Courts

Two recent court rulings indicate that judges are paying closer attention to how corporations conduct online and technological transactions with their customers. This is good news for consumers. (Source: Wired.com ) End User License Agreements ... (EULAs) are usually lengthy and full of all kinds of legalese. Almost all of them are one-sided and oppressive, offering consumers no choice but to take it or leave it. The first case of Gatton v. T-Mobile (PDF) involved a California Appeals Court that over ruled a provision in the EULA that required consumers to go through arbitration if they wanted to ... (view more)

Anyone who has heard one of Eminem's songs knows that making nice isn't his top priority. Now that Eminem has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Apple for selling his music on iTunes, it appears that the technology giant is no exception. ... On Monday, Eminem's producer Eight Mile Style and his copyright manager Martin Affiliated filed a suit which claims that Universal Music Group was never authorized to permit the rapper's songs to be downloaded from iTunes. Allegedly, Apple is not complying with the lawsuit's requests. "Eight Mile and Martin have demanded that Apple cease and desist ... (view more)

Recently, we reported on Australia's disinterest in Microsoft Vista. Now, the former crook colony is lashing out at another tech heavyweight, launching a lawsuit against web giant Google. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is ... suing Google for deception. The world's most popular online search engine is being accused of misleading users with links paid for by its advertisers. The ACCC feels that Google has allowed advertisers who falsely claim to be associated with other companies to place their links next to those of the companies that deny any relation to them. ... (view more)

Just what is the cost of wireless service exclusivity on the iPhone? Last Wednesday marked the first day in the hearing of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, where representatives called for a more open wireless system. ... Both Democrats and Republicans spoke out against the hostage-type contracts, in what's been dubbed the "iPhone hearing." Being discussed is the fact that the iPhone will only work on AT ... (view more)

Recently, a 22-year-old Chinese man died after his Motorola cell phone exploded. In the wake of such a tragedy, government regulators in south China are now discovering unsafe Nokia and Motorola phone batteries that can combust under certain ... conditions. As a result, phones by these companies have recently failed numerous safety tests in the country. Despite the very serious circumstances facing Nokia and Motorola, both are pointing fingers elsewhere. According to company representatives, the batteries found by authorities were unauthorized copycats. (Source: pcworld.com ) The timing and ... (view more)

A few days ago, I reported on the face-off between Microsoft and Google. Although hockey season's long over, it seems the two were ready to duke it out over the future of desktop searches within operating systems like Vista. At the heart of the ... matter is Google's complaint that Microsoft's Windows Vista breaks antitrust law by making it exceptionally difficult to install secondary desktop search programs, like Google Desktop. Although Microsoft admits these programs run a bit slow, they still run, and thus, break no antitrust laws. (Source: zdnet.com ) When we reported on the rising ... (view more)

If you're a teacher, there's certainly extra incentive to routinely update your anti-spyware software. Substitute teacher Julie Amero is proof; not only is the 40-year old facing criticism and the loss of her job (maybe even career), she's recently ... been at the center of a fierce criminal case. Unfortunately for Amero, a pornography pop-up advertisement on her computer flashed just as students were using it. The incident has thrust both Amero and adware into the mainstream spotlight. Prosecutors successfully convicted Amero of four felony counts of "risk of injury to a minor", an offense that ... (view more)

Another patent infringement occurs in the world of technology. This time, Sony may be the guilty party. Certicom, a Toronto-based development company, is suing the Sony Corporation for patent infringement. The equipment in question includes Sony's ... Playstation 3, DVD players, personal computers, and various high definition televisions and audio products. Sony is accused of breaching Certicom's patents by manufacturing, using, importing, distributing, and selling their products in the United States without Certicom's permission. The violated Certicom patents, employed in content protection ... (view more)

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)