Advertising-supported
companies have long
turned to the courts
to squelch products
that let consumers
block or skip ads:
it happened in the
famous lawsuit
against the VCR in
1979 and again with
ReplayTV in 2001.
Tomorrow's legal
fight may be over
Web browser add-ons
that let people
avoid
advertisements.
These add-ons are
growing in
functionality and
popularity, which
has led legal
experts surveyed
this week by CNET
News.com to
speculate about when
the first lawsuit
will be filed.
If ad-blockers
become so common
that they slice away
at publishers'
revenues, "I
absolutely would
expect to see
litigation in this
area," said
John Palfrey,
executive director
of Harvard Law
School's Berkman
Center for Internet
and Society.
READ
MORE...