Patents
Samsung, Sharp to End Patent Litigations Over LCDs (Update1)
Samsung Electronics Co. and Sharp Corp. agreed to end all patent-infringement litigation against each other and cross-license technology related to liquid- crystal displays. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
The Company Tech Loves to Hate
With the most patent-infringement cases against tech giants, Acacia Research is often called a "patent troll." Inventors hail it as a saviorBusinessWeek.com --
Tech Giants’ New Way to Thwart Patent Suits
Frustrated by litigation costs, Microsoft, Sony, and Nokia are paying third-party patent acquirers such as RPX to fend off patent lawsuitsBusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nvidia Says Patent Settlement With Rambus Unlikely After Loss
Nvidia Corp., a maker of graphics chips that help run video games, said it won’t negotiate with Rambus Inc. after losing a U.S. trade agency decision that it violated three Rambus-owned patents. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nvidia Says Patent Settlement With Rambus Unlikely (Update2)
Nvidia Corp., a maker of graphics chips that help run video games, said it won’t negotiate with Rambus Inc. after losing a U.S. trade agency decision that it violated three Rambus-owned patents. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nokia’s Patent Complaint to be Probed
Nokia Oyj’s patent-infringement claims against Apple Inc. will be investigated by a U.S. trade agency to determine whether iPhones, iPod music devices and Mac computers made in China should be banned from the U.S. .BusinessWeek.com --
Rambus Wins Crucial Decision in Nvidia Chip Battle Over Imports
Rambus Inc., a designer of high- speed memory chips, won a crucial decision in its effort to collect patent royalties from Nvidia Corp. over computer- graphics chips. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Rambus Wins Crucial Decision in Nvidia Chip Battle (Update2)
Rambus Inc., a designer of high- speed memory chips, won a crucial decision in its effort to collect patent royalties from Nvidia Corp. over computer- graphics chips. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
3Com Accused of Double-Cross in Hewlett-Packard Deal (Update3)
3Com Corp., the maker of networking systems being bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. for $2.7 billion, was accused in a lawsuit of double-crossing patent partner Parallel Technology LLC in the transaction. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Apple Files New Trade Complaint With U.S. Agency Against Nokia
Apple Inc. filed a new patent- infringement complaint against Nokia Oyj, seeking to block U.S. imports of mobile phones and increasing the legal battle between the two over smartphone technology. .BusinessWeek.com --
Apple Files New Trade Complaint With U.S. Agency Against Nokia
Apple Inc. filed a new patent- infringement complaint against Nokia Oyj, seeking to block U.S. imports of mobile phones and increasing the legal battle between the two over smartphone technology. .BusinessWeek.com --
Apple Files New Trade Complaint With U.S. Agency Against Nokia
Apple Inc. filed a new patent- infringement complaint against Nokia Oyj, seeking to block U.S. imports of mobile phones and increasing the legal battle between the two over smartphone technology. .BusinessWeek.com --
Otis Must Face Suit Over World Trade Center Elevators (Update2)
United Technologies Corp.’s Otis Elevator must face a patent-infringement suit filed by its next- biggest rival Schindler Holding AG over technology used in the elevators for 7 World Trade Center.BusinessWeek.com --
Apple, RIM Accused of Infringing Kodak Patents (Update2)
Eastman Kodak Co., the camera company founded in 1880, said it filed patent-infringement claims against Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. to get the companies to pay royalties. .BusinessWeek.com --
IBM May Not Be the Patent King After All
IBM wins more U.S. patents than any other company, but Microsoft's patents are worth much more money, a new study says .BusinessWeek.com --
IBM Tops in U.S. Patents for 17th Year
The computer maker's 4,914 patent awards beat Samsung and Microsoft, which ranked No. 2 and 3 in 2009 .BusinessWeek.com --
Nokia Accuses Apple in Patent Suit, Trade Body Case (Update3)
Nokia Oyj said it filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging Apple Inc. infringes seven of its patents. Nokia filed a similar lawsuit in federal court in Delaware today over the same patents. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nokia Files ITC Patent Complaint Against Apple (Update2)
Nokia Oyj said it filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging Apple Inc. infringes some of its patents. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Abbott Settles University of Iowa Humira Royalty Case (Update1)
Abbott Laboratories, the drugmaker challenging a $1.67 billion patent verdict won by Johnson & Johnson over the arthritis medicine Humira, settled a royalty battle with the University of Iowa over the medicine.BusinessWeek.com --
U.S. Patents Take a Fall
Hurt by smaller R&D budgets and offshoring, U.S. patent applications fell this year and Yankees are winning fewer grants than non-residents .BusinessWeek.com --
Apple Sues Nokia, Claims Infringement
The maker of the iPhone says Nokia is wrongfully using 13 of its patentsBusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Intel and AMD Settle Legal Disputes
Intel agrees to pay AMD $1.25 billion to settle antitrust and patent disputes in the U.S. and Japan. In return, AMD will drop antitrust complaints around the world. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nokia Sues Apple for Patent Infringement
The patents in question are fundamental to making devices like the iPhone compatible with certain wireless network standards including GSMBusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nokia: iPhone Violates Our Patents
In a U.S. lawsuit, the Finnish mobile-phone giant accuses Apple of patent infringement on Nokia-developed wireless technology .BusinessWeek.com --
Nokia: Apple iPhone Violates Our Patents
In a U.S. District Court lawsuit, the Finnish mobile-phone giant accuses Apple of patent infringement on Nokia-developed 3G and wireless LAN technology .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Nokia: Apple’s iPhone Violated Patents
The patents involved are fundamental to making devices like the iPhone compatible with wireless network standards, says BW's Arik HesseldahlBusinessWeek.com --
U.S. Slips to Second in Patents
Guess which government agency received the most U.S. patents through the year's midpoint. If you had answered the U.S. Navy, you would have been right in 2008.BusinessWeek.com --
Lawsuit Route Proves Lucrative for TiVo
TiVo won $200 million in damages in its DVR patent case against Dish Network; lawsuits against AT&T and Verizon could net more cash, or profitable licensing dealsBusinessWeek.com --
The Lawsuit Route Proves Lucrative for TiVo
TiVo won $200 million in its DVR patent case against Dish Network; lawsuits against AT&T and Verizon could net more cash or profitable licensing dealsBusinessWeek.com -- Technology
TiVo Relaunching as a Patent Troll?
An anonymous reader writes "TiVo's quarterly call was a bit more dramatic than usual. While they continue to lose customers and innovate "at a very unhurried pace," TiVo seeks a repeat DISH Network performance in going after AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) for infringement.Slashdot
Microsoft’s Patent Dust-Ups
BusinessWeek.com --
Doctors Fight Patent On Medical Knowledge
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Doctor's groups, including the AMA and too many others to list, are supporting the Mayo Clinic in the case Prometheus v.Slashdot
RIM Lashes Out at Nortel
BusinessWeek.com --
RIM Lashes Out at Nortel
BusinessWeek.com --
Pfizer CEO Braces For Changes
BusinessWeek.com --
Brussels Cracks Down on Drug Companies
EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes says she'll go after pharmaceutical makers that have stunted competition by using patents and lawsuits to slow rivalsBusinessWeek.com --
Toyota Builds a Patent Thicket For Hybrid Cars
Lorien_the_first_one sends along a WSJ piece reporting on how Toyota is hoping to benefit from new Obama Administration regulations for automobiles here in the US. "Since it started developing the gas-electric Prius more than a decade ago, Toyota has kept its attorneys just as busy as its engineers, meticulously filing for patents on more than 2,000 systems and components for its best-selling hybrid.Slashdot
Microsoft Puts C# and the CLI Under “Community Promise”
FishWithAHammer writes "Peter Galli of Microsoft posted a blog entry on Port25 today, regarding the explicit placement of C# and the Common Language Infrastructure (the ECMA standard that underpins .NET) under their Community Promise: 'It is important to note that, under the Community Promise, anyone can freely implement these specifications with their technology, code, and solutions.Slashdot
Pirate Party Coming To Canada
An anonymous reader writes "After scoring a surprise electoral win in Sweden and getting high-profile support in Germany, The Pirate Party is coming to Canada. The party's goals are fairly simple.Slashdot
Amazon Wants Patent For Inserting Ads Into Books
theodp writes "Three Amazon inventors set out to correct what they felt was a real problem: that 'out-of-print or rare books ... typically do not include advertisements ...Slashdot
Browser Vendors Force W3C To Scrap HTML 5 Codecs
snydeq writes "Major browser vendors have been unable to agree on an encoding format they will support in their products, forcing the W3C to drop audio and video codecs from HTML 5, the forthcoming W3C spec that has been viewed as a threat to Flash, Silverlight, and similar technologies.Slashdot
TiVo Wants to Be the Google of Television. How?
By helping viewers search for programs and by selling ads and ratings data to advertisers. A still-potent brand name and 140 patents should help .BusinessWeek.com --
Patent Judgment on TiVo Is Stayed
A federal appeals court stayed a court’s order that would have forced Dish Network and EchoStar to disable millions of digital video recorders that infringe a patent held by TiVo.New York Times
March 12, 1838: Chemist Gets a Mauve On
Wired News
The First Phone Call Was 133 Years Ago
magacious writes "March 10 is the 133rd anniversary of the first telephone call. It occurred between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Thomas Watson back on this day in 1876.Slashdot
Copyright and Patent Laws Hurt the Economy
Norsefire writes "Two economists at Washington University in St. Louis are claiming that copyright and patent laws are 'killing innovation' and 'hurting [the] economy.' Michele Boldrin and David K.Slashdot
Tech/Pharma Battle Over Patent Reform Seems Headed for Compromise
Wired News
March 10: Jefferson the Paleontologist, Lincoln the Inventor
Wired News
IBM Wants Patent For Lotus Notes-Free Meetings
theodp writes "Over at IBM, the Lotus Notes team has 'invented' preventing the use of their own product during meetings. Self-described patent reformer Big Blue has asked the USPTO for a patent covering Suppressing De-Focusing Activities During Selective Scheduled Meetings by forcing meeting attendees to 'submit to the computing system suspension requirements.' What's next — a patent for Verizon for blocking cellphone usage during movies?" .Slashdot
March 6, 1899: Tales of Hoffmann’s Aspirin
Wired News
Trademarks
Apple’s IPad Name May Lead to Trademark Feud With Fujitsu
Apple Inc.’s plan to call its new tablet computer the iPad may run into trademark problems because of an older application for the name by Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
iPad Name May Spark Trademark Feud
Apple Inc.’s plan to call its new tablet computer the iPad may run into trademark problems because of an older application for the name by Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd.BusinessWeek.com --
The Power of the Brand as Verb
For brands such as Google and Twitter and, Microsoft hopes, Bing, a trademark might not be as useful as becoming a part of speech.New York Times
Rosetta Stone: The Latest Case Against Google
The language education software maker claims Google's AdWords program infringes its trademark. Legal experts say Rosetta Stone's suit will be hard to win .BusinessWeek.com --
March 10: Jefferson the Paleontologist, Lincoln the Inventor
Wired News
March 6, 1899: Tales of Hoffmann’s Aspirin
Wired News
Psion Accuses Intel of Cybersquatting
Save the Netbooks writes "We discussed Psion sending C&Ds late last year over international trademarks held on the term 'netbook' and Dell accusing Psion of fraud last week.Slashdot
Artist Dave Gibbons’ Gut Feelings on the ‘Watchmen’ Movie
Wired News
Filming the Unfilmable: Behind the Scenes of the Watchmen Movie
Wired News
Dell Accuses Psion of “Fraud” Over Netbook
Barence writes "Dell has issued court papers in the US, accusing Psion of fraudulently laying claim to the term netbook. Psion sent out warning letters late last year to PC manufacturers, retailers and bloggers alike, asking them to stop using the term netbook, which the company registered as a trademark in the late 1990s.Slashdot
‘Pull My Finger’ iPhone Fart App Dispute Lingers
Farting iPhone apps popular enough that two makers of the flatulence apps are engaged in a trademark dispute over the phrase, "pull my finger."Wired News
Jan. 30, 1975: Rubik Applies for Patent on Magic Cube
Wired News
Sporty BMW Pocket Truck Runs Errands in Style — for a Sticker-Shock Price
BMW's pocket truck is handsome and well equipped, and you'll love the company's trademark sports-car feel. But is it worth the hefty price tag? .Wired News
Image of Popeye Enters Public Domain In the EU
Several readers wrote in to mention that the copyright on the image of the character Popeye expired in the EU as the year began, 70 years since the death of its creator Elzie Segar.Slashdot
OpenSUSE 11.1 License Changes Examined
nerdyH writes "Novell's recent openSUSE 11.1 release includes a new end-user license agreement modeled after Fedora's EULA, says Community Manager Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier in this detailed interview.Slashdot
Soak It to Me: Inside Liquid-Suspended Gaming PC
Wired News
Russian Hopes To Cash In On Emoticons
drewmoney writes "According to a BBC article, Entrepreneur Oleg Teterin said the trademark for the ';-)' emoticon was granted to him by Russia's federal patent agency. 'Legal use will be possible after buying an annual licence from us,' he was quoted by the newspaper Kommersant as saying.Slashdot
Online Rebel Publishes Millions of Dollars in U.S. Court Records for Free
Wired News
FOSS Community Can Combat Bad Patents
An anonymous reader lets us know about a new initiative designed to help shield the open source software community from threats posed by patent trolls. The initiative, called Linux Defenders (the website is slated to go live tomorrow, Dec.Slashdot
New .tel TLD Now In Use
rockwood reports that the .tel top level domain has been deployed, "in a first attempt at pushing the recently approved .tel. The top-level domain .tel was approved by ICANN as a sponsored TLD launching on Wednesday, December 3, 2008[1] to trademark owners of national effect and on February 3, 2009 to anyone who wishes to apply.Slashdot
Music Game Competition Heats Up
With Guitar Hero: World Tour set to launch on October 26th, Activision has released a list of downloadable content that will be immediately available. Activision has also apparently included a trailer for Guitar Hero: Metallica (which will arrive sometime next year), and they recently trademarked the name 'Guitar Hero Modern Hits,' which may be part of their plan to increase the amount of Guitar Hero content they produce.Slashdot
Google Profiting From Typo Squatting, Report Charges
A report out Monday says Google is profiting by generating ad revenue from so-called typo-squatting websites. Such websites usually have one letter different from the URL of the original, trademarked site. .Wired News
Chicago Law Firm Sues Over Hyperlink To Trademarked Name
TheSpoom writes "Large Chicago law firm Jones Day are suing internet startup BlockShopper over the issue of whether linking to a business with their trademarked name should be legal.Slashdot
Gallery: Emoticons Jump From Web to Real World :-)
Wired News
Mozilla Admits Firefox EULA Is Flawed
darthcamaro writes "Mozilla has now come around and is taking seriously the concerns of Ubuntu and others about the Firefox EULA, which we discussed vigorously the other day.Slashdot
A New Battle Is Beginning in Branding for the Web
Trademark issues may take on a higher profile, fueled by the escalating value of brands in general and trademark holders increasingly trying to assert their rights, especially on the Internet.
New York Times
Dell Tries To Trademark “Cloud Computing”
Ian Lamont writes "The Industry Standard reports that Dell is trying to trademark the term cloud computing . The phrase entered the tech lexicon years ago, but Dell's application (serial number 77139082) was made in early 2007 to the US Patent and Trademark Office, apparently in connection with data center products and services that it was promoting around that time.Slashdot
Wikileaks Releases ACTA Negotiations As “0-Day”
An anonymous reader writes "Wikileaks has released a new document about the ACTA negotiations occurring in Washington over the next three days. This might be the shortest time between authorship of a document and its publication on Wikileaks so far.Slashdot
The Death of Nearly All Software Patents?
An anonymous reader writes "The Patent and Trademark Office has now made clear that its newly developed position on patentable subject matter will invalidate many and perhaps most software patents, including pioneering patent claims to such innovators as Google, Inc.Slashdot
American Airlines Drops Trademark Lawsuit Against Google
American Airlines has dropped its lawsuit against Google, which claimed the Internet company used the airline’s trademark to trigger paid advertisements for other companies.New York Times
GOP ‘Caving’ From Trademark Lawsuit Threats
The Republican National Committee on Monday backed down on its threats to sue CafePress for allowing its online vendors to sell GOP-related merchandise. The GOP, however, said while it is backing off on litigation threats, it will demand vendors acquire licenses of shirts, stickers or other goods if they solely display the trademarked letters G-O-P or the trademarked GOP elephant. .Wired News
Could Mattel End Up With Bratz?
In winning its trademark case against MGA, Mattel could grab hundreds of millions in back royalties—and maybe even ownership of the superhot Bratz dollsBusinessWeek Online --
GOP Threatens CafePress over Shirts, Stickers and Logos
The GOP is threatening to sue online vendor host CafePress for allowing vendors to sell trademarked GOP regalia such as T-shirts, stickers and images of the trademarked Republican elephant.Wired News
Bits: Apple Sues Psystar to Block Macintosh Clone Sales
Apple has sued Psystar, a Florida-based maker of Macintosh clones, claiming that the company makes poor-quality machines that infringe on Apple’s trademarks.New York Times
Apple Files Suit Against Psystar
Reader The other A.N. Other, among others, alerts us to the news that Apple has filed suit against Psystar, the unauthorized clonemaker. (We've been discussing Psystar from the start.) The suit alleges violation of Apple's shrink wrap license and trademarks, and also copyright infringement.Slashdot
Judge to Tiffany: Police Your Own Brand
EBay has won a crucial victory for Web sales of trademarked goods, but the ruling doesn't apply to Viacom's copyright suit against YouTubeBusinessWeek Online -- Technology
Judge to Tiffany: Police Your Own Brand
EBay has won a crucial victory for Web sales of trademarked goods, but the ruling doesn't apply to Viacom's copyright suit against YouTubeBusinessWeek Online --
eBay Beats Tiffany In Net Trademark Case
sm62704 notes a Reuters story reporting that eBay has beat Tiffany in court in a "knockout" decision. If this had gone the other way, not only would eBay be in trouble (especially after the loss of a similar case in France), but so would Net commerce as a whole.Slashdot
Judge Doesn’t Give Tiffany a Trademark Silver Spoon in eBay Flap
A federal judge on Monday ruled that eBay is not required to police its site for knockoffs being auctioned on its online site. Jeweler Tiffany claimed eBay had a duty to perform such duties to keep counterfeited goods from being sold on the site.Wired News
eBay Claims Victory in Tiffany Lawsuit
The jewelry maker had sued for trademark infringement, hoping to force eBay to remove items from its site listed under Tiffany's name brandBusinessWeek Online --
Google Abandons the Gmail Name In Germany
praps writes "A three-year trademark conflict has ended with Google withdrawing its use of the Gmail brand in Germany. On Friday, a plain-text message appeared, beginning 'We can't provide service under the Gmail name in Germany...Slashdot
Bezos Buries Patent Office in Paper
theodp writes "On June 2nd, almost two-and-half years after the USPTO initiated a reexamination of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' 1-Click Patent, Amazon dumped another load of documents on the USPTO Examiner assigned to the case, asking for consideration of the 185 or so listed references and 'favorable action.' Peter Calveley, the LOTR actor whose do-it-yourself legal effort prompted the reexam, notes that he was cc'ed on 20 kg of documents that Amazon sent earlier to the USPTO as it tried to stave off last October's nonfinal rejection of all but 5 of Amazon's 26 1-Click patent claims.Slashdot
Swiss Army Knife Launches the Age of the Multitool
Wired News
Gallery: The iPhone 2.0 Keynote
Wired News
Google and Louis Vuitton Face Off in Trademark Spat
Google has appealed a decision by France’s highest court, which in ruled in favor of Louis Vuitton in a trademark infringement suit over Google’s AdWords system.New York Times
Wolfgang Puck vs. Wolfgang Zwiener
Two restaurant chains with similar names are about to square off in a trademark-infringement showdownBusinessWeek Online --
The Beauty of Bridges
Wired News
Why Does This Prominent Amazon Researcher Face 14 Years in Prison for Biopiracy?
Wired News
Craigslist’s Countersuit Criticizes eBay’s Tactics
The online classifieds company filed a countersuit against minority owner eBay, accusing it of unfair competition, false advertising, trademark infringement and diluting the value of the Craigslist trademark.New York Times
Theorizing a Big Apple Push Into Gaming
Ian Lamont writes "Terrence Russell has outlined an interesting theory about what industry Apple intends to break into next. He points to games. Forget Pippin II, or an iMac gaming rig — he thinks the mobile realm is where Apple will make a big product push.Slashdot
Copyrights
Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ Reprint Under Way, Bucking German Ban
Scholars in Germany are working on a reprint of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” they may publish after a ban by the state copyright holders expires, a researcher said.BusinessWeek.com --
Obama ‘Hope’ Artist Fairey May Plead the Fifth in AP Lawsuit
Shepard Fairey, the artist whose “Hope” election poster of Barack Obama spawned a copyright battle with the Associated Press, may invoke his Fifth Amendment right not to answer legal questions after revealing he’s under criminal investigation for faking evidence in the case.BusinessWeek.com --
Lawyers Challenge Lowered Amount of ‘Shocking’ File Sharing Award
Lawyers for a music file sharer are challenging a judge’s order reducing from $1.92 million to $54,000 the amount their client, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, must pay the recording industry for copyright infringement of 24 songs.Wired News
China Faces U.S. Piracy Lawsuit for Internet-Filtering Software
China was accused of piracy in a lawsuit filed by a California software maker, which said the Green Dam Youth Escort filtering program installed on personal computers in the country infringes its copyright.BusinessWeek.com --
China Accused of Piracy by California Software Maker (Update1)
China was accused of piracy in a lawsuit filed by a California software maker, which said that the Green Dam Youth Escort filtering software installed on personal computers in the country infringes its copyright.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Apple Crushes Clone Maker in Court
Apple won a sweeping legal victory against Macintosh clone maker Psystar Corp. Nov. 13 when a federal judge in San Francisco ruled (PDF, courtesy of Groklaw) that Psystar had violated Apple's copyright and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.BusinessWeek.com --
Google Books Fight Heats Up in Europe
Europe's objections to Google Books among Europeans focus on copyright, but also on questions about privacy and even censorshipBusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Court Castrates Mininova, The Pirate Bay Alternative
BitTorrent file sharing suffered another setback on a global scale Wednesday when a Dutch-based court ordered Pirate Bay rival – Mininova — to remove all its copyrighted worksWired News
Pirate Bay Archive Goes Online
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "With the main Pirate Bay website experiencing DNS issues, downtime and uncertainty about both the lawsuits and potential sale to GGF, a Pirate Bay clone has already gone online.Slashdot
Appeals Court Overturns 2007 Unix Copyright Decision
snydeq writes "A federal appeals court has overturned a 2007 decision that Novell owns the Unix code, clearing the way for SCO to pursue a $1 billion copyright infringement case against IBM.Slashdot
Incoming CEO’s Manifesto for New Pirate Bay
Hans Pandeya, whose Swedish software company is expected to assume control of The Pirate Bay perhaps as early as Thursday, writes in a manifesto that file sharers of unauthorized copyrighted works are not morally weak.Wired News
European Opposition Mounts Against Google’s Selling Digitized Books
National copyright agencies, which charge fees to publishers, see the proposed deal as a threat to their income.
New York Times
Hollywood Wins Key Round Against RealNetworks’ ReadDVD
BusinessWeek.com --
Fair Use Defense Dismissed In SONY V. Tenenbaum
Several readers sent us updates from the Boston courtroom where, mere hours before the start of trial, a federal judge ruled out fair use as a defense.Slashdot
Should Copyright of Academic Works Be Abolished?
Dr_Ken writes to mention recent coverage of a Harvard Cyber-Law study on Techdirt that analyzes the uses of copyright in the academic world. Some are claiming that the applications of copyright in academia are stifling and that we should perhaps go so far as to abolish copyright in the academic world entirely.Slashdot
We Were Smarter About Copyright Law 100 Years Ago
An anonymous reader writes "James Boyle has a blog post comparing the recording industry's arguments in 1909 to those of 2009, with some lovely Google book links to the originals.Slashdot
Google and YouTube Win Dismissal of Some Damages Claims
A U.S. judge dismissed some claims in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google’s video-sharing Web site YouTube.com. .New York Times
RIAA Seeks Web Removal of Courtroom Audio
suraj.sun writes to tell us that the RIAA has asked a federal judge to order the removal of what they are calling "unauthorized and illegal recordings" by Harvard University's Charles Nesson of pretrial hearings and depositions in a file-sharing lawsuit.Slashdot
Tech Is Too Cheap to Meter: It’s Time to Manage for Abundance, Not Scarcity
Wired News
Study Deconstructs Canadian Copyright Lobby Deception
An anonymous reader writes "A new Canadian study deconstructs how copyright lobby groups manipulate public opinion by laundering proposals through seemingly independent groups. The study started after the Conference Board of Canada was shown to have plagiarized several of its IP reports and now shows the connections that all lead through the MPAA and RIAA.Slashdot
Copyright Should Encourage Derivative Works
Techdirt has an interesting look at copyright and the idea that an author is the originator of a new work. Instead, the piece suggests that all works are in some way based on the works of others (even our own copyright law), and the system should be much more encouraging of "remixing" work into new, unique experiences.Slashdot
Buyer of Pirate Bay, a File-Sharing Site, Plans to Go Legal
Global Gaming Factory X said that it had bought Pirate Bay for $7.8 million and that it would start a business model intended to compensate both content operators and copyright owners.New York Times
Supreme Court: Cablevision Remote DVR is OK
BusinessWeek.com --
Gear gallery: The iPhone 3GS, GPS Grandmaster and Split Personality Samsung Phone
Wired News
Fighting For Downloaders’ Hearts and Minds
iateyourcookies writes "As opposed to enforcement which usually makes the headlines, The BBC is running an article called Inside A Downloader's Head which looks at the film and music industries' attempts to prevent copyright infringement.Slashdot
Swedish Court Says IP Numbers Privacy Protected
oh2 writes "The highest applicable Swedish court, Regeringsrätten, has ruled that IP numbers are protected (in Swedish) since they can be traced to individuals. This means that only government agencies are allowed to track and store IP addresses, leaving 'anti-piracy' advocates with no legal way to find possible copyright infringers." Update: 06/18 14:42 GMT by KD : The original linked article had been pulled due to factual errors and a new article has been posted (link replaced above).Slashdot
Harvard Study Says Weak Copyright Benefits Society
An anonymous reader writes "Michael Geist summarizes an important new study on file sharing from economists Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf. The Harvard Business School working paper finds that given the increase in artistic production along with the greater public access conclude that "weaker copyright protection, it seems, has benefited society." The authors' point out that file sharing may not result in reduced incentives to create if the willingness to pay for "complements" such as concerts or author speaking tours increases." .Slashdot
RIAA Wants To Bar Jammie From Making Objections
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In the Duluth, Minnesota case headed for a re-trial on June 15th, Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset, the RIAA has filed a motion seeking to bar the defendant, Jammie Thomas-Rasset (she got married recently), from making objections to the plaintiffs' copyright registration documents.Slashdot
Eric Baptiste Weighs In On Copyright Summit Issues
With the upcoming biennial summit of authors and composers in Washington D.C., The Register has an interview with Eric Baptiste head of the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (CISAC) that touches on some of the hot issues.Slashdot
Gear Gallery: MacBook Air Slayer, Luxury Ragtop, Touchy-Feely Kitchen PC
Wired News
EFF Posts ‘Terms of Service’ Tracker
Internet giants are constantly changing their terms of service agreements with their customers. The EFF crafts a new website tracking those changes, which often have an impact on privacy and copyright. .Wired News
Music Labels Want Pirate Bay Shuttered
The recording industry wants to add new fines to the $3.6 million levied against the four co-founders of The Pirate Bay. The four face a one-year prison term and fines for copyright infringement for running the world's most notorious BitTorrent tracker. .Wired News
Canadian Pirates Sell Spurious Songs — In 1897
Reservoir Hill writes "The NYTimes reported in their June 13, 1897 edition that 'Canadian pirates' were flooding the country with spurious editions of the latest copyrighted popular songs.Slashdot
Gear Gallery: Freewheeling DVR, Bumpin’ Earbuds, Waterproof Backpack, More
Wired News
Music Copyright In EU Extended To 70 Years
rastos1 writes "The European Parliament extended the copyright in the EU for the performers of musical works from 50 to 70 years. The legislation will be reviewed in 3 years.Slashdot
The Circus Widens In Aftermath of Pirate Bay Verdict
MaulerOfEmotards sends along an in-depth followup, from the Swedish press, of our discussion the other day about the biased trial judge in the Pirate Bay case. "The turmoil concerns Tomas Norström, the presiding judge of The Pirate Bay trial, who is suspected of bias after reports surfaced of affiliation with copyright protection organizations.Slashdot
Pirate Bay Judge Exposed as Member of Pro-Copyright Groups
The Pirate Bay's lawyers are seeking a new trial after Swedish National Radio discovered that judge Thomas Norström is a member of some of the same pro-copyright groups as the entertainment industry representatives who appeared in his courtroom.Wired News
AP Blasts Obama ‘Hope’ Artist in Copyright Flap
The copyright flap around the Obama "Hope" image takes a twist Wednesday when The Associated Press derides Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey's style "computerized paint by the numbers."Wired News
Copyright and Patent Laws Hurt the Economy
Norsefire writes "Two economists at Washington University in St. Louis are claiming that copyright and patent laws are 'killing innovation' and 'hurting [the] economy.' Michele Boldrin and David K.Slashdot
Minnesota File Sharing Retrial Hangs in Balance
Lawyers for Jammie Thomas and the Recording Industry Association of America are to meet within days to see if they can hammer out a settlement agreement to prevent a retrial of the nation's first and only file sharing civil trial.Wired News
New Zealand’s Recording Industry CEO Tries to Defend New Draconian Law
An anonymous reader writes "Campbell Smith, CEO of the RIAA equivalent in New Zealand, has written an opinion piece for one of New Zealand's largest daily papers, in which he tries to justify the new 'presumed guilty' copyright law.Slashdot
Timetable App Developer Gets Nastygram From Transit Sydney
mikesd81 writes "ZDNet Australia writes that NSW state corporation RailCorp has threatened a Sydney software developer with legal action if he fails to withdraw a train timetable application that is currently the second-most-popular application in its category in Apple's App Store.Slashdot
MediaSentry & RIAA Expert Under Attack
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Jammie Thomas, the defendant in Duluth, Minnesota, RIAA case Capitol Records v. Thomas, has served her expert witness's report. The 30-page document (PDF), prepared by Prof.Slashdot
Leaner RIAA Still Moves to Ban Copyright Scofflaws’ Online Access
The Recording Industry Association of America may be shrinking because of layoffs, but it is still vigorously lobbying internet service providers to ban copyright scofflaws from the internet.Wired News
Trial Shows Pirate Bay’s Crew Is All Hat and No Rum
Wired News
“Authors Guild” Skims Half of Google Book-Rights Settlement
Miracle Jones writes "A recent memo from the 'Author's Guild' to the writers and publishers that it supposedly represents shows that only $45 million of the $125 million dollar settlement with Google will be paid to writers, and that the most a writer can receive for a book is $300.Slashdot
Supreme Court to Hear Freelance Writers’ Settlement
Wired News
Copyright Challenge for Sites That Excerpt
As copyrighted material is excerpted online, some owners would rather have clicks than credit.
New York Times
RIAA, Stop Suing Tech Investors!
The RIAA isn't just suing tens of thousands of music consumers; they've also begun filing lawsuits naming the directors of and investors in tech companies that they believe contribute to copyright infringement.Slashdot
French President Busted For Copyright Violation
An anonymous reader writes "ZeroPaid has an interesting take on the story of Nicolas Sarkozy being accused of copyright infringement. The irony, of course, is Sarkozy's pushing of a 3-strikes law — disconnecting from the Internet those accused of file sharing — in France and across the EU.Slashdot
Technology
Greece Says Call for Aid Would Send ‘Worst Signal’ (Update1)
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said he can’t call for outside aid as his government struggles to cut the European Union’s largest budget deficit.BusinessWeek.com --
Greek Aid Call Would Send ‘Worst’ Signal, Finance Minister Says
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said an appeal for outside help to solve the nation’s budget squeeze would send out “the worst possible signal” to investors.BusinessWeek.com --
Euro, Asian Stocks Gain on Speculation Europe Will Help Greece
The euro rallied and stocks in Asia reversed losses as speculation European officials will help Greece tackle its deficit eased concern that rising debt burdens will derail the global economic recovery.BusinessWeek.com --
Lehman Brothers Examiner Files Sealed Report on Role of Banks
An examiner probing Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s 2008 failure filed under seal his report investigating whether banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays Plc triggered or improperly benefitted from Lehman’s $639 billion bankruptcy. .BusinessWeek.com --
Acer Posts Highest Net Income in Almost Three Years (Update1)
Acer Inc., the world’s second-largest computer vendor, posted its biggest quarterly profit in almost three years after grabbing market share from Dell Inc. and forecasting shipment growth that may exceed the industry average. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Mongolia to Raise Up to $1.2 Billion in Bond Sale (Update3)
Mongolia plans to sell as much as $1.2 billion of bonds overseas later this year, its first benchmark offering of dollar-denominated debt, to fund infrastructure to support its mining industry, Finance Minister Sangajav Bayartsogt said.BusinessWeek.com --
Banker Liverpudlian Stew Disguises CDO Scraps as Tasty Morsels
(Mark Gilbert, a Bloomberg News reporter, columnist and London bureau chief, has covered the global capital markets for almost two decades.BusinessWeek.com --
Koito Plunges on 150,000 Airbus, Boeing Seat Repairs (Update2)
Koito Industries Ltd., the Japanese supplier of seats used in Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. planes, plunged a record 33 percent after saying it will repair about 150,000 seats because of falsified safety data. .BusinessWeek.com --
Koito Plunges on Plan to Repair 150,000 Plane Seats (Update1)
Koito Industries Ltd. plunged a record 33 percent in Tokyo trading after saying it would repair faulty seats supplied to Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. .BusinessWeek.com --
Toyota Extends Recalls to Hybrids to Repair Brakes (Update1)
Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 437,000 hybrid vehicles globally to fix faulty braking systems on four models, including the Prius, adding to almost 8 million vehicles the company is repairing for separate defects. .BusinessWeek.com --
Holders of Billions in Czar Bonds Seek Kremlin’s Paris Property
A group representing French holders of czarist bonds says it will sue Russia in a bid to seize Paris property bought by the Kremlin and reclaim part of a century-old debt valued at as much as 100 billion euros ($137 billion).BusinessWeek.com --
Nissan Expects Full-Year Profit on Rising Sales (Update1)
Nissan Motor Co. predicted a return to profit this fiscal year, scrapping an earlier loss estimate, citing government incentives that boosted demand for the company’s vehicles in China and Japan. .BusinessWeek.com --
Pioneer to Sell 104.4 Million Shares, Boost Capital (Update1)
Pioneer Corp., the unprofitable Japanese maker of car-navigation systems and audio equipment, aims to sell as many as 104.4 million shares to raise about $406 million in funds for restructuring and new businesses.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Apotheker Says He Did What Was Best
BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Super Bowl Ads Don’t Age Well
An advertising executive asks why consumer companies spend millions to ignore or insult the over-50 audience that buys the most productsBusinessWeek.com --
Akio Toyoda Makes His Case
BusinessWeek.com --
Gates Shores Up Allies in Afghan War, Urges Pressure on Iran
Defense Secretary Robert Gates returns to Washington today after a weeklong Europe tour spent shoring up coalition support for Afghanistan and calling for sustained pressure on Iran to curtail its nuclear ambitions.BusinessWeek.com --
Washington Braces for More Snow, Offices Stay Closed (Update1)
Washington prepared for more snow as storms rolling across the country may bring as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) to a region that’s still snowbound from a weekend blizzard.BusinessWeek.com --
UBS Posts First Profit in More Than a Year on Lower Debt Charge
UBS AG, the European bank with the biggest losses from the credit crisis, reported its first quarterly profit in more than a year, helped by a recovery at the investment bank and a lower charge on the company’s debt.BusinessWeek.com --
Kim Jong Il Repeats North Korean Commitment to Denuclearization
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said he remained committed to giving up the country’s nuclear weapons program as a news report said his chief arms negotiator is visiting China.BusinessWeek.com --
Central Banker Zhou Says China Must Monitor Inflation (Update1)
People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China needs to monitor inflation as analysts forecast consumer prices rose in January by the most since 2008.BusinessWeek.com --
BIS Says Banks Need More Capital to Withstand Shocks (Update1)
Capital requirements on banks aren’t sufficient to ensure financial stability and lenders should hold enough liquid assets to survive a temporary loss of access to funding, the head of the Bank for International Settlements said.BusinessWeek.com --
Yen, Dollar Retreat on Speculation Europe Will Assist Greece
The yen and dollar fell on speculation European officials meeting this week will agree to assist Greece in tackling its deficit, reducing demand for the two currencies as a refuge.BusinessWeek.com --
SingTel Beats Estimates on Gains in Singapore, Indonesian Unit
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest phone company, posted profit and sales that beat analysts’ estimates after gaining mobile customers at home and in Indonesia.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
What SAP Needs After Apotheker
Co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe must revitalize SAP's product pipeline, soothe customers, and counter competition from OracleBusinessWeek.com --
Galleon Tipper Goel Pleads Guilty, Says Rajaratnam Got Secrets
Rajiv Goel, a former managing director in Intel Corp.’s treasury group, pleaded guilty in the Galleon Group LLC insider-trading case and will cooperate in the government’s prosecution of Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Kim Jong Il Repeats North Korean Commitment to Denuclearization
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said he remained committed to giving up the country’s nuclear weapons program as a news report said his chief arms negotiator is visiting China.BusinessWeek.com --
Toyota to Recall Prius Hybrid Cars in Japan Today (Update1)
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, will recall its Prius hybrid car in Japan today after being told by the government to investigate complaints of brake failures, adding to global recalls of almost 8 million autos for separate defects.BusinessWeek.com --
Lenovo’s Top-Notch T410
While it lacks aesthetics, Lenovo's new Intel-based laptop more than compensates with fast computing prowess and broad connectivity optionsBusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Yen, Dollar Decline on Speculation Europe Will Assist Greece
The yen and dollar declined on speculation European officials will agree to assist Greece in tackling its fiscal deficit, reducing demand for the two currencies as a refuge.BusinessWeek.com --
Chongqing Stocks Rally After Municipality Is Named ‘Key’ City
Chongqing Gangjiu Co., which provides inland shipping services, rallied the most in China’s benchmark stock index after the municipality was chosen by the government as one of the nation’s five “key” cities.BusinessWeek.com --
Consumer Stocks Stall Amid Surprising Earnings
Better-than-expected profits and sales aren't helping consumer discretionary stocks maintain last year's big gainsBusinessWeek.com --
‘PIGS’ Crisis Is Opportunity for Euro to Stand Up: Matthew Lynn
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” Rahm Emanuel, U.S. President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, said during the 2008 credit crunch. “It’s an opportunity to do things that you could not do before.” .BusinessWeek.com --
Johnnie Walker Holdouts Leave Diageo Playing Five-Year Catchup
Diageo Plc, the world’s largest distiller, may take five years to recover sales lost in the recession as emerging markets fail to fill the void left by U.S.BusinessWeek.com --
JVC Kenwood Shares Plunge on Earnings Restatement Plan
JVC Kenwood Holdings Inc. plunged in Tokyo trading after the company said it would restate earnings to reflect losses at its Victor unit. .BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
LG Telecom Posts First Profit Gain in Three Quarters (Update1)
LG Telecom Ltd., South Korea’s smallest mobile-phone operator, reported its first profit increase in three quarters after reining in marketing expenses ahead of a merger with its fixed-line affiliates.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
It’s Time for Toyota’s CEO to Go
How far has Toyota fallen? Americans are switching to Motown cars, Ralph Nader is back, and Toyota has lost the equivalent of Latvia's GDP in market value, says William PesekBusinessWeek.com --
Dead Stowaway on Delta Flight to Tokyo Spotlights Security Risk
A body found in the landing-gear compartment of a Delta Air Lines Inc. jet that flew to Tokyo’s Narita Airport from New York may spur a fresh review of U.S.BusinessWeek.com --
China Property Drop Signals Stock Sell-Off: Technical Analysis
The Shanghai Composite Index may retreat another 8.6 percent, almost doubling its losses so far this year, after a gauge of property stocks sank to a nine-month low, according to WJB Capital Group Inc.BusinessWeek.com --
SAP Upheaval Pits Plattner Against Ellison in Market-Share Spat
SAP AG Co-Founder Hasso Plattner may have a bigger challenge as he picks up his rivalry with Oracle Corp. -- again. .BusinessWeek.com --
Macquarie Second-Half Net May Beat Previous Forecast (Update1)
Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank, said fiscal second-half profit may be higher than forecast amid a recovery in global markets.BusinessWeek.com --
SingTel Profit Rises 24% on Singapore Mobile Demand (Update1)
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest phone company, reported third-quarter profit rose 24 percent on demand for mobile services at home and rebounding earnings from Indonesia.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Ex-Morgan Stanley Banker Zaoui Said to Weigh Starting Own Firm
Michael Zaoui, a former Morgan Stanley dealmaker who helped advise Arcelor SA in the takeover by Mittal Steel Co. that created the world’s largest steelmaker, may start his own advisory firm this year, according to people familiar with the matter. .BusinessWeek.com --
Ex-Space Shuttle Engineer Sentenced for China Spying (Update1)
A former Rockwell International and Boeing Co. aerospace engineer who worked on the Space Shuttle program was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for economic espionage and acting as an agent for China. .BusinessWeek.com --
Mongolia Considers Selling Stakes of Copper, Coal, Gold Assets
Mongolia, the Asian nation with some of the world’s largest untapped mineral resources, is considering setting up separate companies owning the country’s gold, copper and coal reserves and using investment banks to sell shares to global investors, the prime minister said.BusinessWeek.com --
Trichet Leaving Sydney Early to Attend ECB Meeting (Update1)
European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet will today depart a meeting of policy makers in Sydney a day early to attend a European Central Bank council meeting, a Reserve Bank of Australia spokeswoman said today.BusinessWeek.com --
Sri Lanka Arrests Defeated Election Candidate Fonseka (Update3)
Sri Lanka arrested General Sarath Fonseka, the opposition candidate defeated in last month’s presidential election, prompting a call from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to maintain peace.BusinessWeek.com --
SingTel Third-Quarter Profit Rises 24% on Singapore, Optus
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest phone company, reported third-quarter profit rose 24 percent on demand for mobile services in Australia and at home.BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
SingTel Posts Third-Quarter Net Income of S$990.7 Million
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest phone company, reported third-quarter net income of S$990.7 million ($696 million).BusinessWeek.com -- Technology
Washington Braces for Second Snow Blast as Storm Heads for NYC
Storm systems barreling across the country may bring as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of new snow to Washington and Baltimore starting late tomorrow, while New York may receive a foot, forecasters said.BusinessWeek.com --