Legal »
The Caribbean island of Antigua is launching a government-run pirate (file sharing) website, to “punish” the US
You think Kim Dotcom and his Mega service should worry anti-piracy advocates? That is nothing. The government of Antigua, which is a small country in the Caribbean, is set to a launch a government-run pirate website. Yep, movies, music, TV shows, and software will all be available for download on [...]
Read More »US law allows ‘wire-tapping’ of people who use US-based cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud — even if you don’t live in the United States
European privacy expert Caspar Bowden is warning that the data of people who use US-based cloud services might be monitored by the American authorities. In other words, Dropbox, Apple’s iCloud, Google Drive, and Amazon’s Cloud Drive are all services that could be “wire-tapped” due to the American Foreign Intelligence Surveillance [...]
Read More »Apple gets trademark for the design and layout of its retail stores
When Apple tried to trademark their stores, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected their request twice on the grounds that the design was not “inherently distinctive.” The company fired back with a 122-page document filled with customer surveys and photos of the stores to argue their case. That seemed [...]
Read More »China is considering lifting their ban on video game consoles, which have been banned for 12 years
The Chinese government banned video game consoles back in 2000 due to fears that it might negatively affect the mental and physical development of the Chinese youth. Gamers in the country have had to get their gaming fix through PC gaming, mobile games, and the black market, where video game [...]
Read More »You can be fined 1 million dollars and be imprisoned for 10 years for unlocking your phone in the USA
If you don’t already know, unlocking your phone in the US without carrier permission has become officially illegal since January 26th. Section 1204 of Public Law 105-304 says that any person who violates the law willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain will be subject to [...]
Read More »Apple is the first major tech company to drop a supplier for use of child labor
Apple’s annual supplier audit, which is in its seventh year, has been released. According to the audit, underage workers were discovered in 11 factories, with 106 cases in total being investigated. However, one manufacturer in particular had excessive use of child labor and is getting the boot due. Guangdong Real [...]
Read More »Unlocking cell phones becomes illegal in the United States starting this Sunday
Here in the United States we have the ‘Digital Millennium Copyright Act’ (DMCA). The act is intended to help protect copyright owners against intellectual property theft. However, as we have seen over and over, DMCA is often misused or abused. And today we have yet another example of what is, [...]
Read More »Google protects user privacy and defies the government by asking for search warrants to access Gmail emails
To most Americans (and other countries that have laws to protect citizens from search and seizure without warrant), it may come as a surprise that a search warrant is not required for the American government to access private emails. This is due to the ‘Electronic Communications Privacy Act’ (ECPA), a [...]
Read More »North Korea is now letting tourists use cellphones, but there’s a catch
Being a visitor in North Korea has just become a little easier. Previously, if you managed to be allowed into the country’s very tight borders, you had to hand in your cellphone. A technician from Koryolink, which is the country’s only 3G carrier has revealed that tourists can now make [...]
Read More »Federal Trade Commission drops cases against Google, and Google promises changes to mitigate anti-competitive concerns
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has closed its investigation of Google’s potentially anti-competitive practices related to Google Search and other services. The verdict? Google’s services are now in the clear and considered good for users and competition. In other words, FTC did not find enough anti-competitive wrongdoing on [...]
Read More »Pakistan lifts Youtube ban for three minutes
When a blasphemous video of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) began circulating and inciting riots last year, Pakistan’s government decided to ban Youtube altogether. The government decided to lift the ban a few days ago, only to reinstate it after three minutes. Why, that’s not even enough time to watch Gangnam [...]
Read More »South Korea wants to block nudity and profanity on teenager phones
The South Korean government is taking censorship to the next level — for teenagers at least. In an attempt to prevent cyber-bullying, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has plans to install software on teenagers’ phones that will block swear words and “illegal and harmful information.”
The government also [...]
Read More »Apple has withdrawn patent claim against Galaxy S III mini in the US
Apple has seemingly mirrored Samsung’s recent actions of dropping patent claims in the EU by withdrawing a patent claim against them in the US — the device in question, the Samsung Galaxy S III mini.
Have Apple and Samsung suddenly started exchanging pleasantries in the form of dropping patent claims? [...]
Read More »American government extends warrantless wiretapping until 2017
Looks like warrantless wiretapping in the name of counter-terrorism in the US isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. After a Senate vote last Thursday that saw the bill passed by a vote of 73 to 23, it looks like the proverbial nail is in the coffin on this one.
President Obama [...]
Read More »U.S. ITC judge recommends import and sales ban on Samsung products
A U.S. International Trade Commission judge Thomas Pender is recommending sanctions against Samsung in light of his preliminary finding that the company infringed four of Apple’s patents.
The recommended sanctions include an import and sales ban on products found to infringe Apple patents and the posting of a bond for [...]
Read More »Apple copyright claims hit a new low [Comic]
![Apple copyright claims hit a new low [Comic]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/eating_an_apple-290x160.png)
Anyone that reads any technology related news knows about Apple’s vendetta against Android… about Apple waging war against everything Android vis a vis lawsuits and litigation. If you think Apple has already hit a low in their crusade against the little green robot, you would be wrong. It could get [...]
Read More »Real name registration may become mandatory for Internet users in China
Real names on Facebook? That’s nothing. What about your real name tied to every account you use on the Internet, anonymous or not? That’s what Internet users in China might have to deal with if this new policy becomes official. A draft decision proposing a new “identity management” policy has [...]
Read More »Samsung is suing Apple in South Korea over Notification Center
This one was just waiting to happen. Why? When Apple first introduced its “Notification Center” along with iOS 5, many longtime Android users noted that Apple outright copied Google’s implementation. Now that one of Google’s notification patents has been granted, it looks like Samsung is taking advantage of that opportunity.[...]
Read More »Apple is granted patent for design of original iPhone
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Apple a new patent to add to its steadily growing portfolio, and this time it’s an interesting one. This particular patent is for the design of the original iPhone that was released back in 2007, and arguably changed the mobile phone [...]
Read More »Another Apple patent is rejected by United States Patent and Trademark Office — this time it is “pinch-to-zoom”
Apple just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to patents, as another one of its most important patents has been rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is the second in recent months, following the company’s patent for the “rubber band” effect being temporarily [...]
Read More »German data protection agency orders Facebook to let people use fake names
Facebook doesn’t like fake accounts — they’ve even gone as far as deleting them to clean up the top social site. With that said, it’s not really a surprise that Facebook also requires users to use their real names on their accounts. Germany, however, has a law that gives people [...]
Read More »Samsung is dropping patent lawsuits against Apple in Europe
Samsung had injunction requests against Apple for patent infringement in the UK, France, Germany Italy and the Netherlands. The keyword here is ‘had’, as Samsung has announced that it is dropping some lawsuits against Apple in Europe. The key thing to note is ‘some’ because Samsung has not thrown in [...]
Read More »China strengthening the Great Firewall by blocking VPNs
When going on a trip to China, don’t expect to be able use sites like Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube — those sites are all blocked by the Chinese mainland’s so-called “Great Firewall,” which is designed to keep out content that may go against China’s policies. Foreigners and even residents, [...]
Read More »Instagram says it’s not planning to sell your photos
When Instagram recently made changes to its Terms of Service, they saw more than just a public outcry due to Instagram seemingly claiming ownership of photos uploaded to the service. People closed their accounts (or threatened to), cursed them, and basically announced that it was the death of Instagram with [...]
Read More »Apple is denied injunction against Samsung products
Even after winning a historic $1.05 billion patent and trademark verdict, Apple sought a court-ordered injunction against Samsung. If granted, we would have seen the infringing Samsung phones banned from the US market. Unfortunately for Apple, that won’t be happening anytime soon, if at all.
In post-trial motions, US District [...]
Read More »Pro-privacy bill is passed by US Senate Judiciary Committee
Location privacy is something that many in today’s connected world worry about, especially when it seems like every app you use wants information on your whereabouts. Many off these are perfectly understandable of course, such as mapping applications, but there are some that don’t need to be anywhere near your [...]
Read More »Apple is found guilty of infringing 3 patents, damages may be ‘substantial’
In an interesting turn of events, it seems that it is Apple now that finds themselves infringing on patents. A federal jury that deliberated on the issue for four hours has found Apple guilty of infringing three patents held by MobileMedia Ideas, a patent-licensing firm owned by MPEG-LA. Apple has [...]
Read More »US rejects UN telecoms treaty in fight to maintain an open Internet
The Verge reports that the US has chosen not to sign a proposed international telecommunications treaty amid fears that it could lead to the regulation of the Internet. The countries involved — which include Russia, China and Saudi Arabia, have argued that the US has unfair control over ICANN. The [...]
Read More »EU has voted for a unified patent system by 2014
The European Parliament has voted for a unified patent system that, if ratified, would take effect beginning 2014. Members have voted in favor of the new system in three separate votes but ratification is needed by at 13 states and must include France, Germany and the UK.
The new method [...]
Read More »South Korea declares war against Internet porn
Pornography is illegal in South Korea. Inevitably, savvy Internet-users find ways to go around governmental blocks, in this case to acquire or view said pornography. South Korea’s solution? Destroy all the porn in an all-out war!
The Associated Press reports that officials in South Korea have decided to outsource an [...]
Read More »The ‘Steve Jobs’ patent may be invalidated by United States Patent and Trademark Office
Rumor has it United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has preliminarily ruled Apple’s ‘Steve Jobs’ patent as invalid upon reexamination. You might be wondering, what in the world is a Steve Jobs patent?
Its actual name is US Patent #7,479,949 which lays claim over technology related to “[t]ouch screen [...]
Read More »Apple and Google are joining forces to buy $500 million Kodak patents
Back in July we reported Apple and Microsoft were teaming up against Google, Samsung, and other Android manufacturers to buy Kodak patents. Turns out that no longer holds true.
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple and Google are joining forces to put forth a bid to purchase Kodak’s imaging patent [...]
Read More »Google asks everyone to “support a free and open Internet”
By and large, the Internet is a decentralized system not owned or run by one single entity. At its most basic form, the Internet is a bunch of networks connected to each other with limited regulatory oversight. Governments can control access to the Internet, and in some cases even influence [...]
Read More »Another man is fined $1.5 million for sharing 7 movies online
What do you think is a fair amount to fine a person for illegally sharing copyrighted content? The MSRP (retail value) of the shared copyrighted content times the number of people who downloaded it? More? Less? Legally speaking, in the United States (and I’m quoting from Wikipedia, since I’m not [...]
Read More »Piracy charges are dropped after 9-year-old girl’s father pays 300 euros
Remember that 9-year-old-turned-pirate girl in Finland who’s home was raided and laptop was confiscated? Yeah, well, that saga has come to a close. The father of the girl, who is the one held responsible by Finland’s Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIPAC) because he owns the Internet connection the girl [...]
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