Controversial broadcaster Derryn Hinch has been sentenced to five months home detention for breaching suppression orders regarding court proceedings. The interesting tech element? The sentence includes a ban on broadcasting, and that extends to Hinch not being allowed to use Twitter throughout that period. More »
There is a whole host of information in our lives that is important—bank accounts, tax records, credit card information—but not usually easily organised together. The Big Book of Everything helps keep important information organized and in one place. More »
It’s one thing to come up with a revolutionary idea that could change the world, but it’s another thing to protect it so that it doesn’t get ripped off by the unscrupulous. The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia is offering free half-hour consultations to inventive types to help them understand the different legal options (such as patenting and trademarking) available to protect an idea. Even if you’ve got a freeware/creative commons mindset, legal protection (or at least half a clue) can be important: do you really want some guy named Steve taking all the credit for your genius? [IPTA]
US-centric: Need to know the landlord laws for your state? Want to find incorporation forms for your home business? The Public Library of Law, a new search engine launched in collaboration with legal research firm FastCase, gives you access to laws, statutes, and legal decisions from all 50 states, as well as a wealth of free legal forms. While court decisions are available in standard search, you’ll have to specify your state and do a little digging to find relevant codes and statutes. Still, for a first stop on the way to answering a legal question, Public Library of Law is, despite its unfortunate URL, nothing to laugh at. The Public Library of Law [via SearchEngineWatch]
Let’s face it: we’re all going to die someday. While it’s not healthy to dwell on this certainty, it’s a bad idea to pretend it’s not going to happen and never plan for it. You don’t want to splash out a tonne of money to prepare a will, but you don’t have to. Windows desktop software Quicken WillMaker walks you through the process of creating a will quickly and painlessly. After the jump, see a step by step tour of how I created a will from scratch in 30 minutes with Quicken Willmaker. more >> More »
This one will be of interest to legal eagles and those too cheap to shell out for a lawyer in the flesh. A not-for-profit LegalWiki has been set up to be Australia’s first free online legal encyclopedia. As with Wikipedia, peer review is expected to keep the information accurate, but it will be up to contributors to flesh out the project, which has been online for about three months.
The writeup of the Wiki in the Financial Review noted that the sections on shareholder rights, prospectuses and the management of companies on the corporation law page were as yet empty.
It could well develop into an excellent resource – the founders are seeking a grant to maintain it and their information page says they hope that legal professionals contributing to the Wiki can qualify for CDP (Continuing Professional Development points), which would encourage participation from the profession.
Wikis and the Law [Financial Review]
