Tech Law

Patent laws remain in the crosshairs, despite the passage and near final implementation of the infamous America Invents Act of 2011. The Supreme Court is again hearing a case that has far-reaching implications for future innovation in self-replicating systems in fields such as nanotechnology, cell ...

Facebook's policy of requiring that users post profiles under their real names was upheld by a German court on Thursday. The decision reversed last year's Independent Center for Privacy Protection ruling that Facebook had to permit the use of pseudonyms in Germany. The ULD -- the privacy regulator f...

Periodically we are reminded that the Federal Trade Commission plays a major role in regulating the Internet. For instance, the FTC is in charge of protecting privacy on the Internet in the U.S. and continually starts new privacy initiatives as the use of the Internet evolves. Unlike the EU, which h...

It is now illegal to unlock a cellphone, thanks to a decision late last year by the Library of Congress that went into effect on Saturday. That decision eliminated an exemption to the DMCA that gave users the right to legally unlock a device in order to use a different provider's network. The Librar...

Users of the Internet and electronic gear are vulnerable to criminals near and far, but we don't always hear about what happens at court and whether the alleged criminals are convicted or acquitted. Here is an update on some those crimes for consideration. After an 11-day jury trial in Denver, membe...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday weighed in on a dispute between video game company GameFly and the U.S. Postal Service, siding with GameFly's position that the post office has been practicing price discrimination among its customers. GameFly's original suit a...

A federal judge this week granted Amazon's request to throw out one claim in Apple's lawsuit against it -- namely the allegation that Amazon engaged in false advertising by using the term "Appstore" for its slew of Android-based online offerings. Other claims Apple is alleging against Amazon, includ...

The FTC and Google have reached a settlement on a two-year investigation the agency conducted into the search engine giant's business practices. In short, Google has agreed to give competitors access to standard-essential patents and allow its advertisers more flexibility in how they use rival searc...

Instagram's recent changes to its terms of service have led one user to file a proposed class action lawsuit against the company, alleging breach of contract and other violations. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco last week by California user Lucy Funes, claims that Instagram's...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday rejected all 21 claims in Apple's "pinch-to-zoom" patent in a preliminary ruling after an ex parte re-examination of the patent. The USPTO ruling is a significant blow to Apple, as the patent was among those found to have been infringed by Samsung in...

Attorneys representing four former GoDaddy employees in a suit over unpaid overtime are seeking to have the suit expanded to a collective action. Michelle Matheson, a partner with Matheson & Matheson and the attorney of record on the suit, and Eric Epstein, an employment attorney in Los Angele...

The International Trade Commission on Tuesday ruled that Apple has not violated Google's Motorola Mobility patent for a touchscreen sensor. ITC judge Thomas Pender said the patent was invalid. The touchscreen sensor patent came before Pender this summer, when Google asserted three other Motorola pa...

Samsung said Tuesday that it will drop its pursuit of injunctions against the sale of some Apple products in Europe. Samsung wants to compete "fairly in the marketplace, rather than in the court," according to its official statement, but the move is an odd twist in the ongoing legal saga between the...

Both Apple and Samsung, which have been locked in lawsuits in the United States and abroad, won a little and lost a little in their hearing before Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, Calif. On Monday, the judge denied Samsung's request for a retrial seeking to reduce the $1.05 billion in damages a jury h...

A two-year FTC probe into Google could be coming to an end. The Federal Trade Commission may close its investigation into the search giant as early as this week, and it appears that Google will avoid a consent decree, according to reports. This would mean Google would not have to agree to any formal...