Samsung to Sell Modified Tablet in Germany

Samsung Electronics Co. said it will release a modified version of its Galaxy tablet computer in Germany, two months after a court barred the company from selling the devices in Europe's biggest economy on the grounds it copied Apple Inc.'s iPad. The decision to release a modified version of the Galaxy reflects the South Korean electronics giant's eagerness to begin selling its tablet device in Germany ahead of the year-end shopping season, especially given the apparent weakness of the global economic recovery.

Senator Wants Hearing on Facebook Privacy

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said he would hold a hearing to look into reports that Facebook tracks its users on the Web after they log out. "No company should track customers without their knowledge or consent, especially a company with 800 million users and a trove of unique personal data on its users," Rockefeller said in a statement.

Porn Company Sues ICANN Over .xxx Domain

One of the largest purveyors of pornography on the Web has filed suit to block or overhaul the new dot-xxx suffix on Internet addresses, accusing organizations that assign online addresses of running a monopoly that creates unnecessary costs. The lawsuit was filed by Luxembourg-based Manwin Licensing International SARL, which owns a network of websites including YouPorn.com and manages Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s brand on the Web, along with adult filmmaker Digital Playground Inc.

Rambus Loses $4 Billion Antitrust Lawsuit

Rambus Inc lost a $4 billion antitrust lawsuit against Micron Technology Inc and Hynix Semiconductor Inc, erasing more than half of the chipmaker's value as investors abandoned its stock. Rambus attorneys argued that South Korea's Hynix and Idaho-based Micron colluded to fix prices of memory chips used in personal computers and to prevent Rambus technology from becoming widely used. Read the article: Reuters

EU Launches Antitrust Probe of Samsung, Apple

European Union regulators started an antitrust probe into Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.’s use of smartphone patents on their “own initiative” without waiting for a competitor to formally raise the issue. Per Hellstroem, the head of the European Commission’s antitrust unit for consumer electronics, said in London that the EU’s “preliminary investigation” is trying to determine the underlying facts about phone makers’ use of patents.

Debate Over Online Piracy Act Aired at Hearing

The fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley over proposed anti-piracy legislation is heating up on Capitol Hill. At a congressional hearing, Michael O'Leary, senior executive vice president for the Motion Picture Assn. of America, Hollywood's chief lobbying arm, urged lawmakers to move swiftly to pass a bill that would make it easier to shut down rogue websites that traffic in pirated movies and TV shows.

Facebook Responds to Attack of Porn, Spam

Facebook users report that for the social networking site has been infested with a mix of hardcore pornographic images, doctored pictures of celebrities in sexual situations, photos of extreme violence, and yes, a picture of a beaten dog. Now, Facebook says it has identified the problem -- but not the culprit. In a statement, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes acknowledged that the site was the target of a coordinated spam attack and explained how it went down.

Bank Ridiculed on Fake Google+ Page

A Google+ page that appeared to be the online home of Bank of America has for the past seven days advertised the company's "new" slogan: "We took your bailout money and your mortgage rates are going up." The page was a fraud, of course -- but a fraud the giant bank has allowed to exist for the past week, since Google unveiled pages for businesses and products on its new social network. How such a thing could slip past the attention of the country's second biggest bank by assets is anyone's guess, said Chester Wisniewski, a senior security adviser for security firm Sophos Labs.

Top Internet Companies Oppose Online Piracy Bill

Several leading Internet companies are voicing strong concerns with House and Senate legislation to curb online piracy, saying the measures would impose new burdens that could stifle their industry's innovation and growth. AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga Game Network wrote the top leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees about the bills introduced by the chairmen of both panels.

U.S. Urges China to Address Security, Privacy

U.S. officials urged China to address network-security and privacy concerns of Western companies, saying the rise of network-based services conflicts with Chinese restrictions and its treatment of user data. Global companies hope to include China and other countries as they add to their so-called "cloud-computing" services, which store and share documents and other data on networks of remote computer servers.

Senators Want Probe of Software's Links to Syria

Three U.S. senators are asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to investigate recent reports that Internet-monitoring gear made by two California-based companies has found its way to Syria. In a letter, the senators ask Clinton to investigate reports that devices made by NetApp and Blue Coat Systems were sold to Syria in a possible violation of U.S. law.

Groups Ask Supreme Court to Block Decency Standards

Technology freedom groups from across the political spectrum urged the Supreme Court on to stop the Federal Communications Commission from enforcing decency standards. The libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, the Center for Democracy & Technology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the left-leaning Public Knowledge and TechFreedom lodged a friend-of-the-court brief with the high court in a case in which an appeals court has ruled the FCC’s decency regulations are “unconstitutionally vague” and produced a “chilling effect” on First Amendment speech.

  • Read the article: Wired

University Asks FBI to Probe Grade-Altering

A Twitter post from an undergraduate student at Santa Clara University has prompted the school to acknowledge that it asked the FBI to investigate how a few dozen grades were electronically altered. Mark Loiseau, 25, a senior electrical engineering student, received an unpleasant surprise this morning: three FBI agents showed up at his off-campus apartment wanting to have a friendly chat with him.

Google Withdraws Challenge to AT&T-T-Mobile Deal

Google Inc. withdrew its bid to intervene in the government’s lawsuit challenging AT&T Inc.’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA Inc., citing a new order on how confidential data will be handled in the case to protect business secrets. Google, in a filing in federal court in Washington, referred to an order signed by U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle that said a so-called non-party must be given notice when confidential material is submitted in the case.

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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.