Microsoft Gets Court Order Against Scam-Related Domains

Microsoft has opened a front in its ongoing battle against Internet scammers, using the power of a U.S. court to deal a knockout blow to an emerging botnet and taking offline a provider of free Internet domains. Microsoft used the same technique that worked in its earlier takedowns of the Rustock and Waledac botnets, asking a U.S. court to order Verisign to shut down 21 Internet domains associated with the command-and-control servers that form the brains of the Kelihos botnet.

'Christopher Tansey' <ctansey@pegconsultant.com>

Council of Europe Plans to Create 'Charter' for Internet Users

The Council of Europe plans to establish an Internet user charter to guarantee the rights of consumers in an era of increasing government attempts to seize control of the Web, its deputy secretary general said. Internet activists say governments ranging from Egypt to Pakistan have been trying to control the Internet through tactics like filtering and blocking of content and surveillance, making the lives of users and rights campaigners difficult.

Lawmakers Want FTC to Probe Use of 'Supercookies'

Two leading lawmakers on privacy -- a Republican and Democrat -- have asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into MSN.com and Hulu.com's installation of cookies onto users' computers that cannot be deleted. In a letter, Representatives Joe Barton and Ed Markey asked FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz what plans the agency had to probe the use of the so-called supercookies.

Dutch Judge Sets Date for Ruling in Samsung-Apple Patent Case

A Dutch judge said he would rule by October 14 on Samsung's bid to ban the sale, distribution and import of Apple iPhones and iPads in the Netherlands, ahead of the next four separate patent cases due to run through to November 17 in The Hague. The two technology titans have been locked in an acrimonious global battle over smartphone and tablet patents since April.

Companies Still Struggle with Employees' Online Use

In the age of instant tweets and impulsive Facebook posts, some companies are still trying to figure out how they can limit what their employees say about work online without running afoul of the law. Confusion about what workers can or can't post has led to a surge of more than 100 complaints at the National Labor Relations Board -- most within the past year -- and created uncertainty for businesses about how far their social media policies can go.

EU Asked to Examine Microsoft-Skype Bundling

EU regulators now vetting Microsoft's bid to buy Skype should block any anti-competitive bundling of Microsoft's Windows software with the Internet phone service, a Skype rival said. Italian fixed-line and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephone provider Messagenet SpA also urged the European Commission to ensure that the companies supply data allowing competitors to provide products that will function with Skype's software.

Ninth Circuit Reverses Ruling in Anticybersquatting Case

The minds behind "virtual pets" cannot tweak what it means to register a domain name on the Internet, the 9th Circuit ruled, setting aside a $100,000 victory for the South Korean company in a long-running cybersquatting case. A federal judge had previously found that Edward Hise violated anti-cybersquatting law when, in 2006, he transferred ownership of a domain name, Gopets.com, which he had originally registered in his own name seven years earlier.

Two Companies Both Claim Victory in EU Keywords Case

Marks & Spencer Group and florist network Interflora both claimed victory following a European Union court ruling on whether companies can use rival’s trademarked terms to trigger advertisements on search engines. While Marks & Spencer and Interflora argued a ruling by the EU Court of Justice is in their favor, a U.K. national court will have to make the final decision on whether Marks & Spencer’s use of the Interflora trademarks “jeopardizes” the reputation of Interflora’s intellectual property.

Microsoft Seeks Justice Against Notorious Spammer

Microsoft is hoping that federal agents will bring to justice one of the world's most notorious spammers, known to the company only as Cosma2k. According to Microsoft, Cosma2k is the handle of the alleged ringleader of the Rustock botnet, which earlier this year was the purveyor of more e-mail spam than any other network in the world, sending as many as 30 billion messages a day at its peak.

Alcohol Companies Adopt Online Advertising Rules

Starting Sept. 30, spirits makers in the U.S. and Europe will be held to a new set of self-regulatory guidelines for advertising and marketing on social networking sites and other digital media designed to prevent marketing their products to kids. The new rules require restricting access to spirits makers’ official brand pages on social networking sites, like Facebook, to adults who are of legal drinking age.

U.S. Concerned About Japanese Defense Hackings

The United States expressed concern about recent cyber attacks on defense contractors in Japan, which build U.S.-designed missiles, warships and military aircraft, calling for the attacks to be taken seriously. Experts speculated that the cyber assaults announced this week, the first on Japan's defense industry, may have included the Stuxnet computer virus which has been described as a guided cyber missile which targets industrial control systems.

Schmidt Defends Google at Senate Antitrust Hearing

In Google’s most high-profile antitrust hearing to date, Eric E. Schmidt, the company’s chairman, testifed before a Senate panel about how Google produces its search results, and whether it favors its own businesses, thwarts competition and hurts consumers. Google puts consumers first, he said, even if that means that Web businesses are upset about their search engine rankings.

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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.