Tech Law

Microsoft has withdrawn its request for an oral hearing over the latest antitrust charges levied against it by the European Commission. An oral hearing in the case is voluntary, and whether one is held should, theoretically, not impact its outcome. However, the EC's apparent inflexibility in accomm...

After weeks of striking a conciliatory and cooperative tone, Craigslist is going on the offensive in the controversy over its erotic services section. Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster filed a complaint in a federal court in South Carolina, seeking declaratory relief and a restraining order against the ...

In an abrupt about face, Craigslist has announced it will take down its "erotic services" ad category. In its place will be a new adult services section that will be screened by Craigslist staff before publication, according to a statement made by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who...

The European Commission fined dominant CPU maker Intel $1.4 billion on Wednesday after finding the company violated anticompetition laws. Intel CEO Paul Otellini blasted the decision, saying EU regulators had ignored crucial evidence that will, on appeal, prove the company innocent of charges that i...

The Obama Administration is making good on a campaign promise to step up antitrust enforcement. The Justice Department's top antitrust enforcement official, Christine Varney, said in a speech Monday morning that the DoJ would be setting aside a policy interpretation developed in the previous Bush Ad...

The European Commission could be nearing a decision to impose a significant fine against Intel. The timing coincides with a Department of Justice announcement promising more vigorous antitrust enforcement in the United States. Taken together, the possibility of a record fine against the market-leadi...

Google, which has never been one to show much regard for Microsoft, could well be feeling sympathetic toward Redmond now that it finds itself under the antitrust gun. Microsoft has been beleaguered by antitrust investigations in the U.S. and Europe for decades. To be sure, Microsoft brought much o...

Following the arrest of the accused Boston-area 'Craigslist killer' Philip Markoff, Craigslist has come under fire for its "casual encounters" section on the site, which allegedly contains de facto advertisements for prostitution. Craigslist, like other Web 2.0 sites, has attracted the attention of ...

Google and Apple are both wildly successful Web 2.0 companies that can be considered market makers in their respective fields. Another similarity that is less obvious -- but apparently very compelling to the Federal Trade Commission -- is their taste in corporate leadership. Google CEO Eric Schmidt ...

The Department of Justice is reportedly looking into the settlement agreement that Google negotiated with representatives of book publishers and authors to put their works online. The Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild filed a lawsuit against Google some three years ago in an e...

Earlier this month, the journal Science published a report about a robot that could formulate hypotheses, perform experiments to test those hypotheses, and thereby contribute to scientific knowledge. This technological advance raises legal concerns: Based on current law, if a robot conceived the i...

The music and entertainment industry didn't even have a week to fully savor its victory against the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay before they filed an appeal. Though the move was expected, the grounds for the appeal may have caught the plaintiffs by surprise. The Pirate Bay contends that the ju...

The music industry cheered as a Swedish court on Friday found the four proprietors of The Pirate Bay guilty of copyright law violation. The Pirate Bay is a torrent tracker site in Sweden that helps users find and download files used to swap movies, music, TV shows, games, books and software via BitT...

Is the Associated Press trying to shoehorn a 21st-century technology into a 20th-century business model? Or is it merely trying to protect content that allows Google and others to rake in money while it is left holding the lost-revenue bag? The answers to those questions may end up coming from a cou...

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would give the government dramatic new powers to regulate and enforce federal standards for cybersecurity. The government already monitors and regulates military networks, of course. However, the "Cybersecurity Act of 2009" would extend that control to private sy...