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• Electronic Theft and Espionage: Federal Law Provides a Remedy ( January 2007 )
  Alain M. Baudry of Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP

  The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“Act”), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, gives employers a helpful tool to use against former employees who wrongfully use information from the employer’s computer system to assist competitors in competing unfairly. As the Third Circuit recently noted “[e]mployers . . . are increasingly taking advantage of the [Act’s] civil remedies to sue former employees and their new companies who seek a competitive edge through wrongful use of information from the former employer’s computer system."

• What Every Business Owner Needs To Know About Electronic Discovery ( May 2005 )
  Timothy J. Hogan of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.

  "Electronic discovery" does not refer to a simple, cheap means of responding to requests for information and documents in litigation. It involves searching your company's computer network to locate and produce potentially large volumes of electronically stored items, e.g. emails, attachments, spreadsheets and drawings, and may include producing metadata (data hidden in documents regarding authors and times of document creation) and drafts of documents that have been "deleted" from computers.

• Canada's Privacy Laws vs. the USA PATRIOT ACT ( May 2005 )
  Wendy  Gross and Michelle  Kisluk of Torys LLP

  Those who handle individuals’ personal information, including financial details, in the course of business are required to treat that information in accordance with Canada’s privacy laws. This includes obtaining each individual’s consent to the purposes for which, and persons to whom, this information is disclosed.

• E-Discovery: Cutting to the Paper-less Chase: What to Do Upon Notice of Claim ( October 2004 )
  Timothy K. McNamara of Lathrop Gage

  The age of electronic discovery is here to stay. In today's business world, 90% of all information is in digital form. If you are faced with having to respond to a subpoena or have notice of a potential claim, consider the following to help guide (and protect) you through the process.

• Data Life Cycle Management ( July 2004 )
  George L. Paul of Lewis and Roca LLP

  Electronic information management is now a primary business and legal concern. Sarbanes Oxley, information security, expanded electronic discovery demands, and new penalties for spoliation of evidence have made "document retention" an issue of urgency for general counsel.

• The Most Overlooked Component of Data Security: Your Employees ( July 2004 )
  Miriam  Wugmeister and Christine E. Lyon of Morrison & Foerster LLP

  Data security practices in the private sector are under growing scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and other state and federal regulatory agencies, as evidenced by the fines imposed on companies such as Tower Records, Barnesandnoble.com, Microsoft, and Victoria's Secret. According to a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, <i>nearly half</i> of the fastest growing companies in the United States have suffered a breach of data security in the past couple of years.

• European Court Establishes Broad Interpretation of Data Privacy Law ( March 2004 )
  Jacqueline  Klosek of Goodwin Procter LLP

  The European Court of Justice recently handed down a significant ruling which clarified the application of the European Data Protection Directive to the posting of personal data on Internet websites. The ruling has important implications for all individuals and companies that post personal data on the Internet.

• California Raises the Bar on Data Security and Privacy ( September 2003 )
  James F. Brelsford of Jones Day

  California has recently enacted two landmark pieces of consumer rights legislation, each of which creates new burdens for companies doing business with California residents. The first, Senate Bill No. 1386 ("SB 1386"), requires any company that stores customer data electronically to notify its California customers of a security breach to the company's computer system if the company knows or reasonably believes that unencrypted information about the customer has been stolen. The second, Senate Bill No. 1 ("SB 1"), commonly known as the California Financial Information Privacy Act, creates new limits on the ability of financial institutions to share nonpublic personal information about their clients with affiliates and third parties.

• Towards a Unified Approach on Protection of Genetic Information ( May 2003 )
  Mary J. Hildebrand, Jacqueline  Klosek and Walter R. Krzastek of Goodwin Procter LLP

  Genetic information is being used with increasing frequency and in a wide variety of different applications. At the same time, however, the use of such information has raised concerns about the potential for misuse and abuse. As a result, there have been a number of laws legislative proposals that would place certain conditions or limitations on the use of genetic information.