The law firm Jones Day is continuing to burden the court system with a trademark infringement lawsuit that should have been laughed out of court the day it was filed. Yet, as ill-conceived as the case is, if the judge presiding over the lawsuit lets it go forward, that decision could affect every Web site that's ever linked to any other site. In other words, the entire Internet.

Publishers looking to nix the 30-second pre-rolls for a few-second online video spot now have another option. The new online ad video format introduced Tuesday by Adap.tv cuts 30-second TV ads into shorter spots that run as pre-rolls. The format uses pre-roll title cards, 5-to-7-second ads, appearing immediately before a video. The platform can integrate static HTML, rich media or short video ads.

Lawyers representing Lori Drew, a Missouri resident accused of criminal computer fraud for allegedly helping create a phony MySpace profile used to torment a 13-year-old girl, filed new papers this week asking for the case to be dismissed. Drew's attorneys argue that the fraud statute that Drew is accused of violating was aimed at preventing interstate theft, and not the conduct that allegedly occurred in the case. But the U.S. Attorney's office, which also filed new papers this week, argued that the computer fraud law is flexible enough to cover Drew's alleged actions.

The online video explosion may have been built on viral clips of wacky pets and sidewalk slapstick, but the category will increasingly give way to professional ad-supported programming as other emerging media formats have in the past. So predicted former Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner at an event in New York Tuesday exploring online video and sponsored by Veoh Networks, in which Eisner's Tornante Company is a key investor.

It's a good thing that the underlying technology of MediaFLO mobile TV is so good, because snappy channel switching is essential to enduring a full-bore broadcast TV schedule on a handheld. I tried it the other night. Never again.

It is easy to ignore the role marketing plays in shaping nations. Marketing not only affects what people consume, but what is produced. Marketing, like it or not, shapes our political process. Marketing guides people's selection of politicians, and then impacts the way politicians govern once in office. The truth, is marketing can be more impactful than any legislation. Just look at how the financial markets react to a change in consumer confidence. The brand of our government, the brand of our economy and the brand of the United States itself, has taken a beating in recently. What role can, will, or should marketing play?

While recent politics have been intoxicating, the candidates' online marketing efforts have been weak and at times, appalling.

Video advertising company Jivox has begun developing an online platform that bundles downloadable coupons, SMS messages, reminder alerts, click-to-call services and more in one clickable online ad, according to company CEO Diaz Nesamoney. The platform aims to "harness the power of the Web" by redefining "consumer engagement" with online video ads. That means changing the idea that consumers should have one-way brief interactions with ads that visually shout "I'm a great product, look at me," to one that allows web surfers to spend more time interacting with the brand.

Elizabeth Shepard has joined Delish.com as executive director of the food-related site, a new venture between Hearst Magazines Digital Media and MSN. Shepard comes from Time Inc., where as managing editor of Time Inc. Content Solutions (formerly known as Time Inc. Custom Publishing) she was responsible for creative and strategic execution of more than 25 original quarterly magazine titles, numerous Web sites and other customized communications programs.

Video ad technology company BlackArrow has raised $20 million in a second-round venture financing from investors including Cisco Systems, Comcast Interactive Capital and Intel Capital. BlackArrow--which offers an ad management system for broadband, video-on-demand, and DVR video platforms--has raised a total of $38 million to date.

Coremetrics has rolled out Coremetrics 2009, the latest version of its online marketing and analytics platform. The new release features better reporting capabilities, including more detailed mobile statistics, competitive insights and industry performance benchmarks. The bid management system has also been tweaked to tie paid search keyword bids to a client's inventory database--raising, lowering or even eliminating bids automatically to reflect the quantity of products in stock.

Until recently, applying behavioral targeting against video advertising suffered the obvious problem: scale. Even as metrics companies report upwards of 11 billion monthly video streams, only a fraction of that impressive number represents credible inventory for most advertisers. Last month, video ad network YuMe decided that a potential reach of 130 million uniques across more than 400 publishers offered enough coverage to start offering behavioral targeting. According to co-founder and President Jayant Kadambi, advertisers are asking to align campaigns against professional-grade content. But will such plans scale?

If you have ever used a search engine in your life, you probably have some sense of knowledge that search engine optimization is now the state of the market when it comes to customer acquisition and online audience development. I've heard that old school lead generation was derived from affiliate networking marketing inventory and revenue sharing models. These days many marketers are seeking additional inventory alternatives to broaden their potential audience.

One of the best things about social media is the ability to use it, when need be, to get results out of uncooperative corporations, particularly when customer service fails to live up to its name. Such power in the hands of average members of the consumer republic would have been unfathomable even five years ago. My personal passion for the subject harkens back to the Stew Leonard's store in Norwalk, Conn., which has, for as long as I can remember, had the following posted on a rock at its entrance: "Our Policy: Rule #1. The customer is always right. Rule #2. If the customer is ever wrong, re-read rule #1."