The Florida State College of Law Research Center Blog

In Bow to Authors, Baidu Scrubs Document Sharing Site

Chinese search giant Baidu, according to the Wall Street Journal, has removed 2.8 million files from its document sharing site.   Here's an excerpt:

Company spokesman Kaiser Kuo said that Baidu removed most of the files suspected of being unlicensed — largely found in its “literary works” category — as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, and is in the process of arranging a new discussion with representatives from the publishing industry. He said he couldn’t guarantee that 100% of the pirated content on Baidu Library is gone, but “I very much hope that they [the authors] see this was a good faith effort on our part and that it will form the foundation for future talks.”

Read more here. 

Posted by Jon Lutz

A ‘Small Bounce’ in Job Stats Chronicles a Better Year for Law Students

From the ABAJournal Law News Now: 

Things are looking up—ever so slightly—for law students looking for law firm jobs.

A new NALP research report (PDF) reveals a “small bounce” in job recruiting numbers in the summer and fall of 2010, at least when compared to the previous year.

The percentage of summer associates offered full-time jobs rebounded to 87.4 percent in 2010 after plunging to 69.3 percent in 2009, according to NALP, formerly the National Association for Law Placement. As a result, law students became a little choosier, and the acceptance rate fell to 82.7 percent from 84.5 percent the year before.

Students also fared better when interviewing for 2011 summer associate jobs, at least compared to the previous year. Last year, 40.6 percent of students got summer associate offers after callback interviews, compared to 36.4 percent in 2009, 46.6 percent in 2008, and around 60 percent the three prior years.

The statistics also suggest the market improved for 3Ls, but only slightly. Fifteen percent of the law firms responding to NALP’s survey reported interviewing third-year students, compared with only 3 percent in 2009. The numbers still fall short of prior years, however. The percentage of firms interviewing 3Ls was 25 percent in 2008, 42 percent in 2007, and 53 percent in 2006.

Read the article here. 

Posted by Jon Lutz 

From ABAJournal Law News Now a class action suit against Groupon's expiration dates.  Here's an excerpt: 

The latest suit was filed yesterday in federal court in Washington, D.C., according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. It contends Groupon’s daily deals are gift certificates that can’t expire for at least five years under federal law.

Read the whole article here. 

Posted by Jon Lutz 

Supreme Court Rules First Amendment Protects Westboro’s Funeral Protesters from Tort Suits

From the ABA Journal Law News Now, the Supreme Court has ruled on the Westboro Funeral Protesters Suit:  Here's an Excerpt:

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 8-1 that the First Amendment protects anti-gay picketers at military funerals from tort liability.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion(PDF) in Snyder v. Phelps, and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.

Read the article here.  

Read the opinion here. 

Posted by Jon Lutz