Security

DRM and Legal Issues Topic Center

Stay up to date on digital rights management and other intellectual property issues, including DRM news, opinions, in-depth analysis and more

Apple files another U.S. patent suit against Samsung

Apple has filed another U.S. patent lawsuit against Samsung Electronics and is seeking a preliminary injunction asking a federal judge to halt sales of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone while the case makes its way through the court.
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Eolas loses in Web patents claim against Google and others

A jury in Texas gave the verdict that two patents of Eolas Technologies that enable Internet browsers to host embedded interactive applications were invalid, in a protracted legal battle which involved top Internet companies like Google and Amazon.com.

Apple and Google disagree over licensing of essential patents

Google is at odds with Apple, Microsoft and Cisco over the licensing and litigation of patents. While Google wants to make the most of patents it will receive if its acquisition of Motorola is approved, the others want to change the way so-called essential patents are licensed.

Samsung wins against Apple, Galaxy Tab 10.1N still on sale

The changes Samsung Electronics has made to the Galaxy Tab 10.1N are enough to no longer infringe on Apple's intellectual property rights, a judge at the district court in DA1/4sseldorf, Germany, decided on Thursday.

EPIC sues FTC over Google privacy plan

The Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission to force the agency to take action against Google over planned changes in collecting personal data.

Google to pay users to track their movements online

Amid widespread concern about its new privacy policies, Google is now facing criticism over an offer to give users Amazon gift certificates if they open their Web movements to the company in a program called Screenwise.

Google Chrome will no longer check for revoked SSL certificates online

Google plans to remove online certificate revocation checks from future versions of Chrome, because it considers the process inefficient and slow.

Rambus, Nvidia settle lawsuits, sign IC patent deal

Rambus and Nvidia have settled past lawsuits and signed a patent agreement covering a broad range of integrated circuit products, Rambus said on Wednesday.

FTC warns makers of background checking apps

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sent warning letters to the makers of six mobile apps used for background checks, saying the apps may violate a consumer credit protection law.

Acer sues former CEO Lanci for breach of contract

Acer has sued its former CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci in Italian courts for allegedly violating a non-compete clause, the company said Tuesday.

Your identity up for grabs

Security was a big issue in 2011 with more sophisticated and a wider range of threats than ever before wasting even more of everyone's time at a cost of billions of dollars.

Privacy 2012: I know what you did at 3:30 a.m.

For a peek into what experts expect this year and beyond when it comes to privacy, we turn to the Rebecca Herold (a.k.a. the Privacy Professor) for answers.

10 biggest ERP software failures of 2011

With the year drawing to a close, one thing seems abundantly clear: There are still an awful lot of ERP and other software projects running off the rails out there.

Social networking, ignorance, and apathy

Social networking services really do a bad job with managing our privacy ... and the problem apparently is that we and they don't know and don't care to fix it

Apple's e-books hit with EU antitrust probe

Apple’s ebooks business is to be investigated by the European Union’s top antitrust regulator. The computer giant is accused of operating a cartel with five other publishers and engaging in other restrictive business practices banned under E.U. law.

Inside Carrier IQ-gate

Carrier IQ software is marketed as a diagnostic tool for improve phone service, but critics say it's a hard-core violation of privacy. The critics are right, says columnist Mike Elgan.

AT&T and alternate universes

Gibbs marvels at how theories about alternate universes abound.

Efforts to block AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile USA are at odds with our mobile demands

Sprint last week filed suit against AT&T in an attempt to block that company's $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, a cause that looks good on paper but is at odds with consumer demand for improved mobile experiences.

Linux at 20: New challenges, new opportunities

The rise of cloud computing and mobility could elevate the open source OS to a level of unprecedented dominance

No nyms equals evil

Gibbs discusses privacy and pseudonyms and how Google is being particularly evil by demanding "real" names