A federal district court says Veoh, a Web video site that has come under legal fire from entertainment companies the past several years, is not liable for the copyright violations committed by its users, a decision that could help YouTube defend itself against Viacom's $1 billion copyright suit.
Judge Refuses to Enforce Overstock's Online Terms
A federal judge has ruled that Internet retailer Overstock can't enforce the manadatory arbitration agreement set out in its online terms and conditions because there is no evidence that consumers read the policy. A customer "lacked notice of the terms and conditions because the website did not prompt her to review the terms and conditions and because the link to the terms and conditions was not prominently displayed," the judge wrote.
New York Times Site Visitors Hit by Malware Attacks
The New York Times Company said that NYTimes.com was the victim of an attacker who first posed as a legitimate advertiser, then started hitting site visitors with aggressive advertisements that appeared to be warnings about viruses. "Over the weekend, NYTimes.com was the victim of a malware attack that targeted several news organizations," Diane McNulty, a spokeswoman for the Times Company, said in a statement in response to questions about the rogue ads.
Virginia Won't Push Facebook to Divulge User's Data
The state of Virginia has backed away from its attempts to force Facebook to divulge the complete contents of a user's account to settle a dispute over workers' compensation, narrowly avoiding what promised to be a high-profile privacy battle in federal court. The Virginia's Workers Compensation Commission said it was no longer going to levy a $200-a-day fine on the social-networking site for refusing to comply with a subpoena from an airline that previously employed a flight attendant named Shana Hensley.
Governments in Southeast Asia Increase Net Censorship
Attempts to censor the Internet are spreading to Southeast Asia as governments turn to coercion and intimidation to rein in online criticism. Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam lack the kind of technology and financial resources that China and some other large countries use to police the Internet.
Owner of Fallout Game Sues Creator for Infringement
Bethesda Softworks, the current rights holder for Fallout, has sued franchise creator Interplay for alleged trademark infringement. According to court documents that Bethesda filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, Interplay did not seek its approval of the package's promotional material.
Twitter Updates Terms of Service, Clarifies Ownership
Twitter keeps it simple, even when it comes to updating the legalese in its terms of service. As part of the changes, Twitter translated some of the jargon into plain language, to lessen the chances that its users might get the wrong idea about what was happening.
Justice Furthers Probe of Microsoft-Yahoo Deal
The U.S. Department of Justice has furthered its investigation into the proposed search engine deal between Microsoft and Yahoo by asking both companies to provide more information. The two companies received an additional request for information as expected, said Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans.
Hacker Pleads Guilty in TJX Identity Theft Case
A computer hacker who was once a federal informant and was a driving force behind one of the largest cases of identity theft in U.S. history pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors that will send him to prison for up to 25 years. Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, admitted pulling off some of the most prominent hacking jobs of the decade -- invading the computer systems of such retailers as TJX, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority.
Court Calls $358 Million Patent Award Excessive
A federal appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that Microsoft infringed on a patent owned by Alcatel-Lucent, but said the jury award of $358 million in damages was excessive. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., upheld a ruling that the patent at issue was valid and had been infringed on, but said there was not sufficient evidence to support the calculation of damages.
Lawyers Using Social Networks Start Clashing with Judges
With thousands of blogs and so many lawyers online, legal ethics experts say that collisions between the freewheeling ways of the Internet and the tight boundaries of legal discourse are inevitable -- whether they result in damaged careers or simply raise eyebrows. Stephen Gillers, an expert on legal ethics at New York University Law School, sees many more missteps in the future, as young people who grew up with Facebook and other social media enter a profession governed by centuries of legal tradition.
Head of Copyright Office Criticizes Google Book Deal
In testimony before the House Judiciary subcommittee, Marybeth Peters, U.S. Register of Copyrights, in her first detailed comments on the subject, blasted the Google Book Search Settlement as "fundamentally at odds with the law." In a blistering assessment of the deal, Peters told lawmakers that the settlement is in essence a compulsory license that would give Google the ability to engage in activities, such as text display and sale of downloads, that are "indisputable acts of copyright infringement."
Senator Wants Changes to Rules for Broadband Grants
A key U.S. lawmaker expressed concern that much of the eastern part of the United States could be disqualified from broadband grants because of the way remote communities are considered. Rick Boucher, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, said at a hearing that some rules governing the $7.2 billion program of loans and grants are too restrictive and urged administrators to be flexible.
British Boxer Wants Facebook to Delete "Defamatory" Posts
British boxing champion Amir Khan and his promoter, Frank Warren, have launched a legal campaign to force Facebook to tackle "highly defamatory" or abusive postings. The pair has engaged lawyers to threaten the social networking site with libel action over entries by users and to complain at the amount of time taken to remove offensive material.
Electronic Goods Website Found to Violate EU Laws
More than half of websites selling electronic goods and tested in an EU investigation were breaking European laws aimed at protecting consumers. The analysis of 369 websites selling mobiles, DVD players and games consoles in 28 European countries found that 203 of them held misleading information.
Obama Warns Teens About Social Networking Sites
President Barack Obama warned American teenagers of the dangers of putting too much personal information on Internet social networking sites, saying it could come back to haunt them in later life. The presidential words of advice follow recent studies that suggest U.S. employers are increasingly turning to sites such as Facebook and News Corp's MySpace to conduct background checks on job applicants.
Software Group Updates "Don't Copy That Floppy" Campaign
The Software & Information Industry Association, is reviving the anti-software-piracy video campaign for the Internet era, and plans to launch "Don’t Copy That 2." The software trade group acknowledged that the message, while still relevant, was "sort of in need of a facelift," said Keith Kupferschmid, its senior vice president for intellectual property policy.
German MP in Pirate Party Faces Child Porn Charges
A German MP who recently quit the Social Democrats for the Pirate Party has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. Prosecutors in Karlsruhe said Joerg Tauss is suspected of acquiring child porn in over 100 cases between May 2007 and January of this year, and saving it to his cell phone.
Microsoft Rivals Seek to Acquire Linux-Related Patents
Microsoft Corp. has suggested in recent years that companies using the Linux computer-operating system might be violating Microsoft patents. Now, in an effort to avert any legal threat that might discourage the adoption of Linux, a group of Microsoft rivals is about to acquire a set of patents formerly owned by the software giant.
More Groups File Briefs Opposing Google Book Settlement
Several groups opposed to Google's Book Search settlement filed court briefs outlining their concerns on the last day such briefs would be accepted. As expected, lawyers for Microsoft, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and a coalition called the Open Book Alliance blasted the deal as anticompetitive and detrimental to consumers.
