UK Government Will Soon Legalize Ripping CDs And DVDs
Most of the prevalent copyright laws in US and Europe tend to take care of the interests of the content studios, far more than they make sense. UK government is now all set to do away with one of these non-sense copyright laws.
Law Firm Uses Honeypots On The Pirate Bay
Copyright infringement allegations are a growing industry in the U.S. right now. That is the key reason why law firms have recently resorted to all kinds of measures to dig out copyright violators. Now, it has been found that a law firm posted video clips on The Pirate Bay, only to bait the potential violators and then launch a case against them.
Zynga Files Trademark Infringement Suit Against Bang With Friends
Bang With Friends is a popular app which lets users find such friends who are interested in hooking up just for some ‘fun’. The Facebook app received pretty good coverage since its launch. Now, Zynga has launched a lawsuit against the company over the use of ‘With Friends’ phrase in the name, claiming it to be a trademark infringement.
Google Processes RIAA’s 25 Millionth Takedown Request
RIAA has been among the leading entities when it comes to sending DMCA notices to Google. Apparently, RIAA has been sending out millions of URLs to the search giant, to have them removed from search results. By now, the organization has sent more than 25 million URLs to Google.
Boston University Sues Apple Over Patent Infringement, Seeks To Ban iPhone And More
Boston University has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the company has infringed a semiconductor patent by a university professor. The university is seeking to ban Apple from selling the devices that infringe the patent, which include iPhone, iPad and more.
Facebook Wins Case Against Domain Squatters
Domain squatting refers to the practice of registering such domains which rhyme with popular websites. For instance, if you register a domain such as dacebook.com, you are essentially domain squatting. Facebook had filed a case against some 100 or so domains, charging them with domain squatting. The social network has won the case recently.
Apple Decides To Contest $368 Million Patent Infringement Verdict
Apple and VirnetX have been embroiled in a patent case ever since August 2010. VirnetX claimed that Apple infringed four of its patents in FaceTime and Message features on iOS devices. A jury awarded VirnetX $368 million in damages but Apple has decided to contest this verdict.
Motorola Won’t Get $4 Billion For Standard-Essential Patents
Motorola has been trying to bag $4 billion from Microsoft as royalty fee for using the former’s standard-essential patents. However, a federal court has ruled that the maximum sum Microsoft may pay to Motorola for using its standard-essential patents is $1.8 million a year.
Microsoft Inks Patent Deal With ZTE Over Android And Chrome
From the high stake patent battles between electronic giants lately, one thing is certain – these companies are not in for a healthy competitive market. Software giant Microsoft seems to have taken a lesson from these battles. The recent proof of this is a patent deal with ZTE announced on Tuesday.
IFPI Boss Says, Joe Biden Drove ‘Six Strikes’ Anti-Piracy Agreement
The “Six Strikes,” a copyright alert system, went into effect on February 25, 2013 in the U.S. On paper, the system is based on a voluntary agreement between copyright holders and ISPs. But, a recent comment from music group IFPI’s CEO Frances Moore says otherwise. According to Moore, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden pushed for “six strikes.”
Jury Ordered Cisco To Pay $70 Million Over Patent Fraud
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, the jury found network equipment maker Cisco guilty of fraudulently obtaining technology from a New York company named XpertUniverse. The jury ruled that Cisco must pay $70 million in damages to XpertUniverse for the fraudulent dealings. Cisco has to pay an additional $34,000 for violating two of XpertUniverse’s patents.
‘Six Strikes’ Rolls Out To Catch Illegal Downloaders
The “Copyright Alert System,” much publicized by the name “six strikes,” has finally gone into effect yesterday in the U.S. The campaign kicked off with the cooperation of five major ISPs, and hopes to curb online piracy.
Rembrandt Sued Facebook Over ‘Like’ Button
What is the most used feature on Facebook? Definitely, the ‘Like’ button. Seems, Facebook has violated patents by using this feature. Rembrandt Social Media, acting on behalf of a deceased Dutch computer programmer who was a pioneer in the development of “user-friendly web-based technologies,” has sued Facebook for using ‘Like’ button without permission.
Tim Cook Didn’t Want To Sue Samsung Over Patent Issues
Apple and Samsung are currently embroiled in endless patent litigation. The duo has launched multiple patent lawsuits against each other, all around the globe. A report in Reuters now suggests that Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook, had initially opposed a lawsuit against Samsung over patent issues.
FBI Employees Download And Share Pirated Movies And TV Shows
Major Hollywood studios including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Disney, 20th Century Fox were actively working against online piracy. At one point it was found that their own employees were involved in piracy. A similar case came to light again; this time it is the FBI. Employees at FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division were caught in the act of downloading and sharing movies and TV-shows illegally.
