Google Wants to Unify Privacy Policy Across Services

Google Inc. plans to unify its privacy policy and terms of service across its online offerings, including its flagship search, Gmail and Google+ products, to make them easier to use, but the move could attract greater scrutiny from antitrust regulators. In an online blog post, Google said it expects to roll out the revised guidelines in over a month's time, consolidating more than 60 separate privacy policies it uses for its online products. Read the article: Reuters

Dutch Court Dismisses Copyright Appeal Against Samsung

Apple again lost a bid to have Samsung tablet computers banned in the Netherlands in a Dutch appeals case over infringing copyrights of its iPad tablet computer. Apple, which has been locked in legal battles with Samsung in almost a dozen countries involving smartphones and tablets, had appealed a Dutch ruling, which said last year Galaxy Tab 10.1 models were not a copy of Apple's iPad.

Crisis Said Needed to Prompt Cyberattack Coordination

U.S. intelligence agencies have unique capabilities that can help protect American companies from cyber espionage and attack, but it will probably take a crisis to change laws to allow that type of cooperation, a former spy chief said. "Until we have a banking collapse or electric power goes off in the middle of a snowstorm for eight weeks, or something of that magnitude, we're likely just to talk about it and not do much," Mike McConnell, former director of national intelligence, said.

Judge Orders Woman to Decrypt Her Hard Drive

American citizens can be ordered to decrypt their PGP-scrambled hard drives for police to peruse for incriminating files, a federal judge in Colorado ruled in what could become a precedent-setting case. Judge Robert Blackburn ordered a Peyton, Colo., woman to decrypt the hard drive of a Toshiba laptop computer no later than February 21 -- or face the consequences including contempt of court.

Hackers Attack Sen. Grassley's Twitter Account

Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Twitter account was hacked by a person claiming to be in Osage and affiliated with the Internet hacker group Anonymous. The thrust of the hacking, besides having a little fun at the senator’s public expense, seems to be urging Iowans not to support several bills, notably the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP ACT, two controversial proposals on Internet regulation.

Poland Plans to Sign Controversial Copyright Treaty

Polish officials vowed to stick to plans to sign an international copyright treaty that has outraged Internet activists and prompted an attack on government websites. A government minister, Michal Boni, defended the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, and said that signing the international treaty would not hamper Internet usage and that Poland will sign it as planned.

Founder of Megaupload Denies Piracy Charges

The founder of file-sharing website Megaupload was ordered to be held in custody by a New Zealand court, as he denied charges of Internet piracy and money laundering and said authorities were trying to portray the blackest picture of him. Prosecutor Anne Toohey argued at a bail hearing that Kim Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz, was a flight risk "at the extreme end of the scale" because it was believed he had access to funds, had multiple identities and had a history of fleeing criminal charges.

Consumer Group Wants EU to Block Google-Motorola Merger

A consumer group penned a letter to European regulators asking them to block the pending merger of Google and Motorola Mobility on anticompetitive grounds. "The Internet is too important to allow an unregulated monopolist to dominate it," John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project, wrote to the EU's competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia.

Palm CEO Told Jobs No-Poaching Pact 'Likely Illegal'

In the summer of 2007, Apple's Steve Jobs received a note from then-Palm chief executive Ed Colligan, according to correspondence revealed in a lawsuit over employee poaching. "Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other's employees, regardless of the individual's desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal," Colligan wrote to the now-deceased Apple chief.

File-Storage Services Worry After Megaupload's Bust

If Megaupload is guilty, then who among its brethren is innocent? Many companies have crowded into the online storage market recently, most of them aimed at consumers and businesses that want convenient ways to get big data files out of their teeming in-boxes, off their devices and into the cloud -- perhaps so that friends or co-workers can download them.

German Court Rules Against Samsung in Apple Case

A German court ruled against Samsung Electronics Co in a patent suit versus Apple, another leg in a long legal battle as the two technology giants jostle for top spot in the booming smartphone and tablet markets. Samsung, which passed Apple in the third quarter as the world's top maker of smartphones, is locked in a bruising patent tussle with the U.S. firm in some 10 countries from the United States to Australia, France and Japan.

U.S. Officials Probe Threats Against DOJ, FBI Websites

Federal authorities said they were investigating disruptions to the Justice Department website and threats to the site maintained by the FBI believed to be prompted by the arrests of four suspects as part of a far-reaching Internet piracy investigation. Federal authorities said they were investigating disruptions to the Justice Department website and threats to the site maintained by the FBI believed to be prompted by the arrests of four suspects as part of a far-reaching Internet piracy investigation.

Senate, House Put Brakes on Anti-Piracy Bills

Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, called off a scheduled vote on the online antipiracy bill that had rallied the World Wide Web and rocked Capitol Hill, and House leaders took steps to slow legislation as well. In the House, Representative Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called off plans to formally draft his version of the antipiracy bill next month.

Apple Files Another Suit Against Samsung in Germany

Apple Inc. filed another suit in Germany, seeking to ban sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphones, including the Galaxy S Plus and the S II, extending the global legal dispute between the two companies. The action targeting 10 smartphone models was filed in the Dusseldorf Regional Court and is based on Apple’s design rights, court spokesman Peter Schuetz said.

FBI Shuts Down One of Largest File-Sharing Sites

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws -- a day after a 24-hour blackout of popular websites such as Wikipedia drew national attention to the issue. The indictment is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States, according to the FBI.

China Expands Program Identifying Microblog Operators

China will expand nationwide a trial program that requires users of the country’s wildly popular microblog services to disclose their identities to the government in order to post comments online, the government’s top Internet regulator said. The official, Wang Chen, said at a news conference that registration trials in five major eastern Chinese cities would continue until wrinkles were worked out.

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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.