The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said that those sites seized for trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods will now serve to help spread the government's message that "unfairly devalue America's contributions, compromise American jobs, and put consumers, families, and communities at risk."
Amazon.com Inc., responding to a trademark lawsuit by Apple Inc. over its use of the words “App Store,” said the term is generic and denied that the iPhone maker has exclusive rights to the phrase. Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, said it isn’t required to obtain a license or authorization to use “App Store” because the term is “unprotectable” and won’t be confused or unfairly compete with Apple’s App Store service, according to a filing in federal court in Oakland, California.
Sony acknowledged that the personal information of its PlayStation Network customers has been compromised. The company posted an update on its blog warning its more than 70 million customers that their personal information, including customer names, addresses, e-mail addresses, birthdays, PlayStation Network and Qriocity passwords, and user names, as well as online user handles, was obtained illegally by an "unauthorized person."
The main website for Ontario's courts is back online after being hacked by a group calling themselves “Turkish defacers.” The ministry of the attorney general temporarily pulled the plug on www.ontariocourts.ca following the electronic infiltration.
Like Apple and Google, Microsoft collects records of the physical locations of customers who use its mobile operating system. Windows Phone 7, supported by manufacturers including Dell, HTC, LG, Nokia, and Samsung, transmits to Microsoft a miniature data dump including a unique device ID, details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the phone's GPS-derived exact latitude and longitude.
A House committee that oversees privacy issues sent letters to six developers of mobile operating systems -- including Apple Inc. and Google Inc. -- seeking more information about whether they are tracking users' locations, as the scrutiny expands to the broader industry. In the version of the letter sent to Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked him to respond to questions such as: "What location data do devices running your operating system track, use, store, or share?" and "Why does the device track, use, store, or share that data?"
Google announced a program called the WebM Community Cross License initiative designed to dispel patent-related threats looming over freely usable video technology for the Web. Under the effort, members who join agree to license any WebM-related patents to each other, a move that offers mutual reassurance that the technology is royalty-free in practice as well as in Google's aspiration.
Apple Inc. was accused of invasion of privacy and computer fraud by two customers who claim in a lawsuit that the company is secretly recording movements of iPhone and iPad users. Vikram Ajjampur, an iPhone user in Florida, and William Devito, a New York iPad customer, filed a suit April 22 in federal court in Tampa, Florida, seeking a judge's order barring the alleged data collection.
Iran has been targeted by a second computer virus in a "cyber war" waged by its enemies, its commander of civil defense said. Gholamreza Jalali told the semi-official Mehr news agency that the new virus, called "Stars," was being investigated by experts.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion said Russia could help development of new technologies by finding a balance between state security and innovation. Co-chief executive Jim Balsillie said the Canadian company had "ambitious plans" in Russia and offered President Dmitry Medvedev -- an avid user of Apple's iPad -- a new Blackberry tablet at a meeting on developing new technology.
Sony Corp. was trying to determine whether users' credit card numbers or other personal information had been compromised as the outage of its global PlayStation Network entered a sixth day, PC World reported. The company confirmed that an "external intrusion" by hackers disrupted the service, affecting more than 75 million users worldwide who use it to play video games against friends online, stream movies and shop online.
China's Ministry of Culture will "hand down punishments" to 14 websites, including one run by Internet search provider Baidu Inc., for providing downloads of songs not approved or registered with the country's content regulators, in what appeared to be part of a renewed effort to block explicit and politically sensitive online content. The websites have provided download services for the music despite warnings not to do so, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing a ministry official.
It's unknown how often unsecured routers have brought legal trouble for subscribers. Besides the criminal investigations, the Internet is full of anecdotal accounts of people who've had to fight accusations of illegally downloading music or movies. Whether you're guilty or not, "you look like the suspect," said Orin Kerr, a professor at George Washington University Law School. Kerr said the issue is just one of many reasons to secure home routers.
Stopping trolls, which is the term used for those who abuse the privilege of the Web’s anonymous open mike, would mean choking off other critics, which obviously has undemocratic implications. After all, anonymity is a trusted tool of dissidents and whistle-blowers.
Samsung Electronics filed patent lawsuits against Apple over the U.S. firm's iPhone and iPad in a tit-for-tat case after Apple claimed Samsung's smartphones and tablets "slavishly" copied its products. Samsung's counter lawsuit, its first against its biggest client, comes days before it launches a new product and could jeopardize business ties between the two companies, as Apple relies on Samsung for component supplies such as chips and LCD displays.
Apple Inc.'s iPhone is collecting and storing location information even when location services are turned off, according to a test conducted by The Wall Street Journal. The location data appear to be collected using cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access points near a user's phone and don't appear to be transmitted back to Apple.
Akamai Technologies Inc. persuaded a U.S. appeals court to reconsider whether Limelight Networks Inc. infringed a patent over software that speeds delivery of Web videos. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in December Limelight didn't infringe the patent.
In a decision that could have consequences to many of Google's businesses, a jury has found the search giant responsible for infringing on the patents of a small Texas company, Bedrock Computer Technologies. Google has been ordered to pay penalties of $5 million for its use of a key piece of software code, and the decision could affect other companies as well.
A computer hacker from Georgia has pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft after authorities found him with more than 675,000 stolen credit card accounts on his home computers. Credit card companies have traced more than $36 million in fraudulent transactions to the accounts that were breached by 26-year-old Rogelio Hackett Jr. of Lithonia, Ga.
Website domain collector Virtual City Vision lost its appeal against Newport News, a women's clothing chain, when the 4th Circuit affirmed a ruling that Virtual's www.NewportNews.com website dilutes Newport News' trademark. The ruling ends a legal battle between the clothing store and Virtual City Vision that has lasted for more than a decade.
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