Category: Legal

Business Legal

Judge Says Mathematical Algorithms Can’t Be Patented, Dismisses Uniloc Claim Against Rackspace

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As reported on TechCrunch. by ALEX WILLIAMS A federal judge has thrown out a patent claim againstRackspace, ruling that mathematical algorithms can’t be patented. The ruling in the Eastern Disrict stemmed from a 2012 complaint filed by Uniloc USA asserting that processing of floating point numbers by the Linux operating system was a patent violation. Chief Judge Leonard Davis based the ruling on U.S. Supreme Court case law that prohibits the patenting of mathematical algorithms. According to Rackspace, this is…

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Business Legal Microsoft

Microsoft Being Probed For Bribery By U.S. Investigators

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As reported on TechCrunch. by GREGORY FERENSTEIN Federal regulators are investigating Microsoft for allegedly bribing foreign governments for favor in software contracts. “Lawyers from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining kickback allegations made by a former Microsoft representative in China, as well as the company’s relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy,” sources familiar with the allegations, tell The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story earlier today. An anonymous…

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Application Legal

The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How To Lose Your Best Friend Over $70 Million

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As reported on TechCrunch. by BILLY GALLAGHER “This is a case of partners betraying a fellow partner.” One week ago, Reggie Brown filed a lawsuitalleging that he is a co-founder of Snapchat, a red-hot impermanent photo messaging app, and is entitled to an original one-third ownership stake along with co-founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. What’s at stake? Snapchat won “Fastest Rising Startup” at the 2012 Crunchies and recentlyraised $13 million at a $70 million valuation. Brown and Spiegel lived on…

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Legal Microsoft

EU fines Microsoft over $730 million for failing to include browser ballot in Windows 7 SP1

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As reported on The Verge. By Sean Hollister Nearly 20 years later, the decision to bundle a web browser with Windows is still giving Microsoft grief. Today, the European Union has decided to fine the company €561 million (around $732 million) for breaking a 2009 antitrust agreement. At the time, Microsoft agreed to include a browser ballot box in every new copy of Windows, allowing users to pick any one of the 12 most popular browsers rather than defaulting to Microsoft…

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Legal

Hacker arrested for allegedly blackmailing hundreds of women into sending nude pictures

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As reported on The Verge. By Adi Robertson In what could be the latest of a series of high-profile “sextortion” cases, a Los Angeles man has been arrested for extorting nude pictures. According to an FBI release, Karen “Gary” Kazaryan is charged with 30 counts of hacking and identity theft in the wake of his January 29th arrest. Kazaryan is accused of hacking Facebook, Skype, or email accounts, then mining them for the names of friends, passwords…

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Legal

Yahoo, Like Google, Demands Warrants for User E-Mail

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As reported on Wired. BY DAVID KRAVETS Photo: Courtesy of Yahoo   Yahoo demands probable-cause, court-issued warrants to divulge the content of messages inside its popular consumer e-mail brands — Yahoo and Ymail, the web giant said Friday. The Sunnyvale, California-based internet concern’s exclusive comments came two days after Google revealed to Wired that it demands probable-cause warrants to turn over consumer content stored in its popular Gmail and cloud-storage Google Drive services — despite the…

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Hacking Legal

Feds arrest masterminds behind ‘Gozi’ banking virus that infected thousands of computers

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As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor Stealthy malware is believed to have caused tens of millions of dollars in losses. Federal prosecutors this week charged three Eastern European men with using the so-called Gozi virus to infiltrate more than one million computers worldwide, including more than 160 at NASA. According to court documents unsealed Wednesday, the three hackers used their malware to steal banking information from tens of thousands of individuals, resulting in losses in the…

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Legal Microsoft

Journalists and activists report having their Skype calls tapped

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As reported on The Verge. By Russell Brandom EFF and others call out the service for lack of transparency and collaborating with Chinese censors In an open letter this morning, a group including EFF, Greatfire.org and Reporters Without Borders called out Skype for “persistently unclear and confusing statements about the confidentiality of Skype conversations.” The signers cite an increased need for transparency reports as Skype integrates more deeply into the services of its new owner, Microsoft.…

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Government Legal Story

Wiki Weapon Project takes aim at gun control proposals with 3D printed ‘high-capacity’ magazine

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As reported on The Verge. By Adi Robertson Defense Distributed, a group dedicated to making viable 3D printed firearms, has enjoyed increasing publicity during the recent debates over gun control. Now, it’s directly addressing efforts to ban one of the most frequently criticized components: rifle magazines holding over ten rounds, often referred to as “high-capacity” magazines, like those used at the attack in Newtown, CT. In a video posted yesterday, the groupdemonstrated shooting from a 30-round AR-15 magazine…

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Legal News Tech

Member of file-sharing group given 5 years in prison for uploading movies

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As reported on The Verge. By Adi Robertson Jail terms for members of the BitTorrent-based movie-sharing group iMAGiNE continue to set records: Wired reports that Jeramiah Perkins, who helped lead the group, has been given a 60-month sentence for his role in helping to record and distribute movies online during their theatrical run. Perkins’ sentence exceeds the 40-month one given to fellow member Gregory Cherwonik, making it the longest American jail sentence for file sharing. In their original indictment (PDF),…

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