A class-action lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court by an attorney who also seems to be the plaintiff. The suit was filed on behalf of lead Plaintiff Carlos A. Cueto who says he participated in online auctions for domain names at SnapNames.Com, Inc.
Parties Seek Extension in Google Books Settlement
The parties to the Google book settlement, which would legalize the creation of a vast library of digital books, have asked the judge overseeing a revision of the agreement for an extension to this Friday, Nov. 13. At a hearing in October, Google and its partners at the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers outlined an aggressive timeline for modifying the agreement to satisfy the objections of the Justice Department and other critics.
EBay Settles Litigation with Founders of Skype
EBay has formally settled the litigation around its sale of the Skype online calling service. The founders of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, will drop their lawsuits against the company and a consortium of buyers whose bid to purchase 65 percent of Skype was announced last month, according to an announcement released by eBay.
Internet Censorship Open to Challenge at WTO
Censorship of the Internet is open to challenge at the World Trade Organization as it can restrict trade in services delivered online, a forthcoming study says. A censorship case at the WTO could raise sovereignty issues, given the clear right of member states to restrict trade on moral grounds -- for example, by blocking access to child pornography websites.
Glenn Beck Loses Ruling Over Domain Name
An intellectual property organization has denied a request by Glenn Beck to take down a Web site with a domain name that the talk show host claimed improperly used his name and defamed his name. An arbitration panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an agency within the United Nations, found that Isaac Eiland-Hall registered the URL glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com as a political statement and not as a bad faith effort to profit from Beck's name.
Chinese Agency Orders Video Game Site Shut Down
The Chinese General Administration of Press and Publication ordered the Shanghai-based operator of World of Warcraft, NetEase, to shut down its servers for World of Warcraft. The agency said that it had rejected the company's application to become the new host of the game's four million Chinese players.
China Moves to Ban Physical Punishment for Net Addicts
China's ministry of health has moved to ban the use of physical punishment to treat teenagers addicted to the web, according to draft guidelines. There are dozens of treatment centres offering to wean youths, mostly boys, from spending hours on the web.
European Lawmakers Approve Internet User Protections
European lawmakers agreed on new protections for Internet users, striking a compromise between national governments seeking to impose tough anti-piracy laws and consumer organizations that wanted to enshrine Internet access as an unassailable right. The agreement removes the last hurdle to passage of sweeping changes to European telecommunications law, which had been held hostage for six months by the standoff over Internet access.
Google Dashboard Creates New Privacy Issues
The new Google Dashboard addresses concerns that users have regarding just how much Google knows about them. Providing a resource like the Google Dashboard that presents all associated information in one place may actually create more privacy and security issues than it solves though.
Judge Orders Company to Stop Beatles Sales Online
A federal judge ordered a Santa Cruz, Calif., company to immediately quit selling Beatles and other music on its online site, setting aside a preposterous argument that it had copyrights on songs via a process called "psycho-acoustic simulation." A Los Angeles federal judge set aside arguments from Hank Risan, owner of BlueBeat and other companies named as defendants in the lawsuit EMI filed.
New York File Antitrust Suit Against Intel
Following the lead of foreign regulators, New York's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Intel, the world's largest chip maker. The lawsuit charges that Intel violated state and federal laws by abusing its dominant position in the chip market to keep its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices, at bay.
Bill Would Requires ISPs to Block Financial Scams
A U.S. House of Representatives bill is taking the unusual step of requiring Internet providers to block access to online financial scams that fraudulently invoke the Securities Investor Protection Corporation -- or face fines and federal court injunctions. The House Financial Services Committee approved the legislation on Wednesday by a 41 to 28 vote.
EMI Sues Website for Selling Beatles Songs
Record company EMI is suing a U.S. website which it says is offering unauthorized downloads of Beatles hits. A spokesperson told BBC News that EMI had "not authorised content to be sold" on Bluebeat.com, which sells tracks for 25 cents each.
Professors Call Net Neutrality Rules Ambiguous
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to craft network neutrality regulations includes "ambiguity" in the proposed language that could allow broadband providers to skirt the rules, a group of tech-focused law professors said.
Barnes & Noble Sued Over Design for E-book Reader
Spring Design, a maker of electronic readers, is suing Barnes & Noble, claiming the bookseller's newly launched Nook reader illegally copied its dual-screen design after the two discussed a possible partnership. Spring Design said Barnes & Noble used its proprietary design to better compete with Amazon.com's market-leading Kindle, while failing to disclose its intentions to make its own device.
Settlement Appears Likely in Litigation Over Skype
The bitter battle over the future of the Internet calling service Skype appears to be nearing an end. A resolution of the litigation surrounding the service, which is owned by eBay, could be announced as soon as this week, according to several people who have been briefed on the situation.
Hacker Sends Text Messages to "Jailbroken" iPhones
A hacker in the Netherlands broke into some jailbroken iPhones and sent text messages to the owners asking them to pay to find out how to secure their phones, according to postings in a Dutch forum called Tweakers.net.
Man Charged for Developing Tools to Hack Cable Modems
Federal authorities unsealed charges in Boston against a man they allege developed tools to help people steal free Internet access by modifying cable modems. According to authorities, Ryan Harris and the company he founded, TCNISO, developed and distributed hardware and software tools that enabled customers to modify their cable modems and mask themselves as paying Internet subscribers.
EBay Removes Items from Anti-Abortion Activists
Online auction house eBay has removed items that were posted for sale by anti-abortion activists trying to raise money for defense of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion provider, the company said. Supporters of Scott Roeder -- one in Kansas City, Mo. and the other in Des Moines, Iowa -- posted various items in separate eBay auctions including an Army of God manual, an underground publication for anti-abortion militants that describes ways to shut down clinics.
Founder of Online Betting Site Gets Four-Year Sentence
The founder of the online gambling site BetOnSports.com was sentenced to more than four years in prison, ending a lengthy investigation and prosecution into one of the world's largest offshore sports gambling companies. Gary Kaplan, 50, must also forfeit $43.6 million in illegally obtained revenue as part of a plea agreement.
