Page Vault Resources

Web Archives and the Wayback Machine: Valuable Source of Historical Online Content, Questionable Source of Admissible Evidence

Last Updated October 2023

Though it may seem contradictory, information on the web is both fleeting and permanent, unchangeable yet frequently and easily altered. The internet is filled with countless dormant websites and web pages that have not welcomed any traffic or modifications for years. Active pages may change from day to day with text and images tweaked, added, removed, or revised due to changing marketing priorities and search engine optimization – or for more nefarious reasons. However, the historical yet no longer active online content lives on.

Authentication Methods

Last Updated October 2023

In today’s fast-paced digital world, where information is easily accessible with a few taps or clicks, it is important to confirm the reliability of the evidence. Unfortunately, digital evidence is especially susceptible to some types of manipulation, so it is important to ensure its validity using appropriate methods. In the practice of law, choosing the right authentication methods can impact the reliability and credibility of evidence presented in court, whether digital or tangible in nature.

Capturing Online Evidence Before It's Gone (Specht v. Google)

Last Updated October 2023

As legal teams address the myriad aspects of a case, it can be easy to overlook the importance of securely capturing and preserving digital content, such as websites, social media sites, and online videos. After all, the evidence is publicly available, and even if it gets removed, there are tools such as the Internet Archive (also known as the Wayback Machine) that can demonstrate what a site looked like in the past – right?

Admissible Digital Evidence Panel Discussion

Last Updated October 2023

Digital evidence, such as websites, videos, and social media, is often a key component, and can even be a smoking gun, in litigation.

However, legal teams often improperly collect and handle digital evidence, putting their cases and clients at risk. For example, several courts have recently excluded screenshots of online content as inadmissible evidence in trademark and copyright infringement cases.

Hear from leaders from Latham & Watkins, Stokes Lawrence, and Barrack Ferazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg in this panel discussion.

Digital Evidence in Intellectual Property Law: Conquering Online Evidence

Last Updated October 2023

Online evidence, found on websites and social media platforms, can be critical to protecting and defending your clients’ intellectual property rights. But many attorneys are failing to find and use these sources effectively. Further, collecting and preserving these ephemeral data types has created challenges. For example, in a number of IP cases over the past few years, courts have excluded digital evidence of copyright and trademark infringement due to inadequate preservation methods.

How Legal Teams Use Self-Directed Software to Collect Admissible Online Evidence

Last Updated October 2023

Per the Federal Rules of Evidence 901 (FRE 901), online evidence requires authentication for admissibility in court. Authentication involves crucial capture details like time, browser, hash values, and metadata. Attorneys often had to provide their own affidavits or testify in court in the past, yet courts still excluded evidence due to inadequate certifications or affidavits. Consequently, law firms faced challenges authenticating web content, either through complex in-house processes or outsourcing leading to slow turnaround times and even missed evidence.