Archive for August, 2007...
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NewYorkCountryLawyer writes “Variety reports that Andersen v. Atlantic, the class action which has been brought against the RIAA in Oregon may ‘ultimately force the organization to drop or dramatically change the way it uses its principal weapon in the fight against online piracy”‘. The RIAA responded to Variety saying that ‘We are confident that (Andersen’s) claims have no merit….We look forward to presenting our arguments in the next few weeks to the court about why this case should be dismissed. In all our cases, we seek to follow the facts and be fair and reasonable in resolving pending claims.’ p2pnet opines that Hollywood’s interest in the suit bodes ill for the RIAA.”
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mikesd81 writes “C|Net reports that a lawsuit filed by TorrentSpy against the MPAA, accusing it of intercepting the company’s private e-mails, was tossed out of court this week. Even though a U.S District judge ruled that the MPAA broke no rules, the MPAA does admit it paid $15,000 to obtain private e-mails belonging to TorrentSpy executives. The MPAA’s acknowledgment is significant because it comes at a time when the group is trying to limit illegal file sharing by imploring movie fans to act ethically and resist the temptation to download pirated movies. From the article: ‘Ethically, it’s pretty clear that reading other people’s e-mail is wrong,’ said Lorrie Cranor, an associate research professor and Internet privacy expert at Carnegie Mellon University. ‘Being offered someone else’s e-mails by a third party should have been a red flag.’ TorrentSpy is appealing the decision.” This is just not a good week for those guys.
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taoman1 writes “A group of states led by California said in a court filing Thursday that ending oversight of Microsoft’s business practices in November would not allow enough time to consider the antitrust implications of Windows Vista. The states want oversight extended at least through early next year. ‘The justice department said in its report that while Microsoft’s operating system market share hasn’t dropped because of the consent decree, “it would misapprehend the purpose of the Final Judgments to rely on these facts to argue that the Final Judgments have been ineffective. Microsoft was never found to have acquired or increased its monopoly market share unlawfully.” In its report, Microsoft directly countered California’s claims and said, the “Final Judgments were never designed to reduce Microsoft’s share in any putative market.”‘”
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paulraps writes “A Swedish IT consultant has caused a stir in diplomatic circles after publishing a list of secret log-in details belonging to 100 embassies, public authorities and political parties around the world. Dan Egerstad said he wasn’t trying to earn money, gain publicity or get a name for himself in hacking circles. Instead he claimed that publishing the list was easier than contacting the organizations individually — and that if he had handed it to the Swedish authorities then that would have been spying.”
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An anonymous reader writes “NBC Universal has cancelled its iTunes contract and will withdraw the television shows it currently offers through the service in December, when the current contract expires. This is a huge blow for the service, as NBC is the controlling interest in Apple customer-friendly intellectual properties like The Office, Battlestar Galactica, My Name is Earl and Heroes. From the article: ‘The decision to withdraw the content follows disagreements between the two firms. Apple is thought to have rejected NBC’s demands for more restrictive DRM and the introduction of flexible pricing. Apple was informed of NBC Universal’s decision late last night. The report states that neither Apple nor NBC Universal would comment on the matter, but said they continue to talk, “free of acrimony”.’” Hey NBC: I have chosen not to have cable, but want to pay you for Heroes. Guess what my only alternative will be if you pull it from iTunes?
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