Legal Cases
Appeals Court Rules COPA Is Unconstitutional
Jul 22, 2008 | The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's ruling today, affirming that the Child Online Protection Act Read More
Blizzard's WoW Copyright Case
Jul 16, 2008 | Videogame publisher Blizzard Entertainment, maker of the popular World of Warcraft franchise, won a legal victory yesterday. Though the outcome Read More
eBay's Legal Victory May Help Other Sites
Jul 15, 2008 | After losing a similar trademark battle in France only two weeks ago, eBay had reason to celebrate yesterday when U.S. Read More
Verizon Wireless Pays $21M To Settle ETF Case
Jul 10, 2008 | According to the Associated Press, Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay $21 million to settle a California lawsuit brought by Read More
eBay: Counterfeit Case Is Anti-Competitive
Jul 7, 2008 | Courts in the Europe and the U.S. have been trying to decide who is responsible when counterfeit goods are sold Read More
ISPs Make Deal with NY to Fight Child Porn
Jun 10, 2008 | Internet service providers (ISPs) Sprint, Verizon and Time Warner Cable are the latest Net companies to respond to pressure from Read More
AP: FCC May Change Terms of Cellphone Contracts
May 21, 2008 | The Associated Press is reporting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is "quietly negotiating" with several wireless phone carriers to Read More
News From Who's Who
May 6, 2008 | Below is a quick roundup of recent press releases from Tech Policy Central's Who's Who, which profiles nearly 100 think Read More
Courts Reach Different Conclusions in P2P Cases
Apr 7, 2008 | "Same day, two federal courts, two different rulings on 'making available.'" That's how Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney for Read More
CDT: Roommate Ruling is an "Ominous Indicator"
Apr 7, 2008 | The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) is calling last week's Roommates.com court ruling "an ominous indicator of the threats Read More
U.K. Court, Patent Office at Odds Over Software Patent
Mar 20, 2008 | A recent court ruling in Britain may end up changing the way software patents are granted in the country. While Read More
Supreme Court Denies MSFT Antitrust Appeal
Mar 18, 2008 | Microsoft lost a Supreme Court ruling yesterday that opens the door for Novell to pursue an antitrust case against its Read More
Update: OLPC's Patent Suit
Mar 14, 2008 | Last November, we wrote about the news that the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project had been sued for patent Read More
Intel CEO in Brussels for Antitrust Hearing
Mar 11, 2008 | Reuters reports that Intel's CEO Paul Otellini is in Brussels today for a closed hearing with European Commission officials to Read More
eBay Buys "Buy It Now" Patent
Feb 29, 2008 | After a prolonged legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court, eBay has made a deal with Read More
EU Commissioner Kroes: "Talk Is Cheap"
Feb 27, 2008 | Quipping "talk is cheap...flouting the rules is expensive," European Union competition commissioner Neelie Kroes defended the European Commission's decision to Read More
ITC Stays Patent Trial Against Chip Companies
Feb 26, 2008 | Tessera, a Silicon Valley company that develops miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry, experienced a setback today in its intellectual Read More
RIM and MOT Sue; Senators Push Patent Reform
Feb 18, 2008 | Over the weekend, Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) filed a lawsuit against Motorola in U.S. District Court in Texas. Read More
Court Sides With TiVo In Patent Case
Feb 1, 2008 | The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. handed TiVo a victory in its patent infringement suit against EchoStar and Read More
EU Court Rules in ISP's Copyright Case
Jan 29, 2008 | The European Court of Justice issued a new ruling today that is designed to prevent ISPs in the EU from Read More
Cable Group Seeks Stay on FCC Ruling
Jan 23, 2008 | The cable industry is going to bat again against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The National Cable and Telecommunications Association Read More
DRM May Be Dying, But RIAA Warnings Live On
Jan 11, 2008 | By all accounts, it's been an active week on the digital music scene. No doubt spurred by the media frenzy Read More
Privacy Groups Push for FTC Chair's Recusal
Dec 18, 2007 | According to the San Jose Mercury News, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Read More
Say It Isn't So; Vonage Sued Again
Dec 17, 2007 | We took a brief break from writing to visit the Renaissance Hollywood hotel where we're holding Tech Policy Summit in Read More
What People Search For, According to Google
Dec 14, 2007 | Google has released its annual look at the most popular search terms in the United States. The Google Zeitgeist, as it's Read More
Texas Sues Sites for Violating Child Privacy Act
Dec 7, 2007 | Texas became the first state to take legal action under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) earlier this week Read More
Judge Dismisses Antitrust Suit Against RIAA
Dec 4, 2007 | The Associated Press reports that a federal judge has dismissed the antitrust suit that peer-to-peer (P2P) startup LimeWire had filed Read More
Apple and ATT Sued for Patent Infringement
Dec 3, 2007 | Visual voicemail, which lets you see who's left a message before you listen to it, is one of the iPhone's Read More
USPTO Upholds TiVo's Time Warp Patent
Nov 29, 2007 | The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a ruling today as part of an ongoing patent dispute between TiVo Read More
One Laptop Project's Patent Suit
Nov 28, 2007 | One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC) mission is to supply children in developing countries with low-cost portable computers. Which is easier Read More
Lost in Translation? Differences on Google Case in Israel
Nov 28, 2007 | Yesterday morning, a report in Techdirt said that Google had been ordered by an Israeli court to turn over information about Read More
Broadcom Seeks Injunction Against Qualcomm
Nov 26, 2007 | The bad blood continues between rival mobile chip makers Broadcom and Qualcomm. The two have been involved in an ongoing Read More
Student Blocks RIAA Subpoena
Nov 20, 2007 | Last month, News.com reported that a federal judge in D.C. granted a subpoena to the Recording Industry Association of America Read More
CA Customer Sues Comcast
Nov 15, 2007 | Comcast has been under fire since the Associated Press reported a few weeks ago that the cable company interferred with Read More
Tiffany Sues eBay Over Knock-Offs
Nov 14, 2007 | A judge in New York is hearing a case to decide if eBay is responsible for the sale of counterfeit jewelry Read More
Yahoo Settles Suit with Jailed Journalists
Nov 13, 2007 | While the terms of the deal weren't disclosed, the Associated Press reports that Yahoo! settled a California lawsuit brought by Read More
Vonage Settling Again?
Nov 8, 2007 | A few weeks ago, after it settled its patent suit with Verizon, we referred to VoIP company Vonage as the Energizer bunny. Lo Read More
eBay Wins Trademark Case
Nov 6, 2007 | An online perfume store named Perfume Bay may have to change its name because it's too similiar to the name Read More
CDT, Others Fight Child Online Protection Act
Oct 30, 2007 | The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) and 17 other organizations collaborated on a "friend of the court" brief that CDT submitted Read More
How Peer-to-Patent Could Benefit From Sun Lawsuit
Oct 26, 2007 | A couple of days ago, in a blog post about Sun Microsystems' legal battle with NetAppliance, Sun's CEO Jonathan Schwartz Read More
Vonage Does It Again; Makes Deal with Verizon
Oct 25, 2007 | Vonage is the Energizer bunny of the communications industry. Our evidence: In April, news broke that the VoIP startup had Read More
SanDisk Says 25 Companies Violated Patents; Seeks Ban on Imports
Oct 25, 2007 | Flash memory maker SanDisk issued a news release yesterday stating that is had filed three patent infringements suits against 25 Read More
Microsoft Ends EU Appeals
Oct 24, 2007 | The major news services have just announced that Microsoft has formally ended its appeals of the European Commission's antitrust decisions Read More
Some People Complain, Others Sue
Oct 9, 2007 | While Apple's stock hovers around its 52-week high of over $167 a share, not everyone is feeling love for Read More
Vonage and Sprint Make a Deal
Oct 8, 2007 | Vonage settled its patent dispute with Sprint Nextel, agreeing to pay Sprint approximately $80 million to license over 100 Read More
RIAA Jury Trial to Begin in Minnesota
Oct 1, 2007 | Jury selection will be held tomorrow in a Minnesota court case, Virgin v. Thomas, that Wired is calling "the nation's Read More
EU Opens Antitrust Investigation of Qualcomm
Oct 1, 2007 | According to Computerworld, the European Commission has launched an antitrust investigation of mobile chip maker Qualcomm, following complaints from Nokia, Read More
Prince vs. YouTube and eBay?
Sep 20, 2007 | Legendary performer Prince wants YouTube and eBay to do more to prevent copyrighted material from appearing on their sites without Read More
What's the Impact of the EU's Ruling Against Microsoft?
Sep 19, 2007 | According to reports in the International Herald Tribune and Computerworld, Monday's ruling by the European Court of First Instance against Read More
What Would Marley Do?
Sep 14, 2007 | Reuters news service reported yesterday that Verizon Wireless was going to stop allowing customers to use ringtones, ringbacks and photos Read More
Appeals Court Stays Qualcomm Ban
Sep 13, 2007 | There's a new twist in the ongoing Broadcom-Qualcomm patent dispute that had resulted in a ban on importation of new Read More
M2Z Seeks Court Help with FCC Decision
Aug 16, 2007 | It's been less than three weeks since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced its rules for the upcoming 700 MHz Read More
Video Startup Sues First
Aug 10, 2007 | While the Viacom-Google lawsuit is the mother of all copyright disputes at the moment given the $1 billion Viacom wants Read More
Update: Administration Upholds Qualcomm Ban
Aug 7, 2007 | As we've previously blogged about, Qualcomm had been hoping that the Bush administration would overturn the International Trade Commission's (ITC) Read More
Music Publishers Join Suit Against YouTube
Aug 7, 2007 | The list of those suing Google's YouTube over alleged copyright infringement just got a little longer, with the National Music Read More
T-Mobile Appeals Class-Action Suit
Aug 6, 2007 | On Friday, WIRED reported on the status of a class-action suit against wireless carrier T-Mobile USA. The plaintiffs in the Read More
The Obviousness Ruling's Impact on Patent Cases
Jul 31, 2007 | An article in today's The Wall Street Journal explores how the Supreme Court's April ruling on the obviousness of patents Read More
EU Takes Next Step in Intel-AMD Case
Jul 29, 2007 | According to the International Herald Tribune, "in a case reminiscent of their legal battle with Microsoft, European Union antitrust regulators Read More
Verizon Wireless in Patent Deal with Broadcom
Jul 20, 2007 | There's a new twist in the Broadcom-Qualcomm patent dispute, which led to the announcement of a ban on U.S. importation Read More
House Members Concerned About Qualcomm Ban
Jul 12, 2007 | In a follow-up to our post about the International Trade Commission's (ITC) ban on U.S. importation of new 3G Qualcomm Read More
Warner Music and imeem Redefine "Courtship"
Jul 12, 2007 | As business models collide, some interesting alliances are being forged between established Hollywood leaders and technology upstarts. The latest example Read More
Belgian Court Requires ISP to Enforce Copyright
Jul 5, 2007 | A court in Belgium has ordered that an ISP named Scarlet Extended SA must install technology to prevent its customers Read More
Copyright Dispute Over Virtual Property
Jul 4, 2007 | There's news today of another legal battle involving Second Life, the virtual world created by San Francisco-based Linden Lab. As Read More
TorrentSpy Founders Launch Copyright Filtering Service
Jun 25, 2007 | Wired.com's Threat Level blog profiles a new venture called FileRights that is designed to help copyright owners find and "automatically Read More
Second Life In Court
Jun 13, 2007 | Attorney Eric Sinrod reminds us that even virtual worlds aren't free of litigation in his Perspective column in News.com. Sinrod Read More
Mobile Phone Industry's Patent Woes
Jun 11, 2007 | Just days after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in Broadcom's favor in one of its patent infrigement cases against Read More
Vonage Seeks New Patent Trial
May 2, 2007 | Reuters reports that VoIP provider Vonage has a filed motion requesting a retrial in the recent patent infringement case brought Read More
Supreme Court Rules in Patent Cases
Apr 30, 2007 | According to The Wall Street Journal (sub required), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in two patent infringement cases today, in Read More
Update: Google Settles Copyright Suit
Apr 6, 2007 | As we blogged about last summer, Agence France Presse (AFP) filed a copyright infringement suit against Google in March 2005 Read More
Judge Rules: No New Customers for Vonage
Apr 6, 2007 | The Associated Press and News.com have reported that U.S. District judge Claude Hilton issued a ruling today that prevents VoIP Read More
Viacom's Billion Dollar Lawsuit
Mar 13, 2007 | As the Associated Press and others are reporting, Viacom upped the ante in its ongoing copyright battle with Google's YouTube Read More
Microsoft vs. ATT Patent Case Goes Before Supreme Court
Feb 21, 2007 | The Supreme Court heard arguments today in the Microsoft vs. AT&T patent case, which centers on a dispute over whether Read More
MySpace Using Video-Blocking Tool
Feb 14, 2007 | According to this article in Red Herring, MySpace launched a pilot program on Monday that prevents its members from uploading Read More
Beligan Court Rules Against Google in Copyright Suit
Feb 13, 2007 | In an update to a story we blogged about in September, Reuters is reporting that a Belgian court has upheld Read More
Court Rules on Copyright of Orphan Works
Jan 23, 2007 | According to Reuters, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled yesterday to uphold the copyright law on orphan works. The decision Read More
More MySpace News
Jan 18, 2007 | The Associated Press is reporting that four families whose daughters were sexually abused by online predators have filed separate law Read More
Nokia, Samsung and Matsushita Face Patent Suit Over Bluetooth
Jan 3, 2007 | Financial Times is among those reporting on a lawsuit filed in federal court against Matsushita, Nokia and Samsung. According to Read More
Supreme Court to Hear New Patent Case
Nov 27, 2006 | News.com's Anne Broache writes about a patent case going before the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow that could have a far-reaching Read More
Universal Music Sues MySpace
Nov 17, 2006 | Reuters announced that Universal Music Group filed a lawsuit against News Corp.'s MySpace, alleging copyright infringement over use of music Read More
NTP Files Patent Suit Against Palm
Nov 6, 2006 | Reuters reports that NTP, Inc., which settled a patent dispute with Blackberry-maker Research in Motion earlier this year (see our Read More
Court Battles Over File-Sharing Continue
Sep 30, 2006 | Two different court cases involving file-sharing companies and the entertainment industry made news this week. In the first one, a Read More
Calif. Bans Holding Cell Phones While Driving
Sep 15, 2006 | Computerworld reports that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law today that bans motorists from holding cell phones while Read More
Patent Cases Could Lead to Ban on Tech Imports
Aug 24, 2006 | An article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal called "Smoot-Hawley's Revenge" (subscription required) warns about the role that the International Trade Read More
Record Labels Sue P2P Company
Aug 8, 2006 | Reuters reports that major record label owners EMI Group, Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music filed a lawsuit last Read More
Will Friendster Enter the Patent Fray?
Aug 1, 2006 | An article in News.com today takes a look at Friendster's recent patent award. On June 27th, over three years after Read More
A Tangled Web: Delays in Google-AFP Copyright Case
Jul 24, 2006 | Almost 18 months ago, French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google. The suit Read More
E.U. Follows Through with Microsoft Fine
Jul 12, 2006 | As it has been threatening to do for some time, the European Commission announced today that it has fined Microsoft Read More
E.U. Follows Through with Microsoft Fine
Jul 12, 2006 | As it has been threatening to do for some time, the European Commission announced today that it has fined Microsoft Read More
Q & A with Hilary Rosen, post-RIAA
Jul 11, 2006 | In this interview with Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Wired News asks her Read More
Reflections on MGM v. Grokster
Jul 2, 2006 | A year after the landmark MGM v. Grokster Supreme Court decision, the heads of the Recording Industry Association of America Read More
Ag Department's Rural Broadband May Be Backfiring
Jun 15, 2006 | An article in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) outlines the angst some cable providers feel toward the Agriculture Department's Read More
RIAA on Grokster, DRM and more
May 25, 2006 | In Declan McCullagh's Q & A with the Recording Industry Association of America's Mitch Bainwol (Chairman) and Cary Sherman (President), Read More
Symantec Files Suit Against Microsoft
May 19, 2006 | News.com reported yesterday that Symantec filed a law suit against Microsoft, seeking "unspecfied damages" for alleged violations of Symantec's intellectual Read More
eBay Sellers Sued for Piracy
May 17, 2006 | With the help of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), anti-virus software makers Symantec and McAfee have filed a Read More
XM Satellite Being Sued by Record Industry
May 17, 2006 | According to an Associated Press article in Yahoo! News, major record labels filed a lawsuit in New York yesterday against Read More
Update: Patent Suit Against eBay Rejected
May 16, 2006 | On March 13, we referred to a Washington Post article about MercExchange's patent suit against eBay over the "Buy It Read More
Cities Suing Online Travel Sites
May 15, 2006 | San Antonio, Texas is the latest U.S. city to file a class-action lawsuit against online travel sites like Travelocity, Orbitz, Read More
Settlements Reached in Memory Price-Fixing Case
May 12, 2006 | Memory chip manufacturers Samsung Semiconductor and Infineon Technologies seem to have reached settlement agreements in a class action law suit Read More
New Coalition Focuses on Patent Litigation
May 12, 2006 | News.com reports on the formation of a new group called the Coalition for Patent Fairness. Backed by Intel, Cisco and Read More
Rambus wins Patent Suit
Apr 25, 2006 | According to News.com, memory manufacturer Rambus won a patent infringement suit against Hynix Semiconductor, awarding over $306 million in damages Read More
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Microsoft
Apr 19, 2006 | In a win for Microsoft, according to News.com, a U.S. Appeals court prevented a class-action antitrust lawsuit that could have Read More
EFF's Suit Against AT&T
Apr 10, 2006 | The Electronic Frontier Foundation, whose stated charter is " to defend freedom in the digital world," filed a class action Read More
Update: DOJ/Google Case
Mar 15, 2006 | As a follow-up on our blog post from yesterday, the Washington Post reported that a U.S. District Judge in San Read More
Google and Justice Department Square Off
Mar 14, 2006 | Google and the U.S. Department of Justice will meet in court today as part of the DOJ's request for Google's Read More
Patent Infringement Suit Against Ebay
Mar 13, 2006 | The Washington Post reports that the Office of the Solicitor General filed a brief last Friday claiming that eBay willfully Read More
Full House at the FCC?
Mar 10, 2006 | According to News.com's Politics Blog, the FCC is getting closer to filling the fifth and final commissioner seat. Robert McDowell's Read More
Microsoft Goes On Offensive Against EU
Mar 7, 2006 | A story in last Friday's San Jose Mercury News reports that Microsoft has asked U.S. courts to put pressure on Read More
Social Security Numbers Fair Game?
Mar 6, 2006 | According to Computerworld, a class action lawsuit is being filed against Ohio's Secretary of State for posting records online that Read More
Blackberry Case Settled...At Last
Mar 6, 2006 | Late Friday, Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM) decided to settle its patent dispute case with Virginia-based NTP Inc.. The Read More
DOJ Investigates the Online Music Industry
Mar 6, 2006 | The Washington Post reports that the Department of Justice has begun an investigation into the "possible anti-competitive practices" in the Read More
Cisco Weighs in on Censorship Hearings
Mar 2, 2006 | A recent post on Cisco's High Tech Policy Blog caught our eye. It features a Q & A with Mark Read More
.com Registry Agreement Reached
Mar 2, 2006 | A post on the 463 tech policy blog discusses the recent announcement that ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names Read More
Blackberry Saga Continues
Feb 24, 2006 | BlackBerry users continue to wonder when, if ever, their service could be halted because of the ongoing patent battle between Read More
RIM Shutdown Unlikely
Feb 22, 2006 | It appears less and less likely that techies and road warriors will have to endure a much-feared shutdown in BlackBerry Read More
Google Involved in Copyright Infringement Case
Feb 22, 2006 | According to the Wall Street Journal Online, a federal judge has ordered Google and owners of an adult site called Read More
Déjà Vu: Anti-Trust Complaint Against Microsoft
Feb 22, 2006 | Several of Microsoft's competitors have filed a formal complaint in the European Union, claiming that Microsoft is monopolizing the software Read More
Déjà Vu: Anti-Trust Complaint Against Microsoft
Feb 22, 2006 | Several of Microsoft's competitors have filed a formal complaint in the European Union, claiming that Microsoft is monopolizing the software Read More
