US Intellectual Property Law & Policy News

TorrentSpy ordered to start tracking visitors

2007-06-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

A court decision reached last month but under seal until Friday could force Web sites to track visitors if the sites become defendants in a lawsuit. TorrentSpy, a popular BitTorrent search engine, was ordered on May 29 by a federal judge in the Central District of California in Los Angeles to create logs detailing users' activities on the site. The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents Columbia Pictures and other top Hollywood film studios, sued TorrentSpy and a host of others in February 2006 as part of a sweep against file-sharing companies. CNET News

Patent Ruling Strikes a Blow at Qualcomm

2007-06-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Millions of new mobile phones containing certain Qualcomm semiconductors could be barred from import into the United States under a ruling issued by a federal government agency in a patent dispute. United States International Trade Commission ruled that Qualcomm had infringed on a key patent belonging to Broadcom, a competing chip company that is used in the design of chips made for advanced 3G, or third-generation, smart cellphones. The New York Times

Bush administration seeks overhaul of patent system

2007-06-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Bush administration wants to reform the nation's patent system by requiring better information from inventors and allowing public scrutiny of applications, according to the director of the government's patent office. The goal, said Jon W. Dudas, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, is to improve the quality of patents, which should curb the rising wave of patent disputes and lawsuits. CNET News

French sports groups join suit against YouTube

2007-06-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Federation Francaise de Tennis and Ligue de Football Professionnel, as well as New York-based Cherry Lane Music Publishing, have joined a class-action lawsuit that accuses YouTube and parent company Google of copyright violations. The suit was initially filed last month on behalf of the lead plaintiffs in the case: Bourne, a music publishing company and the Premier League, England's most prestigious soccer league. CNET News

Politicos threaten schools over campus piracy

2007-06-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Politicians threatened to enact new laws if universities don't do more to prevent their students from unlawfully swapping music, movies and other copyrighted files on campus networks. At the latest in what has become a multiyear series of hearings focused on university campus piracy, members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Science and Technology Committee said college administrators must seriously consider using not only educational campaigns but also technological filters to reduce illicit file swapping among students. CNET News

Oracle amends complaint in SAP suit

2007-06-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Oracle amended its lawsuit against SAP alleging its rival copied its software and support materials to the point of repeating minor errors it had in the original versions. Oracle, which in March filed a lawsuit against SAP and its wholly owned subsidiary TomorrowNow, alleges TomorrowNow copied and stored its proprietary software and support materials when accessing its system. CNET News

Broadcom wins Qualcomm California patent case

2007-05-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

A federal jury found Qualcomm Inc. guilty of infringing three patents owned by smaller rival Broadcom Corp. and it awarded Broadcom $19.6 million in damages, the companies said. Wireless chip and technology license supplier Qualcomm said it would file post-trial motions to overturn the verdict, and, if unsuccessful, it would appeal the case. Broadcom said it planned to ask the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana to issue a permanent injunction barring Qualcomm from further infringement of the wireless technology patents. Reuters

Newest GPL draft leaves Novell in the clear

2007-06-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

The Free Software Foundation released the final draft of an updated General Public License, a draft that prohibits future deals similar to the Microsoft-Novell patent pact but lets that one go ahead. The Novell-Microsoft deal, in which Microsoft agreed to sell coupons for Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server and not to sue buyers for patent infringement, raised the foundation's ire when the companies announced it in November 2006. CNET News

Novell worries that GPL 3 could foil Microsoft pact

2007-05-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Novell is concerned that Microsoft could stop selling Suse Linux coupons if the third version of the General Public License remains in its current form. Its worries were aired in the delayed regulatory filing of its annual report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006. While much of what was officially released is known, Novell did express concerns that the final draft of GPL 3, which slipped its March 2007 deadline, could see Microsoft halting the distribution of Suse Linux, having a financial impact on Novell. Reuters

Nokia files patent action against Qualcomm

2007-05-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, said it has filed its first patent countersuit against Qualcomm, seeking damages and an injunction against the U.S. company's chipsets. Nokia said it also responded to the lawsuit filed by Qualcomm in Wisconsin on April 2. Nokia said it remains confident that its products do not infringe either of the two Qualcomm patents at issue and said that both patents are invalid. CNET News

Music industry offers deal to small Webcasters

2007-05-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Facing an outcry over imminent royalty fee increases for Internet radio operators, the music industry body that lobbied for the changes has attempted a peace offering. SoundExchange, the nonprofit group that collects the fees on behalf of hundreds of major and independent record companies said that it would give "small" Webcasters the option of paying "below market" royalty rates on the songs they play--that is, by keeping the required royalty rates essentially the same as they are under a 2002 law called the Small Webcaster Settlement Act. CNET News

Experts say Microsoft's patent quest won't go far

2007-05-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Microsoft said it released the tally of 235 patents infringed by the open-source software industry--though not the specific patents--in an effort to bring open-source companies to the table to hammer out intellectual property licensing deals similar to the one struck by Linux seller Novell in 2006. But industry experts said the declaration's implicit demand--that companies with open-source software should figure out what Microsoft patents they're infringing and come to the negotiating table--is unrealistic at best. CNET News

Backers of stronger copyright laws form lobby group

2007-05-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Some of the staunchest advocates for stricter copyright laws have formed a new alliance designed to pressure Congress into preserving stronger intellectual property rights. The Copyright Alliance consists of 29 national organizations and companies that purport to represent 11 million workers in copyright-related industries. CNET News

House takes small step toward revising patent law

2007-05-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Congress took a small step toward revising what many large computer industry companies charge is a broken patent system. A House of Representatives subcommittee overseeing intellectual property law approved by voice vote the so-called Patent Reform Act. CNET News

Court okays Google tiny sex images

2007-05-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

A federal appeals court lifted a preliminary injunction against Google Inc. from showing thumbnail-size photos from sexually explicit sites, but said the company might be liable for allowing links to sites displaying unauthorized photos. The case is the latest in which courts are seeking to strike a balance between fostering the free flow of information on the Internet and protecting copyrighted content. Reuters

Amazon.com and I.B.M. Resolve a Patent Dispute

2007-05-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

The online retailer Amazon.com and I.B.M. said that they had settled all their patent-infringement lawsuits and signed a long-term patent cross-license agreement. Under the deal, Amazon.com will pay the International Business Machines Corporation an undisclosed amount of money, and each company will share some of its technology. The New York Times

Major brands see rise in online fraud

2007-05-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Corporate brands face multipronged assaults from fraudulent online attackers, according to a report published Monday that quantifies the scope of the most common threats. MarkMonitor, which supplies Internet brand protection services to companies, said its new "Brandjacking Index" found cybersquatting--in which illicit sites usurp popular trademarks--false association, phishing and click fraud as major threats. CNET News

Dell joins Microsoft, Novell in Linux pact

2007-05-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp. said Dell Inc. had joined a business collaboration it had with Novell Inc. to allow open-source Linux software to work with Windows. The move makes Dell the first major systems provider to join the Microsoft-Novell collaboration, which consists of a broad set of business and technological agreements to make their products work together better to serve corporate customers using both Linux and Windows computer servers. Reuters

Studios face tough battle protecting hi-def DVDs

2007-05-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hollywood studios may find it impossible to squash a Web-based movement to facilitate the illegal copying of high-definition DVDs, even though the law is on their side, because the information has already been distributed so widely. In February, a hacker obtained a decryption key that enables copying of protected HD-DVD and Blu Ray movies and posted it on the Internet. Reuters

Supreme Court hands tech firms patent victories

2007-05-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with software and technology companies in two major patent rulings that could leave them less vulnerable to infringement lawsuits. The high court moved to curb the liability of firms for infringing products sold overseas and in another case loosened a key legal standard making it easier to invalidate some patents on the grounds they are obvious inventions. Reuters

Top court rules for Microsoft on patent

2007-05-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court overturned a ruling that Microsoft Corp. should be held liable for patent infringement on copies of the Windows operating system sold overseas. By a 7-1 vote, the justices rejected arguments by AT&T Inc. that Microsoft software code that infringes on its patents could be deemed a "component" of a computer, making overseas sales of the Windows operating system an infringement under U.S. patent law. Reuters

Google says Viacom lawsuit threat to Internet use

2007-05-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Viacom Inc.'s copyright infringement suit against Google Inc. and its YouTube video-sharing unit strikes at the heart of how the Internet works, Google argued in a U.S. federal court filing. Responding in the filing to Viacom's more-than-$1 billion lawsuit, the Web search leader denied virtually all the claims, including that the popular video-watching site was engaged in "massive intentional copyright infringement." Reuters

Court questions Zale's use of trademark in paid search text

2007-04-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

A federal court judge has ruled that referencing a trademarked term in ad text generated by a Web search may violate trademark rights. John Hamzik, who holds the trademark for "The Dating Ring," filed suit alleging that Zale jewelry company violated his trademark by purchasing the keywords "dating ring" for purposes of advertising via paid searches on Google, Yahoo and other search engines. He also alleged that Zale violated his trademark because jewelry items were displayed when a user searched on "dating ring" on the Zale Web site. CNET News

Lawmakers propose reversal of Net radio fee increases

2007-04-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

A bill introduced in Congress aims to overturn a controversial royalty fee increase that Internet radio advocates say threatens to cripple their services. The "Internet Radio Equality Act," introduced by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), would invalidate a March 2 decision by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board that calls for raising royalty rates paid by Net radio operators. CNET News

A call for broad distribution of presidential debate video

2007-04-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

In this day and age, it's no longer sufficient to just watch a presidential debate on television. You should also be able to upload it, YouTube it, share it, splice it, and 'remix' it online. That's the argument put forth by copyright-reform advocate and Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig, who sent a letter asking the chairs of the Democratic and Republican National Committees to ensure that video from the 2008 presidential debates can be uploaded, distributed and edited by anyone online. CNET News