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WTO Green-Lights Antigua's Controversial Download Site January 29, 2013 Looks like Antigua's gamble paid off. The World Trade Organization OK'd Antigua's request to suspend U.S. copyrights, which will allow the country to move forward with a government-run download portal that offers *copyrighted* movies, music, TV shows and software. Antigua, an island located in the Caribbean, was granted preliminary approval for suspension of U.S. copyrights in 2007.

Google, the EU and Competition: Speaking Different Languages January 29, 2013 Back in December, European regulators warned Google that they expected concrete proposals to allay antitrust concerns by January. Well, January is almost over, and it sounds like regulators are still convinced that Google is abusing its search engine dominance. The European Commission is also investigating Google's attempts to seek and enforce injunctions against certain Apple and Microsoft products.

Unlocking Cellphones Is Now Illegal, but You'll Be Forgiven January 28, 2013 It is now illegal to unlock a cellphone, thanks to a decision late last year by the Library of Congress that went into effect on Saturday. That decision eliminated an exemption to the DMCA that gave users the right to legally unlock a device in order to use a different provider's network.

French Court Orders Twitter to Name Names of Racist Tweeters January 26, 2013 A French court has ordered Twitter to hand over data that could help identify users who posted racist messages on the service's website, acting on a complaint filed in October by the Union of French Jewish Students. The 17th Chamber of the Paris Criminal Courts also wants Twitter to make it easy for users to flag tweets deemed illegal under French law.

Google's Transparency Report Serves as Subtle Call to Action January 25, 2013 Governments around the world peppered Google with 21,389 information requests on about 33,634 users from July through December 2012. That represents a 2 percent year-over-year increase, according to Google's latest Transparency Report, released this week. The U.S. led the barrage, with 8,476 requests for information -- a 6 percent year-over-year increase.

Saudi Blogger Won't Face Death on Apostasy Accusation January 23, 2013 A court in Saudi Arabia reportedly has declined to hear the case of Raif Badawi, a liberal blogger who was accused of apostasy. Apostasy,defined as the abandonment of one's faith, is a particularly grievous charge in Islam. Had it been so inclined, the court that turned down the case could have sentenced Badawi to death. As it stands, Badawi's charge was referred to a lower court.

Dutch Court: Apple Can't Corner the Rounded-Corner Market January 16, 2013 A Dutch court ruled this week that Samsung's Galaxy tablets do not infringe on certain Apple design patents relating to the iPad. Apple alleged that Samsung copied the rounded edges of its iPad to create the design on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 7.7. The Apple case hinged on the principle of Community Design, an intellectual property right in the European Union.

2012's Most Notable Computer Crimes January 16, 2013 Users of the Internet and electronic gear are vulnerable to criminals near and far, but we don't always hear about what happens at court and whether the alleged criminals are convicted or acquitted. Here is an update on some those crimes for consideration. After an 11-day jury trial in Denver, members of the management of Executive Recycling were convicted of illegally disposing of e-waste overseas.

Netflix Could Get Smacked With Higher Postal Rate January 14, 2013 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday weighed in on a dispute between video game company GameFly and the U.S. Postal Service, siding with GameFly's position that the post office has been practicing price discrimination among its customers.

Judge Knocks Some Wind Out of Apple's App Store Sails January 04, 2013 A federal judge this week granted Amazon's request to throw out one claim in Apple's lawsuit against it -- namely the allegation that Amazon engaged in false advertising by using the term "Appstore" for its slew of Android-based online offerings. Other claims Apple is alleging against Amazon, including one for trademark infringement, are going forward in the trial.

State Dept. in a Snit Over Schmidt's North Korea Trip January 04, 2013 The U.S. State Department gave a measured but clear rebuke of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt's upcoming trip to North Korea. News broke this week that Schmidt will join former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson on a humanitarian mission to the impoverished nation. "We don't think the timing of this is particularly helpful," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.

FTC Puts Lid on Google Search Teapot Tempest January 03, 2013 The FTC and Google have reached a settlement on a two-year investigation the agency conducted into the search engine giant's business practices. In short, Google has agreed to give competitors access to standard-essential patents and allow its advertisers more flexibility in how they use rival search engines.

Man Bites Dog: China Fines Apple for Copyright Infringement December 28, 2012 A Chinese court fined Apple 1 million yuan, or roughly $160,000, because its App Store hosted third-party applications that were peddling pirated e-books. The ruling stems from a suit brought by a group of Chinese authors earlier this year. The group originally was seeking 10 million yuan.

Bill Loosens Rules for Sharing What You've Watched on Netflix December 28, 2012 Legislation that would allow services such as Netflix to facilitate "frictionless sharing" of a user's viewing history via Facebook or other online services is awaiting President Obama's signature. The U.S. Senate passed the update to the 1988 law late last week; the same bill cleared the House days earlier.

Mad-as-Hell Instagram User Takes Fight to Court December 27, 2012 An Instagram user has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the company, alleging breach of contract and other violations. The suit claims that Instagram's "unilateral" changes to its terms of use transfer "valuable property rights to Instagram while simultaneously relieving Instagram from any liability for commercially exploiting customers' photographs and artistic content."

Prickly Posts Fell BBC-Run Thorn Tree Travel Forum December 27, 2012 Lonely Planet, the travel guide and guidebook giant, has temporarily closed Thorn Tree, a popular online travel forum, because of pedophilia-related posts. The BBC, which bought out Lonely Planet in 2011, made the decision to take Thorn Tree offline. BBC executives were reportedly tipped off by a user who pointed out "swearing and posts that discussed topics related to pedophilia."

USPTO Hits Apple Where It Hurts December 20, 2012 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday rejected all 21 claims in Apple's "pinch-to-zoom" patent in a preliminary ruling after an ex parte re-examination of the patent. The USPTO ruling is a significant blow to Apple, as the patent was among those found to have been infringed by Samsung in a case that went to trial this summer.

Report: Europe May Have Scuttled Google's FTC Deal December 20, 2012 The postponement of Google's deal with the Federal Trade Commission may have been caused, at least in part, by Europe's tough stance with the company. As of a few days ago, reports suggested that Google was close to hashing out a deal with the FTC, but that the European Commission's two-year antitrust investigation was far from resolved.

GoDaddy May Face Class Action Over Nickel-and-Diming Employees December 20, 2012 Attorneys representing four former GoDaddy employees in a suit over unpaid overtime are seeking to have the suit expanded to a collective action. Michelle Matheson, a partner with Matheson & Matheson and the attorney of record on the suit, and Eric Epstein, an employment attorney in Los Angeles, represent the former employees of GoDaddy.

Hey Apple - Make Innovation, Not War December 20, 2012 In a perfect world, I want to believe that all these big companies that have products and solutions that I buy all just need to get along and work together to deliver the best possible consumer experience I can get. I'm tired of little fiefdoms of proprietary content, painful terms of service, and the claims that some tiny features of products warrant patents.