Tech Law

Apple has reached a settlement with plaintiffs in 33 states regarding allegations that it colluded with five major U.S. book publishers to fix the price of e-books. The class action maintained that Apple overcharged plaintiffs $280 million. News of the settlement came on Tuesday via a filing with U....

AT&T's planned merger with DirecTV is far from a done deal. Among the objections that have been raised is one stemming from a filing this week with the Federal Communications Commission. There is now concern that the merger would make it more difficult for consumers to cut their cable-TV cords.

AT&T's planned merger with DirecTV is far from a done deal. Among the objections that have been raised is one stemming from a filing this week with the Federal Communications Commission. There is now concern that the merger would make it more difficult for consumers to cut their cable-TV cords.

Honeywell on Tuesday launched its Lyric smart thermostat, a device widely seen as a challenge to Google's Nest product. Like Nest, the Lyric can be controlled by a smartphone app; unlike its competitor, it uses geolocation to turn home heating and cooling systems on or off when the consumer's smartp...

The conventional wisdom of the Internet is that everything posted, whether on social media, a website or anywhere else, will be on the Internet forever. That conventional wisdom was just challenged successfully in a recent ruling handed down by the EU's highest court. A new conventional wisdom may a...

The U.S. Department of Justice this week said it would review long-held agreements with two major performing-rights organizations with an eye to updating them to reflect the climate of the music industry more accurately. The DoJ's agreements with ASCAP and BMI have been in place for more than 70 yea...

I think the European Union often goes overboard, and I typically don't agree with its rulings. However, when the EU declared Google invaded privacy, it seemed to have struck a nerve. Countless users worldwide agreed. So, what impact will the EU have on Google with respect to a citizen's right to be ...

The U.S. Defense Department last month adopted a set of final rules covering the detection and avoidance of counterfeit electronic parts in the federal supply chain. The rules affect a wide swath of information technology firms that supply electronic components to the department, including software ...

Sectors of society ranging from public interest groups to Google and Facebook oppose the FCC's mid-May passage of new Net neutrality rules. However, they're going about the issue all wrong, comedian John Oliver said in a rant on Net neutrality. "The cable companies have figured out the great truth o...

Hachette -- whose stable of best-selling authors includes J.K. Rowling and James Patterson -- remains at loggerheads with Amazon over renewal of a book distribution deal between the two. The stalemate has slowed the flow of books from the publisher to the online retailer to a crawl. Negotiations hav...

IT groups and a wide range of other businesses are so divided on proposed changes to U.S. patent law that a key lawmaker abruptly terminated work on patent reform legislation last week. The legislation addresses IP protection practices, known as "patent trolling," that overwhelmingly affect computer...

After years of legal wrangling over their mobile technology intellectual patent rights in courtrooms around the world, Apple and Samsung apparently are ready to call it a day. Representatives of the companies reportedly are in negotiations to settle their legal differences out of court. This is not ...

The FCC on Thursday approved by voice vote proposed rules governing neutrality on the Internet. Following a public comment period and review of those comments by the commission, the agency will finalize the rules, possibly as soon as the end of this year. "Today marks the starting line for a new con...

The European Court of Justice, which is the highest court for matters of European Law, has handed down a preliminary ruling that indicates Google may have to remove links to consumers' names on request -- if appropriate. The case was referred to the ECJ by Spain's Audiencia Nacional, or National Hig...

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission reportedly is changing a proposal for regulating Internet traffic in response to a wave of dissension against the idea. Chairman Tom Wheeler had proposed a new "Net neutrality" plan that would allow Internet service providers to negotiate with ...