Tech Law

There are reports that Cox and AT&T have begun cooperating with the Recording Industry Association of America's new antipiracy strategy -- first announced in December -- of targeting illegal file-sharing activities through Internet service providers instead of through the courts. Once the RIAA i...

Failed efforts to reach a licensing agreement with Warner Music have led YouTube to unceremoniously yank thousands of user-created videos from the site. YouTube is required to follow intellectual property rights laws, of course. However, critics of the move contend the creators' use of content in ma...

I frequently encounter intellectual property disputes between companies and independent contractors doing work for those companies. Often, the disputes involve trying to determine who owns the copyright to materials developed during their working relationship. Whether you are an employer or a worke...

TomTom has responded to Microsoft's allegations of patent infringement with a lawsuit of its own. Close to three weeks after Microsoft filed complaints against TomTom in the U.S. District Court in Seattle and with the International Trade Commission, TomTom has filed a countersuit in the U.S. Distric...

Intel's and Advanced Micro Devices' often-rocky relationship is teetering on the brink of open warfare. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Intel has accused AMD of breaching terms the two companies forged in a cross-licensing agreement dating back to 2001. Intel has charged AMD...

"With great power comes great responsibility" is an oft-quoted line from the first "Spider-Man" film. Without torturing the "web" metaphor beyond its breaking point, it also applies to your friendly neighborhood Internet service provider. A maze of legislation, regulations and business practices dat...

You can buy furniture, look for a job and seek an apartment on the popular online classified ad Web site Craigslist. But a quick check of the "erotic services" category for Seattle yields another possible transaction, one featuring a "tall, sexy, seductive blue eyed bombshell" calling herself "Emily...

Amazon has backed off from the brewing legal controversy surrounding the text-to-speech function in its Kindle 2 electronic book reader. The feature allows users to hear the text of a book read aloud, although not in the dramatic -- or even conversational -- style of typical audio books. The Kindle ...

Google and Mozilla have formalized their support for the European Union's current antitrust proceedings against Microsoft by acquiring third-party status in the proceedings. They join several other firms that have also entered the fray. The EU is investigating whether Microsoft is violating its anti...

The federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Microsoft over marketing claims for its Vista operating system has reversed an earlier decision to certify the suit as a class action designation. She also denied Microsoft's motion for summary judgment. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman allowed the ca...

Swedish prosecutors have dismissed about half the charges brought against defendants accused of copyright violations through their operation of a P2P Web site that connects users to content -- mainly music and movies -- on other users' PCs. Last year, the owners of The Pirate Bay -- a Sweden-based ...

In advertising, the focus is on getting across a clear message to consumers. The Federal Trade Commission's message to advertisers in its staff report released Thursday regarding online consumer data collection was laser-like in its clarity: Get busy with protecting privacy, or the government will d...

Google has been outspoken on the subject of Net neutrality: It does not want to see Internet service providers limit accessibility based on pricing or other criteria. Now, it is offering consumers the tools to observe firsthand how encumbered their Internet access can be if an ISP prioritizes conten...

IBM received nearly 4,200 patents in 2008 from the United States Patent & Trademark Office, making Big Blue the undisputed king of the intellectual property game for the 16th year running. A closer look at U.S. patent numbers collated by IFI Patent Intelligence reveals something else: More and m...

The U.S. Senate voted late Monday to institute a four-month delay in the nation's switch from analog to all-digital television signals in a move meant to give millions of Americans more time to prepare for the transition. Television broadcasters are scheduled to go all-digital on Feb. 17, in effect ...