Legal - SlashGear

‘legal’ Stories

Protect IP Act vote postponed as Senate ponders revision

Chris Davies, Jan 20th 2012 Discuss [3]

The US Senate vote on the Protect IP Act (PIPA) set to go ahead on January 24 2012 has been postponed, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has confirmed. "In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday's vote on the PROTECT IP Act" Senator Reid tweeted, while TPM posted a full memo distributed by his office that details the decision. While PIPA - along with the Stop Online Piracy Act - was the cause of widespread online protest earlier this week, this postponement doesn't, however, mean the act is dead. Read The Full Story

Anonymous speaks on #OpMegaUpload as CEO Dotcom faces extradition

Chris Davies, Jan 20th 2012 Discuss [15]

The FBI's surprise takedown of Megaupload continues to send shockwaves, with increasingly vocal complaints from legitimate users of the online locker service that their files and backups are being held hostage. The unexpected downtime has left many surprised and angry that Megaupload - which the US Department of Justice described as "an international organized criminal enterprise" - has been taken offline with no consideration of non-copyrighted content, a reason some Anonymous members claim was their motivation for involvement in the huge denial-of-service attack yesterday. Meanwhile, reports from New Zealand where company founder Kim Dotcom was arrested suggest the outspoken exec locked himself in a panic room so as to avoid arrest, and was discovered near a sawn-off shotgun. Read The Full Story

Samsung’s first 3G anti-Apple patent suit rejected in Germany

Chris Davies, Jan 20th 2012 Discuss [0]

The first of Samsung's seven patent infringement claims against Apple in Germany has been rejected by the courts, though it's unclear at present what impact the decision could have on the Korean company's remaining cases. Centered around 3G/UMTS wireless standards patents Samsung holds, the case alleges Apple has released products such as the iPhone without licensing the tech appropriately. At this stage, though, we don't know if the Mannheim Regional Court decided Apple escaped on a technical reason, FOSS Patents reports, or if it decided that the Cupertino company did indeed have a license. Read The Full Story

Megaupload: Seven charged, Anti-piracy stance a sham say Feds

Chris Davies, Jan 20th 2012 Discuss [9]

Seven have been charged in the Megaupload copyright shutdown case, including site founder Kim “Dr. Evil” Dotcom, as more details on the $500m suit emerge. At least four of the seven have been arrested so far, the NYTimes reports, though the company’s legal team has said in a statement that “Megaupload believes the government is wrong on the facts, wrong on the law.” The dramatic shutdown of Megaupload and the seizure of around $50m in assets led to swift response by the hacking community, with collective Anonymous taking down the Department of Justice’s site, along with the RIAA, MPAA and Universal Music.

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Lawmakers sway post-SOPA/PIPA protest but Acts still have venom

Chris Davies, Jan 19th 2012 Discuss [0]

Wikipedia is back, Google has taken off its blindfold and US Representatives have danced, shuffled and snuck across the aisles as the whip counts waver, leaving the future of SOPA and PIPA uncertain. After online protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act saw multiple sites post call-to-arms messages or black-out altogether, at least seven senators have jumped ship from supporting the proposed legislation. Yet Wikipedia – and others – highlight the fight isn’t over; “we’re not done yet” the online encyclopedia ominously warned today.

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Kodak files for bankruptcy

Chris Davies, Jan 19th 2012 Discuss [6]

Kodak has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, with the struggling camera company expecting it to be 2013 before it gets back on its feet again. The latest step as Kodak attempts to shift away from traditional film-based photography and get up to speed in the digital world, the company's announcement suggests 75-percent of revenues in 2011 actually came from digital divisions. Read The Full Story

Google facing EU antitrust charges at end of March

Chris Davies, Jan 18th 2012 Discuss [3]

Whether or not Google is formally accused of antitrust behaviors by the European Commission will be decided at the end of March, it's been confirmed, suggesting the EU has accelerated its investigation into the search giant's behaviors online. "I will receive comments from the case team towards the end of the first quarter" EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told Reuters this week. "I do not expect anything sooner. Let us see" Read The Full Story

Columns

SOPA and PIPA are the Wrong Way to Tackle Piracy

Chris Davies, Jan 18th 2012 Discuss [0]

Anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA protests have begun in force today, with sites like Wikipedia giving the internet a taste of a web without freedom of speech, as censorship and piracy take center stage for lawmakers, content-owners and users alike. The proposed acts are, we believe, a heavy-handed and naive approach toward the legitimate issue of content theft. Being against the proposed acts isn’t the same as being “pro-piracy”; that’s why we here at SlashGear (and R3 Media, the company behind SlashGear), as avid content-creators and content-consumers, believe SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to tackle piracy online.

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Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout underway

Chris Davies, Jan 18th 2012 Discuss [4]

Wikipedia has entered a twenty-four hour blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA, the US anti-piracy acts currently giving free-internet advocates headaches. Visit any English-language Wikipedia page and instead of a crowd-sourced entry you’ll be prompted to “Imagine a world without free knowledge” as well as offered links to spread the message. Meanwhile, Google has opened up some of its historically whitespace homepage for an anti-SOPA call to arms, while other sites prepare to go dark.

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SOPA to be resurrected after blackout protests

Rue Liu, Jan 17th 2012 Discuss [4]

With growing opposition against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), an imminent blackout protest to kick off tomorrow, and a postponed vote on the legislation, it seemed as though SOPA was close to being dead. But that's not the case, reminds the legislation's creator and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith. In a press release today, Smith said he expects the committee to continue marking up the bill in February. Read The Full Story

Apple demands Galaxy phone/tablet ban as Samsung seeks iPhone chip contracts

Chris Davies, Jan 17th 2012 Discuss [18]

Apple and Samsung are back at each other’s throats today, with Apple filing ten injunctions against the Korean company’s smartphone range in Europe, while Samsung is demanding access to Apple’s contract with Qualcomm. Samsung has been accused of violating Apple design patents with ten handsets and five tablets, the Dusseldorf, Germany court confirmed to Bloomberg today, with the Cupertino company hoping to block all fifteen devices from sale in Europe.

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Wikipedia blackout a “broad global message” about SOPA/PIPA peril says Wales

Chris Davies, Jan 17th 2012 Discuss [4]

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has defended the online encyclopedia's decision to stage a global blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA this week, arguing "US law, as it impacts the internet, can affect everyone." Wales hopes the blackout - which will see the English-language version of Wikipedia replaced with an open letter encouraging US citizens to contact their Representatives and voice their concerns with the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act - will prompt even those outside of the US to contact friends and family living there and encourage them to speak up on the proposed legislation, he told the Telegraph, as "a broad global message" about censorship. Read The Full Story