Judge Won't Order YouTube to Remove Anti-Muslim Film Trailer

A judge denied a request to order YouTube to remove an anti-Muslim film trailer that has ignited protests around the world as well as attacks on U.S. diplomatic posts including one that killed U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other American diplomats. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin rejected the emergency injunction from Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appeared in the low-budget anti-Muslim film, “Innocence of Muslims.”

Financial Center Warns Banks About Cyber Attacks

A financial services industry group warned U.S. banks, brokerages and insurers to be on heightened alert for cyber attacks after Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase experienced unexplained outages on their public websites. The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which is widely known as FS-ISAC, raised the cyber threat level to "high" from "elevated" in an advisory to members, citing "recent credible intelligence regarding the potential" for cyber attacks as its reason for the move.

Former Online Poker Executive Pleads Guilty

A former executive at online poker companies Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a scheme to conceal payments in order to skirt U.S. laws against Internet gambling. Nelson Burtnick, the former director of payment processing at Full Tilt, was one of 11 people charged last year as part of a government crackdown on illegal Internet gambling.

German Lawsuit Targets Google's Autocomplete Feature

The former first lady of Germany, Bettina Wulff, filed a lawsuit against Google in a Hamburg court afterGoogle’s autocomplete function would helpfully but perhaps slanderously suggest such search phrases as “Bettina Wulff prostitute” and “Bettina Wulff escort.” Her suit signals the latest effort to force the Internet giant to play the role of online referee, following close behind Google’s decision to block an inflammatory anti-Muslim video from YouTube in certain countries.

Amid Agreement, Europe May Drop E-Book Pricing Probe

The European Commission said that it was prepared to drop its investigation into the fixing of e-book prices by Apple and four European publishers after the companies agreed to let online retailers like Amazon sell e-books at a discount for two years. The commission’s proposed settlement agreement, which is now subject to peer review, would end a nine-month-old antitrust inquiry into Apple and the publishers -- Simon & Schuster, a division of CBS Corp.; HarperCollins, a unit of News Corp.; Hachette Livre, owned by the French publisher Lagardère; and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, of Germany.

FTC Expects Decision on Google Antitrust Suit Soon

The Federal Trade Commission intends to decide by the end of the year whether to bring legal action against Google for anticompetitive practices, Jon Leibowitz, the chairman of the commission, said in Washington. The F.T.C. has been investigating whether Google has thwarted competition in its search and advertising businesses by changing the way it ranks search results and how it determines search-related advertising rates.

Bug Prompts Germany to Warn Against Internet Explorer

The German government urged the public to temporarily stop using Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer following discovery of a yet-to-be repaired bug in the Web browser that the software maker said makes PCs vulnerable hacker attacks. It issued the warning as a researcher said he found evidence that suggests the hackers who exploited the flaw were seeking to attack defense contractors.

Lawmaker Wants Companies to Explain Cybersecurity Measures

Frustrated by congressional failure to pass a cybersecurity bill, a top lawmaker is sending letters to the chief executives of every Fortune 500 company, asking them to describe their company's handling of computer security. Companies won't be required legally to respond to the letters, but it shows how lawmakers continue to press companies to step up cybersecurity measures.

Eastern European Hackers Called More Sophisticated

A new report from a cyber security firm has concluded that Eastern European hackers are launching more sophisticated attacks on U.S. businesses than their Asian counterparts, in part because hackers in Russia and nearby countries work in a more nimble, mercenary fashion. The report from Tokyo-based Trend Micro Inc. compares two of the main sources of global computer attacks -- and finds distinct differences, notably that the Eastern European hackers are more often “hired guns’’ trying to steal money, while East Asian hackers tend to be part of larger organizations intent on swiping corporate or government secrets.

EU Preparing Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft

European Union regulators are preparing an antitrust complaint over Microsoft Corp.’s failure to comply with a settlement to give users a choice of web browsers, according to two people familiar with the matter. There’s no set timing for the European Commission to send the statement of objections, said the people who asked not to be identified because the complaint isn’t public.

Judge Won't Lift Ban on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung Electronics Co. lost its bid to persuade a federal judge in California to lift a preliminary ban on U.S. sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer imposed as part of a patent dispute with Apple Inc. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, issued the order temporarily blocking sales of the Tab 10.1 computer before a jury found Aug. 24 that Samsung infringed six of seven Apple patents and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

Judge Suspends Google E-Book Litigation

An appeals court judge suspended trial court litigation involving Google Inc and thousands of authors pending appeal by the search engine giant of an order granting the authors class-action status. A one-sentence order by a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge in New York said the Authors Guild, which sued Google seven years ago over the company's plans to create the world's largest digital books library, consented to the suspension.

Judge Denies Employer Access to Social-Network Posts

A federal judge in California has rejected Home Depot's attempt to gain broad access to Facebook, Twitter, and other social-network posts made by a former employee who sued the retailer two years ago. U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal ruled that the big box retailer had the rights only to "social-networking communications between plaintiff and any current or former Home Depot employees" that relate to her employment or the lawsuit.

Zynga Files Counterclaims in Copyright Case with EA

Zynga Inc. has countered a copyright-infringement lawsuit from Electronic Arts Inc. with its own allegations that EA sought a potentially illegal agreement to avoid poaching each others' employees. EA filed suit against Zynga last month, alleging that the San Francisco online social games developer had infringed copyrights protecting EA's "The Sims Social" game with Zynga's "The Ville."

Impact Unclear from 'Do Not Track' Browser Option

It could usher in a new era of online privacy. Or it might bowdlerize the Internet as we know it. Then again, it might do almost nothing at all. The item in question is Microsoft’s latest version of its Internet Explorer browser, scheduled to be available to consumers in late October, packaged with Windows 8. The browser comes with an option called “do not track.”

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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.