Legal »
US State Department takes down 3D-printed gun plan, but not before it was downloaded 100,000 times
After revealing the world’s first 3D-printed gun, it was only a matter of time before the authorities got involved. Now the files that Defense Distributed has been hosting on its site for anyone to download and print out have been taken down due to a request by the US State [...]
Read More »Indian government now has a Central Monitoring System to monitor calls, texts, emails, and more
We may be paranoid about the government watching us closely here in the States and elsewhere in the world, but we certainly don’t have it as bad as India. A brand new monitoring system launched in India that will allow government officials to keep an eye on public network channels. [...]
Read More »US Senate approves bill for nationwide online sales tax
The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 has been passed by the US Senate. The bill gives states the authority to collect sales tax from online sellers — meaning sales-free online purchases could soon come to an end.
While the bill only applies to online businesses that make at least $1 [...]
Read More »FBI wants backdoor wiretapping access to Google, Facebook, and other popular websites
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act in the United State allows law enforcement to wiretap internet communications, like VoIP (typically a warrant is needed for such wiretaps but there are so many “national security” loopholes nowadays, it is hard to tell). But the law only applies to internet service [...]
Read More »The Pirate Bay has moved once again, this time to the Caribbean
The Pirate Bay of the Caribbean, anyone? After just recently finding a new home in Iceland, the infamous TPB is on the move yet again.
In the on-going struggle between TPB and, well, the world, Swedish prosecutors have filed a motion at the District Court of Stockholm to have two [...]
Read More »Buyer on eBay gets sued by seller for leaving negative feedback regarding $1.44 postage fee
Be careful when you leave negative feedback on an eBay seller — it can get you sued.
Amy Nicholls, who purchased a microscope light from Med Express for $175, paid $12 for shipping. But then she found out that she also had to pay an extra $1.44 in postage due. [...]
Read More »Chinese website allows users to install pirated iOS apps without the need for jailbreaking
A Chinese website called 7659 is bypassing Apple’s App Store and allowing its users to install pirated apps for free, without the need for jailbreaking. How are they doing this? It’s actually kind of clever.
The website is using Apple’s bulk enterprise licensing to copy and distribute pirated paid apps [...]
Read More »Google announces ‘Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge’, promises not to sue users and developers of open-source software unless sued first
In the midst of ongoing legal battles in the tech industry, there has arisen what some may consider to be a beacon of hope: ‘Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge’. Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge (OPN) is an initiative recently announced by Google that has Google promising “we pledge not to sue any [...]
Read More »Congress has restricted US government from purchasing Chinese tech, due to “cyber-espionage or sabotage risks”
For better or for worse, Chinese technology companies have been having a hard time making inroads in North America. While lack of innovation can be cited for their failure in the consumer market, fear of Chinese cyber-espionage can be blamed for their inability to enter the commercial and governmental markets. [...]
Read More »Lawmakers seek to ban Google Glass while driving
Google’s Glass project isn’t even officially out yet and it’s already starting to gain a healthy amount of opposition. The device was recently banned from a Seattle bar, and while that one might have been more publicity stunt than actual rule, this one’s an actual bill.
Lawmakers are in West [...]
Read More »FAA might start allowing use of tablets and e-readers during takeoff and landing
We might not have to deal with those pesky warnings about turning off our tablets or e-readers on flights much longer. The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States may announce a more “lenient” policy on electronics usage later this year, with it taking effect sometime in early 2014.
The [...]
Read More »Microsoft is being investigated for allegedly bribing officials in China, Romania, and Italy
The United States has legal elbow room for American companies to pay “grease the wheel” type bribes to government officials in other countries. In other words, it is OK for American companies to pay bribes if a) bribes are a part of the culture in the country and b) if [...]
Read More »Apple is sued by THX for patented speaker tech in iMac, iPhone, and iPad
THX, the sound design company that was originally founded as a division for George Lucas’ Lucasfilm, has filed suit against Apple for allegedly infringing on one of their patents, specifically for ”Narrow profile speaker configurations and systems.”
U.S. Patent No. 7,433,483 is described as a method to enhance sound quality [...]
Read More »30% of Americans text while driving, are either very good at multi-tasking or have a death wish
How many dotTechies text while driving? It appears that common sense regarding texting while driving is not as common as we would hope. According to a study by the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a lot of people text while driving.
The results, based on a survey conducted by [...]
Read More »US Congress gets off its fat ass, introduces bill to make cellphone unlocking legal
There has been a lot of unrest regarding cellphone unlocking since the Librarian of Congress declared it illegal to unlock cellphones in the United States without the explicit permission of carriers. First, over 100,000 Americans signed an online petition asking the White House to legalize unlocking of cellphones. Then the [...]
Read More »$732m Microsoft fine is because Google reported Microsoft to EU
Remember that $732 million fine Microsoft was hit with by the EU because Microsoft did not include browser ballot box in Windows 7 SP1? Yeah, well, as it turns out it the EU did not find out about the “error” by mistake. They had help. From Google.
According to a [...]
Read More »Nokia allies with Apple in fight for sales ban of Samsung products in USA
Apple has found an unlikely ally as they seek for a sales ban on Samsung products that infringe on their patents. Nokia has filed an amicus brief on behalf of Apple in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. While the filing is sealed, Nokia isn’t shy about [...]
Read More »Microsoft is fined $732 million by EU for removing browser ballot box in Windows 7 SP1
Microsoft has just been fined 561 million euros (approximately $732 million) for breaking an antitrust agreement made in 2009.
In that agreement, Microsoft complied with the EU’s request to include a “browser ballot box” in every new copy of Windows which allows people to select their default browser for Windows. [...]
Read More »White House and F.C.C. want unlocking cellphones to be legal in the US, throw the ball in Congress’s court
Remember that petition that asked the White House to make unlocking cellphones legal? You know, the one that more than 100,000 Americans signed? The White House has issued their official response — they not only agree, they’re not alone.
The official response from the White House states that they agree [...]
Read More »Japan’s Copyright Law just got serious: 27 arrested during 3-day nationwide anti-piracy crackdown
3-day intensive raids in 124 location in all 47 regions of Japan? Yup, that’s Japan’s government showing they mean business when it comes to piracy.
Last year in June, an amendment to Japan’s Copyright Law was approved by the government. The new legislation would impose criminal penalties on not only [...]
Read More »Judge reduces damages awarded to Apple in Apple vs Samsung trial from $1.05 billion to $598 million, plus orders a new trial
Apple is having what can best be described as a crappy week. First they are forced to pay $368 million to a patent troll. Then they are taunted by Samsung vis-a-vis Samsung’s lawyers hiring the UK judge that ruled against Apple. Now they are at the receiving end of judge [...]
Read More »Samsung hires UK judge who ruled in Samsung’s favor against Apple
Last year Samsung brought preemptive legal war on Apple in the UK, trying to win an English ruling that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t infringe on Apple’s iPad. Samsung won that battle and Apple was forced to issue a public apology to Samsung. In typical corporate fashion, Apple issues a [...]
Read More »Apple loses fight against patent troll, must pay $368 million to VirnetX for infringing on patents with FaceTime
VirnetX, which calls itself a “patent holding company” (aka patent troll), sued a bunch of major corporations back in 2010 over infringement on VirnetX’s VPN-related patents. Microsoft settled with VirnetX in 2010 for $200 million. The fight between VirnetX and Cisco, Avaya, and Siemens, is still ongoing with trials schedule [...]
Read More »Over 100,000 Americans sign petition asking White House to make unlocking cell phones legal
As dotTech pointed out last month, it is now illegal to unlock your cell phone in the United States without approval of your carrier. This decision was made by the Librarian of Congress vis-a-vis interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. As expected, the absurdity of the ruling has outraged [...]
Read More »The Pirate Bay party leaves Sweden for Norway and Spain due to lawsuit threat
The Swedish Pirate Bay political party, who provides hosting for The Pirate Bay, has been threatened with lawsuits by Sweden’s Right Alliance and given until today to cut ties with TPB.
But it sounds like TPB was way ahead of them. Reports say that The Pirate Bay shifted to Norway [...]
Read More »Music industry in New Zealand has spent $250,000 to catch illegal music downloaders. Too bad they have received only $616.57 for the effort.
In September 2011 New Zealand passed new laws that allows intellectual property owners (e.g, the music or movie industry) to send notices to New Zealand residents and citizens when suspected of illegal downloading or uploading of copyrighted content. After a person has received a third notice, the intellectual property owner [...]
Read More »60% of top 1000 YouTube videos are blocked in Germany due to aggressive copyright laws, according to study
A lot of countries get criticized for censoring the web, such as countries in Asia and the Middle East. And rightly so — censorship is not the answer for offensive or disliked content, education is. (I’m not even going to comment on using censors for political purposes.) However, not very [...]
Read More »Anti-piracy group pirates The Pirate Bay’s website, The Pirate Bay says they are “outraged” and will sue
An anti-piracy group from Finland has put up their own website, copying the exact design and layout of the infamous The Pirate Bay.
The new site is called “Piraattilahti,” which you can probably guess is “the pirate bay” in Finnish and is run by the Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre [...]
Read More »Another attack on free speech: US legislator introduces bill to ban photoshopping of head on porn star’s body
First of all, the above image is quite disturbing — I apologize but it is necessary to convey the gravity of this story. Georgia State Representative Earnest Smith has introduced a bill to ban the practice of imposing the facial image of a person onto an obscene depiction (in the [...]
Read More »Apple loses iPhone trademark in Brazil to Android phone maker
The Brazil Institute of Industrial Property has made it official: Apple does not hold exclusive rights to the “iPhone” name in Brazil. The decision favors Android phone manufacturer Gradiente Electronica, as they can now freely use the name which they first registered for back in 2000 — way before Apple [...]
Read More »SOPA/PIPA-like CISPA bill is coming back from the dead to kill your digital privacy [USA]
If you thought that bills like SOPA, PIPA, and CISPA were all behind us and the Internet was safe from prying eyes, I’ve got bad news for you — one of them is coming back. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger and Rep. Mike Rogers of the USA are planning on re-introducing CISPA [...]
Read More »Facebook is being sued because of the ‘Like’ button
After Facebook popularized the use of the “Like” button, countless other versions of the Like button have appeared in other sites. You’d think that Facebook invented it, right? Apparently not. And the company holding the patent for such a feature is suing.
Rembrandt Social Media, a patent-holding company, is filing [...]
Read More »Apple CEO Tim Cook never wanted to sue Samsung, but Steve Jobs insisted
Finally. I was beginning to feel like something was wrong with the tech world, due to the lack of Apple versus Samsung news. Turns out the war between the two tech juggernauts wouldn’t even be a thing today if Tim Cook had his way. A report from Reuters says that [...]
Read More »In the wake of (alleged) cyberwarfare by China, US president now has the power to order (preemptive) cyber attacks
According to a report by The New York Times, a secret White House legal review has granted the president of the United States the legal authority to order preemptive cyber attacks against a target (which can be a country), when there is credible evidence of a pending attack.
Officials [...]
Read More »Japan’s most notorious hacker gets a unique wanted poster and a bounty of 3 million yen
A hacker has been toying with the police and the general public in Japan since last summer. The hacker has remote controlled innocent people’s computers to send killing spree threats and a bomb threat to Nintendo headquarters. This was followed by cryptic messages involving anime characters and even a microSD [...]
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