Trademark owners will be able to request fast-track UDRP proceedings at WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center from early next year. The Center is expecting to launch a number of modifications to its practices under the existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), designed for simple cases primarily of a default nature.
European Commission Relaxes Mandate for Open Standards
The European Commission has quietly watered down plans to mandate usage of open standards for European public services. Instead it will allow the use of open specifications, while patents and paid licenses will no longer be taboo.
Students Sue School Over Punishment for MySpace Photos
Two sophomore girls have sued their school district after they were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation. The American Civil Liberties Union, in a federal lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the girls, argues that Churubusco High School violated the girls' free speech rights when it banned them from extracurricular activities for a joke that didn't involve the school.
Sedo Blocks Access to Allegedly Infringing Site
A marketplace for the buying and selling of Web site names has blocked access to a site that allegedly infringed on the trademark of the Las Vegas M Resort. Officials at Cambridge, Mass.-based Sedo, an acronym for "Search Engine for Domain Offers," said they took action against the Web site after reading about it in a news story.
Apple Pushing Harder to Block Illegal Mac Computers
Apple may be continuing its efforts to block unauthorized hardware from being able to take advantage of its software, if reports are accurate from early testers of an upcoming OS X update. The move, according to reports, could be an effort to stamp out the "Hackintosh" phenomenon -- the unauthorized creation of PC desktops, notebooks and netbooks running a hacked version of OS X.
Court Orders Spammer to Pay Facebook $711 Million
Facebook said a California court has awarded the social networking website $711 million in damages in an anti-spam case against Internet marketer Sanford Wallace. Facebook sued Wallace for accessing users' accounts without their permission and sending phony posts and messages.
Homeland Security Opens Center to Fight Cyberattacks
The United States is well behind the curve in the fight against computer criminals, Sen. Joe Lieberman said, as Homeland Security officials opened a $9 million operations center to better coordinate the government's response to cyberattacks. Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said legislation being drafted by his committee will require federal agencies and private companies to set up a system to share information on cyber threats.
GAO Warns Swine Flu Could Swell Internet Traffic
As the spread of the H1N1 flu keeps more Americans away from work and school, a federal report warns that all those people logging on to the Web from home could overwhelm Internet networks. The Government Accountability Office reported that if the flu reaches a pandemic, a surge in telecommuting and children accessing video files and games at home could bog down local networks.
Chinese Writers' Groups Oppose Google's Book Scanning
A long-running dispute over Google’s efforts to digitize books has spread to China, where authors have banded together to demand that their works be protected from what they call unauthorized copying. Two Chinese writers' groups claim that Google has scanned Chinese works into an electronic database in violation of international copyright standards.
New Tool Finds Malware in Posts on Twitter
Kaspersky unveiled a new tool called "Krab Krawler" that analyzes the millions of tweets posted on Twitter every day and blocks any malware associated with them. The tool looks at every public post as it appears on Twitter, extracts any URLs in them and analyzes the Web page they lead to, expanding any URLS that have been shortened, Costin Raiu, a senior malware analyst at Kaspersky, said in an interview.
Facebook Seeks Users' Comments on Privacy Policy
Facebook head of communications Elliot Schrage posted a company blog entry inviting members to review proposed updates to the social network's privacy policy, and much of it deals with what happens to the content of accounts that members have opted to delete.
Google Tells FTC It Blocks Calls to 100 Numbers
Google said it restricts calls to less than 100 U.S. telephone numbers with its Google Voice service, responding to a query from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Google said fewer than 100 numbers are restricted, all of which the company said it believes are engaged in high-cost "traffic pumping schemes" such as adult chat and "free" conference call lines.
Twitter Warns Users About Phishing Attack
Twitter warned about a new phishing attack in which direct messages to users link to a fake log-in page that steals passwords. "We've seen a few phishing attempts today; if you've received a strange (direct message), and it takes you to a Twitter log-in page, don't do it!" the Twitter spam warning says.
Judge Kozinski Apologies for Photos, Jokes on Server
Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, has apologized for having maintained an e-mail "gag list" in which he distributed crude jokes and other humorous material, according to an opinion. Kozinski was admonished earlier this year in a separate case for being "judicially imprudent" and "exhibiting poor judgment" by placing sexually explicit photos and videos on an Internet server that could be accessed by the public.
Microsoft Warns Users About Windows Upgrade Limits
Microsoft has wagged its finger at users to dissuade them from hacking upgrade versions of Windows 7 to get a full copy on the new operating system on their PC. Reacting to tips being served up online, Microsoft's warned while it's technically possible to perform what's known as a "clean" install of Windows 7 on a PC you'll be breaking the law.
Trojan Horse Appears to Come from "The Facebook Team"
A new variant of the Bredolab Trojan horse is attached to a fake "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation" e-mail, security firm MX Labs is reporting. Some users are receiving the e-mail from "The Facebook Team," according to the security firm.
5.8 Million Web Pages Infected With Malware
The number of Web sites hosting malicious software, either intentionally or unwittingly, is rising rapidly, according to statistics to be released from Dasient. More than 640,000 Web sites and about 5.8 million pages are infected with malware, according to Dasient, which was founded by former Googlers to offer services to help Web sites stay malware-free and off blacklists.
Phishing Attacks Up 200% in Recent Months After Lull
After a lull at the start of this year, phishing attacks suddenly spiked 200% from May through September, according to IBM's X-Force research team. Phishers are going after log-ons to Web mail, social networking and online gaming accounts, security experts say.
Financial Regulators Challenged by Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn raise "serious new challenges" for financial regulators, the head of the largest U.S. independent securities regulator said. Wall Street bankers and analysts increasingly want to use social networking to connect and interact with customers, Richard Ketchum, the chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said.
U.S. Regulators Move Toward Intel Antitrust Complaint
U.S. antitrust regulators are moving toward filing a complaint against Intel after the European Union fined the world's biggest chipmaker $1.45 billion for engaging in anticompetitive practices, sources said. Three of the four commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission, which opened a formal inquiry in June 2008, are in favor of filing a complaint against Intel, said the sources, who asked not to be named.
