Google Fires Engineer for Accessing Users' Accounts

Google confirmed that it fired an employee earlier this year for violating its policies on accessing the accounts of its users. Earlier, Gawker reported that David Barksdale, an engineer in Google's Seattle offices, used his position as a key engineer evaluating the health of Google's services to break into the Gmail and Google Voice accounts of several children.

CCNY Informs Students About Stolen Laptop

More than 7,000 students attending City College of New York are beginning to receive notices from school officials that their names, social security numbers and other personal information were exposed after a school laptop was stolen last month. It was password-protected, but not encrypted and, thus far, CCNY officials have found no evidence suggesting that student data has been used for identity theft or other illegal endeavors.

Judge Dismisses Tiffany's Last Claim Against eBay

EBay won dismissal of a Tiffany lawsuit accusing the auctioneer of deceiving customers by allowing the sale of counterfeit Tiffany jewelry on its website. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in Manhattan rejected Tiffany's allegation that eBay engaged in false advertising, the last remaining claim after a federal appeals court on April 1 dismissed the rest of Tiffany's trademark infringement case.

Microsoft Changes Piracy Policy in Russia

Microsoft announced sweeping changes on to its software policy in Russia, responding to criticism that it has been supporting a crackdown on dissent. The company essentially prohibited its Russian division from taking part in piracy cases against government opponents and declared that it would thwart any attempt by the authorities, in this country and elsewhere, to use such inquiries to exert political pressure.

California "E-Personation" Bill Targets Fake Accounts

California Web impostors beware: You may soon be breaking the law, even if you aren't one of the perpetrators targeted by the state's "e-personation" bill. The measure, which is awaiting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature, carries fines of as much as $1,000 and a year in jail for anyone who poses as another person online with malicious intent.

Ruling Sets Limits on Resales of Software

A federal appeals court said that software makers can use shrink-wrap and click-wrap licenses to forbid the transfer or resale of their wares, an apparent gutting of the so-called first-sale doctrine. The court said that the first-sale doctrine -- an affirmative defense to copyright infringement that allows legitimate owners of copies of copyrighted works to resell those copies -- is "unavailable to those who are only licensed to use their copies of copyrighted works."

  • Read the article: Wired

Pastor's Website Taken Down for Hate Speech Violation

The obscure Christian pastor who planned to mark the ninth anniversary of September 11 attacks by burning copies of the Koran has had his website pulled from the Internet, the hosting company said. Dan Goodgame, a spokesman for popular web host Rackspace Hosting, said Dove World Outreach Center had violated "hate speech" provisions of its contract with Rackspace.

Group Wants Craigslist to Block Adult Ads Outside U.S., Too

A nonprofit public advocacy group urged Craigslist to take down adult services ads outside the United States, where they say most such ads are placed and where regulators may be more lax about child and female exploitation. Members of the Polaris Project said the popular online classified Web site took an important first step toward stopping sex crimes and violence against women and children by removing erotic U.S. ads last weekend.

Court Gives Microsoft Control of Botnet Domains

A federal magistrate judge has recommended that Microsoft be given ownership of 276 Internet addresses used to control "Waledac," a massive botnet that the software company has been working to bring down. The recommendation by Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia is a victory in Microsoft's experimental campaign to wrest control of one of the Net's biggest menaces.

Subscribe

The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.