Trademarks
Apple Defends “App Store” Trademark
Apple defended its attempt to trademark the term “App Store,” in a filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office Monday.
Microsoft
Asia
Experts: U.S. Companies Complain, But Often Don’t Act To Protect Rights in China
WASHINGTON, February 11, 2011 — Despite U.S. companies’ loud and frequent complaints about rampant intellectual property infringements in China, relatively few of them use China’s legal system to stop it, according to a group of legal experts who spoke on the subject of China and intellectual proper
Intellectual Property
Appeals Court Decides That Search-Related Infringement Case Against Google Isn’t Frivolous
A search-related tech company’s patent infringement lawsuit against Google wasn’t frivolous and deserved a full hearing even though the smaller company’s CEO publicly proclaimed in a blog post that its technology is different from Google’s, and even though the legal system agreed with that conclusio
Intellectual Property
Google, Microsoft, Obama Admin team Up To Fight Drug Counterfeiters Online
The Obama administration, alongside a group of 11 key technology companies on Tuesday unveiled a new non-profit group aimed at cracking down on online “pharmacies” that sell fake drugs. “Trafficking in counterfeits is not victimless,” said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the White House Intelle
Copyright
Report: Russian Authorities Drop Piracy Charges Against Environmental Group
Russian authorities have quietly dropped their piracy charges against an environmental group that had been critical of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s environmental record after Microsoft declined to co-operate in the investigation, according to the New York Times.
Broadband's Impact
Access Bandwidth Bottleneck Drives Innovation for Online Video Delivery
LONDON, October 1, 2010 – With online video now the main cause of internet bottlenecks and consumer frustration over poor performance, new ways are emerging to provide better picture quality within limited bandwidth under the banner of Adaptive Bit Rate Streaming.
Broadband's Impact
Motion Picture Group Bolsters Online Safety Efforts
WASHINGTON, September 29, 2010 – The Family Online Safety Institute has announced that the Motion Picture Association of America has become its newest member.
FCC
FCC Opens Up White Space For Unrestricted Uses
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2010 – In a unanimous vote, the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of the “white spaces” for unlicensed uses. The white spaces are the band of spectrum now empty after television signals went digital. These bands offer some of the best promulgation character
Copyright
Sting of Press Coverage Spurs Microsoft To Issue Free Software Licenses
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13, 2010 — Microsoft on Monday reacted swiftly to a New York Times report that law enforcement authorities are abusing the company’s anti-piracy campaign to squelch dissent by unilaterally issuing free licenses to non-profits operating around the world.
Copyright
Russian Authorities Use Anti-piracy Raids On Behalf of Microsoft To Suppress Dissidents
Russian police are using anti-piracy raids on behalf of Microsoft to suppress dissent, according to a Saturday report in the New York Times. The paper reports that police in January raided the offices of an environmental group in Irkutsk, near Lake Baikal, and confiscated the group’s computers clai
Copyright
ACTA: International Trade Negotiators Drop ISP Liability, Anti-Circumvention Provisions Still In
SAN FRANCISCO, September 7, 2010 – International trade negotiators have dropped a controversial secondary liability provision regarding online copyright infringement, but still appear to be haggling over the anti-circumvention provisions, a leaked copy of an August version of the Anti-Counterfeiting
FCC
Net Neutrality Independent Stakeholder Meetings Gain Momentum
WASHINGTON, September 2, 2010 – While the Federal Communications Commission stopped holding talks on the issue of network neutrality in the aftermath of the Google- Verizon policy pact, a number of stakeholders have gotten together at the Information Technology Industry Council to hold new talks.
Copyright
Silicon Valley Fears Big Liabilities In Small Print of Proposed Trade Agreement
SAN FRANCISCO, July 1, 2010 –The office of the United States Trade Representative said Thursday that its negotiators had “made progress in building consensus,” over specific provisions in a controversial global intellectual property agreement — but it’s unlikely that whatever consensus they reached
Broadband Mapping and Data
FCC Chief Previews Spectrum Recommendations
Washington, February 26, 2010 – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission this week previewed his agency’s spectrum recommendations in the FCC’s upcoming national broadband plan to be presented to Congress next month. In Julius Genachowski’s statement titled “America’s 2020 Vision for Mo
Broadband's Impact
World’s First Fair Use Day Attracts Interest – And Signs that Congress Doesn’t Understand It
WASHINGTON, January 13, 2010 – The consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge on Tuesday hosted the first-ever World Fair Use Day. “Fair use” refers to the defense, under the copyright statute, that permits individuals and businesses to make use of others’ copyrighted material under certain circumstan
NARUC
Tech Companies and Incumbents Seek Federal Jurisdiction of Internet Services
WASHINGTON, December 2, 2009 – A number of companies have signed onto a letter to members of Congress encouraging the passage of legislation affirming that all internet protocol-based services are subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction, if the services are regulated at all. Under the approach, s
