European Commission to Probe Mobile Internet Traffic

The European Commission is planning to investigate whether European mobile operators are managing wireless Internet traffic to discriminate against competitors or consumers who use data-intensive services. Neelie Kroes, the European Union's telecommunications commissioner, will ask an advisory panel of national regulators to examine whether mobile operators are upholding the principle of network neutrality, which calls for all data traffic to be treated equally.

Winklevoss Twins Seek Appeal in Facebook Fight

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are seeking review of an April 11 court ruling they lost enforcing a $65 million settlement with Facebook Inc. over their claims that company founder Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for the social networking site. A three-judge appeals court panel in San Francisco erred when it rejected the Winklevoss brothers’ claims that the 2008 settlement should be voided because it was procured with fraud, the twins’ attorney said in a court filing.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Microsoft Patent Case

U.S. Supreme Court justices debated making it easier to challenge some patents, reviewing a case that led to changes in Microsoft Corp.'s Word software and may force the company to pay a $300 million award. Microsoft urged the justices in a one-hour hearing in Washington to overturn a jury verdict won by closely held I4i LP, which sued the larger company for patent infringement.

Security Firm Publishes Open Letter to Facebook

Security firm Sophos has published an open letter to Facebook about its security and privacy measures on the popular social networking site, and the message is clear: It's time for some changes in order to better protect users. In its Naked Security blog, Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluley tells Facebook that protecting users is easily accomplished with three changes.

Match.com Says It Will Check National Sex Offender Registry

Match.com says it will begin cross-referencing members against the National Sex Offender Registry after a lawsuit filed in California, in which a woman claims she was raped by a convicted offender she met on the dating website. Mandy Ginsberg, president of Match.com, U.S., said in a statement that "improved technology and an improved database now enables a sufficient degree of accuracy to move forward" with an initiative it had previously discounted because of the background checks' "historical unreliability."

RIM May Outbid Google for Nortel Patents

Research In Motion Ltd. is considering a bid for Nortel Networks Corp.’s portfolio of wireless technology patents that would top Google Inc.’s $900 million offer, two people familiar with the plans said. RIM, maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, is weighing an offer that would keep Google from gaining control of about 6,000 Nortel patents and patent applications, said the people, who couldn’t be identified because the plans aren’t public.

Iranian Official Blames Siemens for Cyber Attack

An Iranian military commander has accused German engineering company Siemens of helping the United States and Israel launch a cyber attack on its nuclear facilities, Kayhan daily reported. Gholamreza Jalali, head of Iran's civilian defense, said the Stuxnet virus aimed at Iran's atomic program was the work of its two biggest foes and that the German company must take some of the blame.

UAE to Limit Data Security for BlackBerry Users

The United Arab Emirates plans to limit the number of BlackBerry users who can make use of the smartphones' highest level of data security. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in an emailed statement that only qualifying companies with 20 or more BlackBerry users will have access to the Blackberry Enterprise Server, a system that ships data to company servers abroad.

South Korean Search Engines File Complaint Against Google

The two biggest Internet search engines in South Korea filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission, charging that Google was blocking the installation of their services on smartphones preloaded with Google’s Android operating system. The NHN Corporation, which owns Naver, the largest search portal, and Daum, the No. 2 portal, asked South Korea’s trade commission to investigate whether Google had improperly maneuvered to have Android preinstalled on most smartphones being sold in the country.

Appointment of EU Copyright Chief Raises Questions

The appointment of a former record industry representative as EU copyright chief has raised questions in Brussels about plans to overhaul the bloc's copyright rules, which musicians, companies, and EU Parliamentarians have all said need fundamentally changing. Maria Martin-Prat, formerly director of legal affairs and deputy legal counsel of the record company trade association International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, will take over as head of the copyright unit in the European Commission's internal market department on April 16.

U.S. Disables Botnet Via Seizures, DOJ Says

By seizing servers and domain names and getting permission to remotely turn off malware on compromised PCs, U.S. officials have disabled a botnet that steals data from infected computers. The legal actions are part of the "most complete and comprehensive enforcement action ever taken by U.S. authorities to disable an international botnet," according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Free Speech Fears Raised About Russia's Hacker Attacks

Russian hacker attacks on the country's biggest blog site and a spy agency's warning to Gmail and Skype have raised fears that authorities are tightening their grip on dissent in a China-like assault on free speech. With an eye on Arab unrest that has toppled two North African leaders and spurred Western military intervention in Libya, Moscow is keen to defuse potential turmoil ahead of a December parliamentary election and a 2012 presidential vote.

Officials Report Progress in Probe of Semiconductor Theft

Law enforcement officials are reporting significant progress in cracking a massive semiconductor-theft case, which involved an armed robbery at a Silicon Valley company of chips officials value at $37 million. Thirteen to 15 masked thieves took part in the Feb. 27 robbery at Unigen Corp., a closely held company with businesses that include manufacturing electronics products for other companies.

Texas Notifies Residents About Exposed Data on Server

The Texas Comptroller's office started sending notification letters to residents whose names were inadvertently placed on an agency server that was open to the public. The records of about 3.5 million Texans were placed on the public server. Disclosed data included names and mailing addresses, Social Security numbers, and to varying degrees, information like dates of birth or driver's license numbers.

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.