FTC Charges Myspace with Privacy Breach

Continuing its crackdown on privacy violations, the Federal Trade Commission charged Myspace with violating federal law by breaching its promise not to share users’ personal information, including their Web browsing habits, with advertising companies. Without admitting or denying the charge, the social media Internet site agreed to a tentative consent order that requires it to obey its stated privacy policies, to establish comprehensive privacy controls and procedures and to submit to audits of its actions every other year for 20 years.

Senator Wants FCC, DOJ to Probe Comcast on Net Neutrality

Senator Al Franken says Comcast may be violating Net neutrality rules by exempting its own video service from a usage cap on its broadband network. The Minnesota Democrat sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice asking the agencies to take a closer look at a new service Comcast announced in March that will stream Xfinity on-demand content to Microsoft Xbox consoles.

India Opens Antitrust Investigation of Google

India has launched an antitrust probe of Google Inc.'s online advertising business to investigate potential anticompetitive practices, government officials familiar with the matter say, marking the latest setback for the Internet company in an emerging market where it has lofty ambitions. The probe, which could take several months to complete, is initially focused on AdWords, Google's flagship advertising product and main source of revenue.

Jury Issues Mixed Verdict in Google-Oracle Android Case

A jury said Google Inc., the largest Web-search provider, infringed copyrights for Oracle Corp.’s technology in developing Android software running on more than 300 million mobile devices, while jurors couldn’t decide unanimously whether Google made “fair use” of the intellectual property. The decision came in the copyright phase of an eight-week intellectual-property trial that began April 16 and next will shift to Oracle’s claims of patent infringement.

FBI Seeks Tech Cooperation on Surveillance

The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance. In meetings with industry representatives, the White House, and U.S. senators, senior FBI officials argue the dramatic shift in communication from the telephone system to the Internet has made it far more difficult for agents to wiretap Americans suspected of illegal activities, CNET has learned.

Jurors Close to Verdict in Android Copyright Case

A judge urged jurors to resume deliberating Oracle Corp's copyright claims against Google over the Android mobile platform, after they indicated there was unanimous agreement on all but one of the questions they must decide. The judge had been prepared to allow the jury to deliver a partial verdict, but he changed his mind after one juror said others on the panel thought further deliberations might be useful.

Groups Urge Keeping Ads Off 'Rogue' Websites

Two advertising industry groups proposed measures to keep advertisers from appearing on "rogue" websites that feature pirated content or products. "Ads for iconic and trusted brands can lend inadvertent legitimacy to the illicit business models and can mislead consumers into believing that these 'rogue' websites are offering authentic products and complying with the law," Bob Liodice, president of the Association of National Advertisers, said in a statement.

Judge Orders Apple, Samsung to Drop Some Patents from Case

Apple and Samsung Electronics have until May 7 to further boil down the number of claims to be considered in the sweeping intellectual-property lawsuit concerning their smartphone and tablet products, which is now scheduled to go to trial July 30. Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the companies to pare down the case, in which Apple and Samsung are suing each other over patent infringement and other claims, so a jury can understand and fairly judge the issues in one trial.

Report Says Officials Concerned About Cyberattacks

A study commissioned by President Obama to assess the nation’s ability to respond to terrorist attacks and natural disasters has found that state and local officials have the most confidence in their public health and medical services but are the most concerned about their ability to respond to cyberattacks. The report, conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that state and local officials also felt unprepared to provide housing in their communities and to recover quickly from natural disasters.

Google Argues for Dismissal of E-Books Lawsuit

Google Inc, in a long-running legal dispute over its plans to create a digital library of books, argued in court that associations of authors and photographers should not be allowed to sue the company as a group. Manhattan federal judge Denny Chin did not make an immediate decision, but noted during oral arguments that "it would take forever" to resolve cases brought by individual authors and it "seems to make sense" to consider the lawsuits as a group.

German Court Orders Microsoft to Remove Xbox, Windows 7

A court in Mannheim ruled that Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility's patents and ordered Microsoft to remove its popular Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system software from the German market. However, Microsoft said that the ruling did not mean that its products would be taken off retailers' shelves because a U.S. district court in Seattle has granted Microsoft a preliminary injunction against Motorola to prevent the phone maker from enforcing any German court order.

Nokia Files Patent Complaints Against HTC, Viewsonic, RIM

Nokia said it filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against HTC and filed suits against HTC and Viewsonic in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. It also filed suit against HTC and BlackBerry maker RIM in Düsseldorf, Germany, and against all three companies in German regional courts in Mannheim and Munich. The actions involve 45 Nokia patents in total, the Finland-based phone maker said, on technology regarding dual-function antennas, power management for mobile devices and such software features as multitasking, navigation and mobile email.

Privacy Regulators in Europe May Reopen Google Street View Probe

Privacy regulators in Britain, Germany and France said that they may reopen or expand their investigations into Google’s illegal collection of Internet data for its Street View service following revelations that the programmer who designed the software had informed coworkers of its capabilities as early as 2007. Google’s disclosure in 2010 that it had illegally collected 600 gigabytes of personal data -- including e-mails, photos, Web histories and passwords -- from Wi-Fi routers around the world was first uncovered in Germany and sparked a series of inquiries by privacy regulators in Europe and around the world.

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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.