French "Three Strikes" Law Yields No Prosecutions

France's High Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Rights on the Internet (Hadopi) has prosecuted no one for illegal file sharing in the nine months since it began operating under a so-called "three strikes" copyright enforcement law. In that time, the authority has received over 18 million reports from rights holders of unauthorized file-sharing of copyright works, each one identifying the copyright work downloaded and the IP address alleged to have downloaded it, it announced.

Apple Ordered to Pay in Korea for Collecting Location Data

Apple Inc's Korean unit has paid compensation to a user of its popular iPhone after collecting location data without consent, lawyers and court officials said, the first payout by the company over these complaints. In May, Apple Korea was ordered by the court to pay 1 million won ($946) in compensation to Kim Hyung-suk, a lawyer, two officials at Changwon District Court said.

Proposal Would Limit Net Neutrality Rules

A proposal by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans to free up spectrum for mobile broadband use would remove Net neutrality rules on new spectrum auctions and would make it difficult for innovators to use unlicensed spectrum going forward, a digital rights group said. Public Knowledge blasted the draft of the Spectrum Innovation Act, released prior to a spectrum hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's communications subcommittee.

India Seeks Access to Google, Skype for Security

India has asked Google Inc., internet telephone company Skype Ltd. and other such companies to allow the country's security agencies to monitor their user services to guard against terrorism and other crimes, a minister said. In a clear sign that India isn't relaxing its push for access to encrypted communication services, junior Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Sachin Pilot said that "there are a whole list of companies that have been asked to give [access]... provide solutions."

EU Court Says eBay Could Face Trademark Liability

EBay may be held liable for trademark breaches on its auction site if it has knowledge of the infringing data, the European Union’s highest court said in a dispute involving the cosmetics maker L’Oréal. The Court of Justice  ruled that, as an operator of an online platform, eBay is liable if it “played an active role” that would “give it knowledge of or control over the data relating to the offers for sale.”

Apple's Lead Patent Attorney May Leave Company

Apple Inc's chief patent counsel will soon leave the company, at a time when the iPhone maker is fighting numerous legal battles around the world, according to sources familiar with the situation. Richard "Chip" Lutton Jr., who manages Apple's patent portfolio, recently hit his 10-year mark at the company and decided it was time to try something else, according to a source familiar with Lutton's thinking.

Samsung Says Apple's Lawyers Have Conflict of Interest

The legal fracas between gadget makers Apple and Samsung has reached a new level, with Samsung now vying to get some of Apple's legal team members kicked off the case. A 20-page motion filed by Samsung with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleges that some lawyers have a conflict of interest under the California Rule of Professional Conduct for having previously worked on Samsung's behalf in other legal matters.

Imported Tech Components Contain Malware, DHS Says

A Homeland Security official confirmed that tech components imported from overseas, many of which end up in some of the most popular American gadgets, are often infected with malicious software. "This is one of the most complicated and difficult challenges that we have," Greg Schaffer, acting deputy undersecretary at DHS' National Protection and Programs Directorate, said during a hearing.

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Hackers Publish Files with Military E-mail Addresses

A group of hackers published online files that it says contains a list of roughly 90,000 military email addresses and passwords belonging to a prominent defense and homeland security consultant for the U.S. government, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. AntiSec –- a band of hackers reportedly made up of members from groups named Anonymous and the disbanded LulzSec –- posted the information to the website PirateBay.org.

Apple Files Another Patent Complaint Against HTC

Apple Inc. filed a second patent-infringement complaint against HTC Corp. at the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking to block imports of "personal electronic devices" by the Taiwanese phonemaker. The complaint is the second lodged by Apple against HTC in the past 16 months and comes a week after the filing of a patent case against Samsung Electronics Co.

U.S., Canadian Judges Approve Sale of Nortel Patents

Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Research in Motion Ltd and three other leading tech companies received court approval to buy wireless patents from the bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp for $4.5 billion. Judges in the United States and Canada approved the sale of 6,000 patents and applications, which fetched three times what some analysts expected from the four-day auction in June.

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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.