme Court Bilski ruling will make life harder – and more expensive – for businesses.
We talk to one of the world's leading privacy law academics about what Google really means when it says 'privacy is important to us'. And he tells us what one measure would solve all our privacy woes.
On the cusp of concluding a multi-million pound deal an email is sent but not read. Did it conclude the deal? The High Court decides.
We talk to an academic about the existing clause of US copyright law that could strip companies of their rights if they use copyright to bully critics.
We talk to the man behind a site that allows you to anonymously review your professional peers and ask: HR godsend or libel timebomb?
We talk to a corruption expert about how the UK's new Bribery Act could govern companies all over the world, and hear from the victorious Simon Singh on today's libel victory.
We talk to a crusading science journalist who has spent two years navigating libel laws that he says stifle scientific and academic debate and must be changed.
We dive into the rich, deep history of piracy and find that lawmakers have always been reacting, inventing the concept of intellectual property just to stymie the energetic innovations of centuries of cultural pirates.
We talk to the man behind a campaign to include one little number on eye prescriptions that could help online glasses retail to take off, and the regulator that refuses to order the inclusion.
Long-used mobile phone security was hacked in December, and a hack for 3G protection was not far behind. But how do you actually go about grabbing the signals from the sky? An expert talks us through the process and the danger for businesses.
A soon-to-be introduced new bribery law could put companies on the hook for the actions of rogue employees. We ask: what can they do to avoid prosecution?
We look at a near-500 page High Court ruling that the IT services industry has been waiting for for six years and ask: do IT suppliers need to change the way they sell?
We talk to one security expert who says that the admirable plan to permit the use of other alphabets in the making of domain names could cause security headaches.
We talk to one member of the House of Lords who is trying to rewrite parts of the Government's proposed Digital Economy law to make it more closely reflect the realities of the digital age.
Police managed to disconnect over 1,000 websites without going near a judge for a court order. How? Just by asking Nominet. Is this the future of anti-counterfeit action?
A Norwegian consumer protection group that successfully took on Apple has identified its next target: Facebook.
One academic has said that the disconnection of open Wi-Fi network operators for other people's actions under the Government's anti-filesharing plan could break EU law.
We look at new research which claims that people whose information is contained in supposedly anonymised databases can in fact be commonly identified.
We look at the UK's pioneering scheme to cut carbon emissions and ask: will it force power-hungry data centres to flee abroad?
We look into a review of Scottish litigation that recommends the introduction of the controversial class action process that some people could see as either the saviour of consumers or a gravy train for greedy lawyers.
We find out why the P3P system which allowed computers and websites to automatically negotiate the use of private information failed and look at what might replace it.
We examine the term at the heart of many copyright licences and find that nobody – not lawyers, users of content, or creators of it – is exactly sure what it means.
Inventor of the wind-up radio Trevor Baylis has called for patent infringement to be criminalised. He tells OUT-LAW Radio why.
We talk to a lobbyist who is petitioning the UK's Prime Minister to raise the profile of possibly the least talked about intellectual property right: design rights.
Feargal Sharkey, former Undertone turned industry bigwig, discusses a recent report on the real downloading habits of the UK's youth and just how many concessions the industry should make to downloaders.
We find a company that is coping with a recessionary funding drought by turning investment on its head. Instead of asking few people for lots of money, Trampoline Systems is asking many for a little.
We talk to Britain's Conservative Party about plans to use distributed storage to help get the most out of the massive amounts of personal data held by Government.
We look at new technology that is designed to help content producers track use of their material and ask: does it take enough notice of copyright law's fair dealing exemptions?
We look at research that shows that companies manage their software badly, leading to legal troubles and extra costs.
We look into the legal pitfalls of using images, and explain why users need to worry about more than just copyright law
We look at the success of the TV formats industry - all the more amazing because the ideas at its heart enjoy little legal protection
We delve into the world of clippings services as a newspaper body tries to get media monitoring agencies and clients to pay up for forwarding web links
We examine the legal standing of ISP customers faced with restrictions on what they can watch online. Can ISPs charge website operators under the threat of throttling access? We find out.
We look at the problems with the latest in a long line of attempts to create a pan-EU litigation system, and talk to an Australian behind a chart of the most popular trade marked tattoos
We find out if DRM anti-copying technology can keep up with the complexities of copyright law
We talk to an academic who says that companies need to change the way they work today to avoid a raft of tech addiction suits in the future
We hear from two economists who think that scrapping copyright and patent law would make the world a more creative and richer place
We look at a 90 year old law that could help some news organisations but hinder the spread of news, plus we discover just how much cybercriminals make in a day
As Google launches its Street View photo-mapping tool in the UK, we assess a legal challenge about to be mounted to the controversial service
We wonder why the most complex and secure kinds of electronic signatures never really took off
We find out why the publishing industry is worried about text-to-speech software being included on e-book readers
We talk to the open source advocates who are building a public library of knowledge to block future patents claims against Linux
We talk to the journalist at the heart of a copyright law fight and wonder if individuals can ever afford protection under copyright law
We look at the way that Universities exploit their intellectual property and ask: are they too focused on raising money at the expense of social benefit?
As a local authority pursues an ex-employee for £1m for alleged deception in the recruitment process, how should employers deal with CV fibbers?
As Richard Thomas prepares to step aside as the UK's Information Commissioner and his successor is named, we ask: how good a job did he do?
How Elton John's failed libel action has introduced a US-style defence of parody into UK law, and one Dutch firm's holey solution to an eco-problem
We find out where all that cardboard from your online Christmas shopping goes, and whether it stops some recipients even getting their gifts
We talk to the lawyer who wants ad and search giant Google to pay out one thousand dollars a time for typosquatting sites that display its ads
We talk to the lawyer who wants ad and search giant Google to pay out one thousand dollars a time for typosquatting sites that display its ads
We look at some of the technologies companies can use to avoid becoming one of the shocking 92% of British firms which do not encrypt their precious data
We talk to the Danish lawyer who won a key ruling against the music industry from a court which said record companies have to prove that Wi-Fi users shared files
We hear from a US law professor who thinks that ISPs are in a position of unprecedented privilege and yet are preparing to invade our privacy for profit
We talk to an anti-piracy pro who says that content producers should stop trying to stifle piracy and concentrate on competing with it better
We investigate the legality of a rash of new competitions in which £25 tickets buy the chance to win a house. Are they competitions or illegal lotteries in disguise?
An expert in the byzantine field of database law explains why the protections given by Brussels to databases have been counter-productive
We hear from an academic who believes that intellectual property law could smother the very innovation it is designed to protect, leaving the economy in gridlock
We talk to the major players in the emerging moderation industry whose workers keep forum comments clean from bases in locations from Kiev to Senegal
We look at how two sites allowing customers to review doctors and lawyers plan on keeping themselves out of the courts
We talk to the woman who fought and lost a battle to keep the narnia.mobi domain name, which she said was bought for her son
We look at the esoteric world of software escrow to find out if it can give your company the edge in negotiating with suppliers
While privacy activists protest at Google and others' keeping of data about our searches, we talk to the man behind a Dutch search engine that almost instantly deletes users' data
We talk to the team behind an entertaining new fantasy news service about the legal hurdles they have had to leap to promote their business in the US
We look at the disastrous impact on big brands of ICANN's decision to allow any internet domain to be registered, and we explain why the EU wants more returns on university research
We investigate a new database of dishonest workers, and the pitfalls that could lie in wait for participating employers
Live web TV operator Zattoo.com defends its approach to simulcasting UK broadcasters' content without their permission
As ITV faces a £5.7m fine, we ask an industry rep why nobody noticed the abuses while they happened
We ask whether the website scraping that underpins the emerging aggregator industry falls foul of the law
We report on the French court ruling that could put many a publisher off using RSS feeds
We investigate the change Google has made to trade mark rules in its AdWords system, and find it could increase ad costs by a factor of six.
We look at whether or not the UK courts are trying to make UK patent law more like that in Europe, where software can sometimes be patented. Plus we find out how large companies can save time and money implementing the Companies Act
Software as a service is an emerging trend, but can you use US-based services and keep your documents from the prying eyes of the US authorities?
The internet has brought free, valuable information to people all over the world, so why has it not brought free access to the most basic building block of society, the law?
As an Obama aide resigns over off the record comments, we investigate if a law that protected Prince Albert can do the same for journalists' sources. Plus we talk to an MEP who wants to decriminalise file sharing
After a woman reported that plastic surgery left her ears in the wrong place, we look at whether trade mark laws are being used to censor customer review websites
We see how one company is dealing with Microsoft's apparent clampdown on second hand software sales. Plus we ask: is it worth suing spammers?
We investigate complaints that user licences for software are unfair and draconian. Plus: we look at a conflict between UK authorities on what exactly counts as personal data
We investigate the shifting of the main front in the music industry's battle against piracy: they now want ISPs to police networks for them, and look to have government backing.
We investigate the shifting of the main front in the music industry's battle against piracy: they now want ISPs to police networks for them, and look to have government backing.
Can your internet address be protected under privacy law? We talk to the leader of the EU's privacy watchdogs about the controversial question. Plus we hear how social networking sites are failing disabled users.
We investigate whether or not a new law compelling UK citizens to hand over encryption keys on pain of being jailed might strip them of their right to a fair trial.
We look at whether the court case underpinning the European Commission's anti-Microsoft case is really as solid as was thought, and we look at how front-running landed Network Solutions in hot water.
We talk to the small European browser maker which is taking an ambitious case against Microsoft, and we look at the future of mobile phone tracking.
We look at a new technology to help content producers control their material and ask: will search companies allow it to flourish? And we talk to the man charged with potentially re-writing data protection laws.
We look at claims that free speech on the web is silenced too easily by threatening a host without ever having to prove defamation.
Employment experts tell us how alcoholism is getting disability discrimination protection through the back door, and talk to a Dutch man who is spying on his whole town.
The privacy chiefs of Europe and Google battle over privacy rights and whether technology or the law should protect us.
We talk to the Scottish Information Commissioner about plans north and south of the border to extend freedom of information laws to private companies.
We talk to the amateur patent sleuth who felled Amazon's one-click patent, and find out how emails in court cases can cost companies millions.
We investigate how a recent ruling could undermine Freedom of Information laws, and look into how BT is finally making Wi-Fi sharing safe.
We hear that new web accessibility guidelines are on the way. But is it too late for them?
We hear how the cameras that try to catch us misbehaving are mostly themselves operating illegally.
We go behind the scenes at a pioneering project which hopes to use internet collaboration to save an ailing US patent system.
We talk to the founder of the music world's anti-label, which allows you to choose how much to pay for music, and find out how to stop a tank being hacked.
We talk to both sides in a battle over a web-based system which gives US lawyers a score out of 10 and we ask: can a number be libellous?
We ask why half of employees are now blocked from Facebook, how the site can cause companies trouble and why users are making friends with a frog.
We present the highlights of the first year of OUT-LAW Radio, from wireless security in a paint can to the plight of Gary McKinnon to protests from Billy Bragg.
We talk to the man behind a new market with a difference: it sells IT security secrets to the highest bidder.
We investigate one of the web's dirty secrets: typosquatting, and ask just how bad it is for established business.
We investigate an unexpected landmark ruling which threatens the legal protections ISPs enjoy in Europe.
We talk to the lawyer taking on the first copyright spat to hit virtual world Second Life, and we hear why your boss might own your Facebook profile.
We hear about the web activism campaign that changed WIPO policy, and talk to a publishing exec who took the law temporarily into his own hands.
We ask music industry renegades including Blur's drummer what they think should be done about file sharing and copyright.
We look at the devastating effect a new licensing regime will have on internet radio and warn against war driving in the UK.
We hear why Google privacy chief Peter Fleischer thinks European data protection officials should stop meddling with its search log retention policies.
We investigate a new anti-faker technology that hopes to beat phishing, and we hear about some quirks in the UK's anti-smoking laws.
We talk to the person behind a one-man campaign against the sometimes shockingly-high cost of calling personal numbers, and hear what Ofcom is doing about it.
We hear from a leading light in the security industry on a planned top-level domain that aims to scupper phishing attacks.
We talk to Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts about an epic web forum libel battle and to an academic who wants to turn copyright on its head.
We talk to Mike Ramsay, the man who invented the TiVo, the machine that redefined television and put the wind up the entertainment industry.
We talk to the man whose blogs, wikis and YouTube videos aim to bring down Yahoo! management, and to the lawyer taking on Google's AdWords system.
Andrew Gowers speaks exclusively to OUT-LAW Radio on World Intellectual Property Day on the story behind his influential Government-commissioned review of IP.
We unveil the scale of font theft, the invisible, forgotten wing of software piracy, and we ask: will corporations soon own all the colours of the rainbow?
We investigate a computer security system you paint on your walls and catch up on big news from punter-papparazi company Scoopt.
As Charlie McCreevy gives European patent reform one last chance, we ask: can he break a 30-year deadlock?
We discover that operators of now-controversial premium rate phone quizzes will soon need lottery licences, and we find out when it's OK for one game developer to copy another.
We look at two imaginative ways that companies are trying to give copyright law a body swerve, and talk to the lawyer helping one German millionaire stand up to Google.
The man behind proposed porn domain .XXX talks about government influence on ICANN and self regulation in the adult realm, and we get the inside story on Gary McKinnon's daring new defence.
We talk to the two sides in one of the few spam suits to reach court in the UK about the case and its disputed aftermath.
Craigslist has taken the US by storm and its pages are read 6 billion times a month. CEO Jim Buckmaster explains why he and founder Craig Newmark don't want your money.
We talk to the man behind a company that represents the growing legion of citizen photo-journalists to the big boys of old media, and keeps a few Royal Family secrets along the way.
We hear how a new privacy law is developing in England for the first time, and investigate a piece of software for Skype that could land you in jail.
As Apple's Steve Jobs calls for DRM free music, we look at the legal basis and social impact of copy control technology, and we look at a looming battle between the relatively new information access and privacy laws.
The disability discrimination ruling that could change cross-border e-commerce, and why the Information Commissioner is not like the traffic police.
We look at what you can do to avoid having your digital identity stolen, and discover why Britain's doctors may be about to derail the NHS's £12bn IT system.
We uncover evidence that Cisco could lose the rights to the iPhone trade mark in Europe, where Apple is next in line to register the name.
With Christmas music booming out of every shop speaker, we talk to the people attempting to stop the rot, for employees' sakes, including an Austrian union rep and a Lord.
We find about about how the Government plans to track children, possibly illegally, and talk to one of email's pioneers.
We dig deep into the Gowers report and find recommendations for pricier CDs and a return to hip hop's glory days, plus an update on Gary McKinnon's extradition case.
The man who refused to invest in YouTube talks us through the hype and hope of Web 2.0 from the point of view of the ultimate tech insider.
We gaze into a crystal ball with a technology expert to see which technologies will earn the big bucks, and talk to a man being evicted because of a website.
Technology is helping to create a surveillance society, says the Information Commissioner; we investigate how surveillance is ever present, and how it is creating a divided society.
We hear how the law on the use of MP3 players is so out of date, even the music industry wants to relax the rules, and we talk to the man who beat the TV licence rap.
A groundbreaking auction of intellectual property in New York will try to put a price on ideas; hear from the man with the hammer. Plus: the British Library gets tough on copyright.
Will the government's new rules neuter the Freedom of Information Act? And who will be the next target for Google's Belgian nemesis? Find out in this week's podcast.
Will Google's acquisition of YouTube put it at the forefront of the new internet boom or mire it in lawsuits? Find out from legal and financial experts in this week's podcast.
Delve deep into the murky world of corporate espionage and surveillance to find out how companies go about conducting – and avoiding – spying campaigns in this week's podcast.
Hear from the people behind the world's first election using digital pen and paper, which took place today in a small Scottish town – and from the Swedish pirates planning to take over Europe, in this week's podcast.
The man whose blacklists keep email out of your inbox talks to OUT-LAW Radio. Spamhaus founder Steve Linford talks about why he founded Spamhaus and what would happen if his lists didn't exist. Plus: Irish barrister TJ McIntyre talks about trying to have the EU's Data Retention Directive repealed.
Hear from experts in online gambling, talking about the recent arrests of executives from online gambling companies in the US. Plus: a researcher talks about what she found when posing as a 14-year-old on a social networking site.
Veteran anti-video game campaigner Jack Thompson explains why he thinks that video games were behind a recent US school shooting, and why violent game sales to young people must be banned. Plus: an interview with the company behind new mobile phone spying software.
Singer Billy Bragg discusses his triumph in getting social networking site MySpace to change its small print. Plus: how a wi-fi connection and hundreds of cheerleaders helped to defeat a US lawsuit.
Gary McKinnon, a hacker who faces imminent extradition to the US, shares his views on his treatment by the legal system and reveals what he found on NASA's computers. Plus: news round-up.