Avoid the Rainy Day: Survey of U.S. Cloud Computing Caselaw

Abstract

Cloud computing, a computer networking model that gives users on-demand access to shared software applications and data storage, is becoming increasingly popular among businesses and individuals. For example, if you use Google's Gmail for your email and calendaring, or Snapfish for your online photo sharing and storage; or if your business remotely stores data with a third-party server provider like Salesforce, or uses Windows Azure to create and host web applications and services, you are already "floating in a cloud." To provide guidance to those companies working within a cloud - or those considering utilizing cloud computing - this article surveys U.S. cases that have direct, substantive implications for cloud users. These cases implicate issues of personal jurisdiction, privacy rights, e-discovery, and copyright infringement. We also take a brief look at the newest case on the cloud computing horizon, Google v. The United States.