IP: Cautionary tale--new Buick online sweepstakes and technical/privacy problems

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>
>From: "Jonathan I. Ezor" <jezor@siliconlawyer.com>
>
>(Crossposted to the WWWAC list, http://wwwac.org, and the LawMarketing
>list, )
>
>I'm not usually a privacy fanatic, but the latest online promotion from
>Buick really has some unintended problems, as reported by ZDNet
><http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/filters/bursts/0,3422,2228869,00.html>.  In a
>nutshell, you put in your information in the online form, and get e-mailed a
>link with a unique customer ID to click on and print out a game piece.
>Unfortunately for Buick, there's nothing stopping anyone from changing the
>end of the URL and getting information about all other entrants.  It
>works--if you want to see my contact information (nothing different from
>what I've posted here), use ID# 93604.  (Of course, if you win a car with
>that ID, it's mine, damnit!)
>
>The moral of this cautionary tale is similar to that presented by poor
>implementation of frames, as well as in some choices for downloadable
>music--choosing one technology over another can have unintended, sometimes
>costly legal and PR consequences.  Don't forget to keep that in mind when
>spec'ing out or build a site or other online resource.  {Jonathan}
>
>
>Jonathan I. Ezor, Esq., New Media Business Attorney
>212-880-0840 (v)   212-983-2537 (note corrected fax number)
>jezor@siliconlawyer.com
>Of Counsel, Leavy Rosensweig & Hyman, 11 E. 44th St. NY NY 10017
>Author, "CLICKING THROUGH: A Survival Guide for Bringing Your
>        Business Online" (Bloomberg Press: expected fall 1999)
>