The DVD copying case against Internet publisher Corley hinged on a law addressing new ways to circumvent copyright. Napster involved novel file-sharing technology that some said undermined the copyright clause of the Constitution. And the Microsoft antitrust case brought new economic concepts into the courtroom. They also need to think about applying old rules to a new game. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman, who sits in the Western District of Washington and presides at many high-tech cases, sees the challenge regularly.
Jurisdiction becomes a problem.
Some of the old rules of evidence are hard to apply, like trying to authenticate e-mail. Change also means constant re-evaluation of a story as the facts evolve. Litigators have to juggle the demands of the client, who is probably accustomed to the frenzied pace of the Internet age. It can be a battle to educate a 20-something entrepreneur about how long the litigation process can take. That applies to information about their cases, and lawyers who thought they grasped the effects of media coverage need to relearn their lessons.