The next frontier of Internet legal battles

[Commentary] Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, we have seen a number of well-known legal disputes: legality of peer-to-peer services such as Napster and Grokster, cybersquatting, laws (trying) to regulate porn, even "veejay" Adam Curry trying to use the MTV domain name. As we head into 2010 and beyond, here are some legal issues that are likely to careen through cyberspace in the next few years: 1) Lawsuits related to stupid/silly conduct shown on the Internet; 2) Lawsuits related to social media; 3) The next battle in the copyright wars; 4) Blogger liability for the comment section; 5) The taxman cometh.

[Michael Songer is a partner at Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in Internet and intellectual-property law. He also teaches the "Law of Cyberspace" at Georgetown University Law School.]