Courts

Bit Torrents have arisen from the ashes of illegal file sharing protocols like Limewire and Kazaa. Although open source users maintain that the law makes Torrent downloads difficult to condemn, already the digital rights authorities are turning ... their focus to shutting down some of the web's most popular Torrent sites. First up may be TorrentSpy, which has recently been ordered to monitor and track those using its database. The new arrangement is the result of a May court decision which is only now becoming public. A California federal judge has tasked TorrentSpy with keeping a log of its ... (view more)

Mail fraud, identity theft, wire fraud, money laundering, and more -- 35 counts altogether. It was all just another day at the office for Robert Solway: a wealthy 27-year-old man who has been dubbed the "King of Spam." How rich? According to ... prosecutor Kathryn Warmac, Solway has been living in a "ritzy apartment" and cruising around in an expensive and flashy Mercedes-Benz convertible. Yes, he reaped those rewards for annoying us all with insidious junk email. (Sources: itwire.com.au and abcnews.go.com ) Arrested and imprisoned, Solway earns the dubious distinction of being the first spammer ... (view more)

Microsoft is suing three perpetrators suspicious of using hotmail networks to endorse stocks. "Pump-and-dump email scams are a form of fraud where the criminals purchase stock in a company -- typically an inexpensive penny stock -- and then promote ... the equity in millions of unsolicited email messages." (Source: wininsider.com ) This quick and easy form of spamming is one of the more profitable styles at the present time. Those responsible for sending pump-and-dump emails gain monetary rewards, whereas Microsoft, on the other hand, is burdened with considerable costs. Research focusing on the ... (view more)

Target Technology (TT), a Californian company is taking legal action against Sony due to claims of patent infringement. The tension was sparked by Sony's use of Blu-ray technology in its PlayStation 3 games console. The angered party contends that ... the technology Sony used to produce Blu-ray discs violates one of its patents. The copyright, which was granted to Sony in 2006, "describes the use of silver-based alloys, which have the advantages of gold in the production of the discs, but at a lower cost." (Source: channelregister.co.uk ) In terms of demands, Target Technology wants three Sony- ... (view more)

Dell has come under fire once again -- this time, it's for misleading customers. New York Attorney General Anthony Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that it misled customers on the financing arrangements of their purchases. ... (Source: arstechnica.com ) Specifically, the lawsuit accuses Dell and its Financial Services unit of deceiving customers with enticing financial offers which carried an abundance of restrictions and limitations. Cuomo said that consumers "who purchase Dell's products often find that many of the benefits and inducements featured in Dell's advertisements ... (view more)

Apple recently confirmed that the Federal Communications Commission has approved their much-anticipated iPhone, marking a giant step towards the revolutionary gadget being available for sale to the general public. Approval from the FCC involves a ... mandatory certification process that all cellphones must endure before being shipped out to retail stores nationwide. (Source: usatoday.com ) The FCC certification test was the final uncertain roadblock that stood between the iPhone and the average consumer. Apple may now continue their mass production as planned. Many executives at AT ... (view more)

Nvidia, the manufacturer of PC graphics cards is facing a possible class action lawsuit over "designed for Windows Vista" claims with their new "Series 8 GPU" line after they announced that their 8800 graphics card series were "Windows Vista ... Capable." The graphics cards were released before Windows Vista was officially released. Nvidiaclassaction.info is gathering information from victims around the world who believe that Nvidia and their manufacturing partners deceived and defrauded them. The site alleges that the graphic card was being sold for about $700 with the statement "Built for ... (view more)

For those who follow the tech industry, and in particular Microsoft, the sudden announcement of legal matters is hardly surprising. It seems the Redmond-based company, and others like Sony and Apple, are perpetually engaged in litigation to defend ... anything from copyright issues to product quality. Now, the most recent case surrounds a woman who has launched a legal campaign against Microsoft's Vista advertising, and the "Windows Vista Capable" motto. The suit comes from one Dianne L. Kelley, who finds that a number of PCs sold last year with Vista on board are anything but capable. Instead, ... (view more)

In the first of what may become many law suits involving Microsoft Windows Vista, a class action suit was recently filed alleging that people who bought "Vista Capable" and "Vista Ready" computers last year have found themselves with a machine ... barely capable of running Vista, not capable of running "the real Vista." Last year, before the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft and several computer makers launched a program to put "Windows Vista Capable" logos on computers that met hardware requirements to run the new operating system when it came out. The law suit alleges that people bought the ... (view more)

Although it was once the toast of music pirates everywhere -- and exactly the place where many got started -- the original Napster is being laid to rest. It's seen some 30 billion songs (shared) since the protocol was crafted over six years ago, but ... the market has largely changed. As Torrents and iTunes rip offs take over the Internet, the lawyers officially chose to close a chapter of digital media history. According to reports, EMI and financier Bertelsmann have reached a legal settlement that will terminate Napster functionality. For those who missed it, Bertelsmann funded Napster in 2000 ... (view more)