Authors Guild Argues Against Google Books at Appeals Court

Google Inc.'s massive effort to scan millions of books for a digital library violates copyright law, illegally depriving authors of licensing fees, royalties and sales, a lawyer for a group of authors told a U.S. appeals court. Paul Smith, who represents the Authors Guild and several individual writers, told a three-judge panel at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that the Google Books project was a "quintessentially commercial" infringement designed to protect the company's "crown jewel" search engine.

House Subcommittee Delays Net Neutrality Hearing

A key House panel has delayed a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to write new Internet traffic rules aimed at assuring "net neutrality." The U.S. House of Representatives Communications and Technology subcommittee had been expected on Dec. 10 to quiz all five FCC commissioners about so-called net neutrality rules that would regulate the how Internet service providers (ISPs) manage web traffic that travels through their networks.

Apple iPod Antitrust Trial Opens

The opening arguments in the latest antitrust trial involving Apple were a vivid reminder of a vastly different time for the tech industry -- when digital music and the iPod were still new things and Apple was an underdog. In the class-action lawsuit, Apple is accused of violating antitrust law nearly a decade ago by blocking songs sold by competitors from playing on the iPod in order to protect Apple’s grip on digital music.

Twitter Simplifies Ways for Users to Report Harassment

Twitter has simplified the way that users can report abusive behavior online and has enabled observers to report coordinated harassment attacks against an individual user. Overall, the changes give users more options to describe the kinds of harassment they're seeing online -- name-calling, violent threats, etc. -- and have been designed to look more like the rest of the site to make the process feel more intuitive.

Iranian Hackers Reportedly Infiltrate Infrastructure Firms

Iranian hackers have infiltrated some of the world's top energy, transport and infrastructure companies over the past two years in a campaign that could allow them to eventually cause physical damage, according to U.S. cyber security firm Cylance. Aerospace firms, airports and airlines, universities, energy firms, hospitals, and telecommunications operators based in the United States, Israel, China, Saudi Arabia, India, Germany, France, England have been hit by the campaign, the research firm said, without naming individual companies.

U.S. Looking at North Korea in Sony Attack

U.S. investigators are considering multiple suspects, including North Korea, in their investigation into a cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment that knocked out the company's computer systems for over a week, according to a U.S. national security official with knowledge of the investigation. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters that the forensic investigation is in its early stages, and that no clear suspects have emerged.

FBI Warns Businesses About Sony-Related Hacking

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned U.S. businesses that hackers have used malicious software to launch destructive attacks in the United States, following a devastating cyber attack last week at Sony Pictures Entertainment. The five-page, confidential "flash" warning issued to businesses provided some technical details about the malicious software that was used in the attack, though it did not name the victim.

Net Neutrality Could Increase Consumer Fees, Study Says

A new study suggests that strong controls on Internet providers might force Americans to pay more for their Internet. Internet service providers would be subject to more than $15 billion a year in new fees if the Federal Communications Commission decides to start regulating them with Title II of the Communications Act -- the same tool the agency uses to police telephone service, according to Hal Singer and Robert Litan, two economists who support less-aggressive net neutrality rules.

New Zealand Court Lets Kim Dotcom Stay Out of Jail

A New Zealand court ruled that Kim Dotcom wasn’t at risk of fleeing the country as lawyers for the U.S. government had argued, and that he would therefore be allowed to remain out of jail. The lawyers had wanted the Internet entrepreneur -- wanted by the U.S. on charges related to online piracy -- returned to prison on the grounds he’d become a flight risk after allegedly stockpiling cash secretly.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Threats on Facebook

The Supreme Court waded into the question of when a social-media posting rises to the level of a criminal threat, in a case examining a Pennsylvania man’s conviction following comments he made to his estranged wife and others on Facebook. The closely watched case pits law-enforcement and victims’ rights groups against free-speech advocates, and it could affect how freely individuals can speak online and in traditional forums.

Healthcare Companies Targeted by Cyber Espionage Ring

Security researchers say they have uncovered a cyber espionage ring focused on stealing corporate secrets for the purpose of gaming the stock market, in an operation that has compromised sensitive data about dozens of publicly held companies. Cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc., which disclosed the operation, said that since the middle of last year, the group has attacked email accounts at more than 100 firms, most of them pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.

Bing, Yahoo Address 'Right to be Forgotten' in Europe

Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo have started to scrub search results for Europeans who want to exercise their “right to be forgotten,” company officials said. So far, all eyes have been on Google, which has led the way in implementing a European court decision in May that said people had the right to ask for information about them to be removed from search results.

Subscribe

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.