November 2007
Fri, Nov, 30 2007
A window of opportunity for marketing by Bluetooth technology that opened in October could be closed once more, the UK Government has said. Definitions in privacy regulations are being checked, stakeholders are being consulted, and the law could change.
Fri, Nov, 30 2007
A new Directive that will regulate TV advertising and product placement across the EU was passed by the European Parliament yesterday. The Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive will cover internet TV and on-demand services.
Fri, Nov, 30 2007
The latest version of Google Maps Mobile has a menu item which shows you where you are, without recourse to GPS or deals with network operators, but those with GPS will be asked to lend a hand in keeping the database up to date and improving its accuracy.
Thu, Nov, 29 2007
Most people keep the same password for too long and use it for too many purposes. So if you do one thing to mark Computer Security Day on Friday, change your passwords. If you do two things, change your passwords and vacuum your computer.
Thu, Nov, 29 2007
The advertising on one in four websites for financial firms is falling short of required standards, and many insurers' sponsored links mislead consumers when they make claims like "save up to £155", according to a review by the UK's financial regulator.
Thu, Nov, 29 2007
Mobile phone networks must allow consumers moving to a rival network to take their mobile number with them and consumers must be able to receive calls on that number within two hours of moving to the new network, under new rules coming into force in 2009.
Wed, Nov, 28 2007
Competition law can be broken when companies merge even if they do not compete. The European Commission today released new guidelines for assessing these so-called non-horizontal mergers. An expert said these will give some dealmakers greater confidence.
Wed, Nov, 28 2007
Gateway Inc. cannot stop Fujitsu-Siemens' registration of the words ACTIVY Media Gateway, the European Court of First Instance ruled yesterday. The tech companies' marks will not confuse consumers, the court ruled.
Wed, Nov, 28 2007
Online retailers and eBay sellers are advised to keep abreast of new cheque clearance rules that come into force in the UK on 1 December, or risk a heightened threat of becoming victims of fraud.
Tue, Nov, 27 2007
Over 80% of temporary staff have the same level of access to company documents as permanent staff but without the same accountability, according to research released today by security firm Websense.
Tue, Nov, 27 2007
Detroit rockers The Romantics are suing the companies behind the PlayStation game Guitar Hero over the use of one of their songs. The lawsuit does not cite copyright infringement, though. Instead, the complaint is that a cover version is too accurate.
Mon, Nov, 26 2007
Companies that break competition law could face lawsuits from trade and consumer bodies if the UK Government adopts new proposals published by the Office of Fair Trading today. The right to sue will no longer depend on action by a competition authority.
Mon, Nov, 26 2007
OPINION: Isn't it sexy to be a data protection officer now? The staggering revelations of security breaches at HMRC have propelled data protection out of shadowy domain of geeks and anoraks, and into the bright sunlight of public debate.
Mon, Nov, 26 2007
The UK's top 600 retail websites will be checked by the Trading Standards officers in around 100 local authorities during December to ensure that they comply with key requirements of online shopping laws, the Office of Fair Trading has said.
Mon, Nov, 26 2007
The French President today trumpeted a new plan by some of the country's ISPs and its record and film industries to shut off illegal file-sharers' internet access.
Fri, Nov, 23 2007
Amazon.com has proposed changes to its controversial patent for shopping with a single mouse click that will narrow its monopoly to websites that also offer a shopping cart model. It follows a successful campaign by a New Zealand performance artist.
Fri, Nov, 23 2007
A person can be guilty of deceit when he lies to a machine rather than a human, a judge has ruled. Renault sued over abuse of a discount scheme and won the deception-by-computer argument. But its case was thrown out because it profited from the abuse.
Thu, Nov, 22 2007
A patent for the handling of gratuities in card payments has been revoked by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) for being a business method implemented by a computer program. The decision follows recently-revised guidance on patentability.
Thu, Nov, 22 2007
A sound can be registered as a trade mark if it can be written in musical notation. But a sound like Tarzan's yell can also be registered if a graphical representation is accompanied by an MP3 file, according to Europe's trade mark registry.
Thu, Nov, 22 2007
The firing of an employee who used text messages to call in sick after his brother's death was unfair, an Edinburgh employment tribunal has ruled. An employment law specialist said the case sends a warning to bosses to enforce policies consistently.
Wed, Nov, 21 2007
LA rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers are suing the network behind TV hit Californication, alleging that the title is stolen from their 1999 single and album. But the group may struggle because it failed to protect its brand, according to a legal expert.
Wed, Nov, 21 2007
Two ads for the movie Shoot Em Up have been banned in the UK. The national advertising watchdog said they could be seen to condone violence "by glorifying or glamorising" the use of guns, in breach of rules on social responsibility and violence.
Wed, Nov, 21 2007
The European Commission has imposed a total fine of almost € 75 million on Sony, Fuji and Maxell for fixing prices for professional videotapes sold to customers in Europe, in violation of the EC Treaty’s ban on cartels and restrictive business practices.
Tue, Nov, 20 2007
Details of 25 million child benefit recipients have been lost after two discs containing the data were sent from HM Revenue and Customs to the National Audit Office (NAO) but appeared not to arrive. The data included details of millions of bank accounts.
Tue, Nov, 20 2007
Documents containing personal data cannot be withheld under EU freedom of information laws if the disclosure of the data does not undermine the privacy of the persons named, according to a ruling by the European Court of First Instance.
Tue, Nov, 20 2007
A survey of more than 300 HR professionals found that half of them have encountered or have had to discipline employees for wasting time on the internet. Two-thirds said their firms block access to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
Tue, Nov, 20 2007
Facebook is facing investigation by UK data protection watchdogs after a complaint from a British user who tried, and failed, to delete his account.
Mon, Nov, 19 2007
A Directive has been passed that aims to encourage more businesses to bid for public contracts anywhere in the EU by giving them stronger rights of challenge where they consider that a public authority has awarded a contract unfairly.
Mon, Nov, 19 2007
Information requirements are an irritant for business and consumers routinely ignore the small print overload because it is turgid and confusing, according to a Government study. A new report calls for a rethink by policy-makers and businesses.
Fri, Nov, 16 2007
Alcoholic workers could receive protection from the Disability Discrimination Act despite the fact that alcoholism is specifically barred from protection, employment experts have said. Workers could claim protection for the disease's symptoms, they said
Thu, Nov, 15 2007
Consumers are in danger of being hoodwinked by over half of European airline ticket sales websites, the European Commission has revealed. Inaccurate prices and unclear terms are just two of the dangers consumers face, an investigation found.
Thu, Nov, 15 2007
The US Supreme Court has been urged not to make it illegal to sell second-hand patented goods. Digital rights activists have begun a campaign to keep a buyer's right to sell on used goods.
Thu, Nov, 15 2007
Lawyers acting on behalf of Prince have sent out a flurry of US copyright infringement notifications to individual members of a popular UK website which encourages its community to create satirical images of well-known stars.
Thu, Nov, 15 2007
Employers must curb their demands for fixed amounts of experience from job applicants to avoid falling foul of discrimination legislation, an employment law specialist has warned.
Wed, Nov, 14 2007
Google's purchase of advertising giant DoubleClick has been thrown into doubt by the European Commission, which has announced that it will launch an in-depth investigation into the deal on competition grounds.
Wed, Nov, 14 2007
Government bodies have sacked 130 people and disciplined 1,700 over IT abuses in the past three years, according to figures uncovered by The Observer newspaper.
Wed, Nov, 14 2007
A judge has said that he could not say for sure that a claim for breach of confidence was without merit based solely on an expert's view that the information in dispute was in the public domain. He said the case must go to a full trial.
Wed, Nov, 14 2007
The European Commission wants to create a pan-European telecoms regulator to oversee telco competition across all 27 member states for the first time. It hopes the change will be in effect by 2009.
Wed, Nov, 14 2007
An animal rights activist has been ordered to hand over her encryption keys to the authorities.
Tue, Nov, 13 2007
The European database of asylum seekers' fingerprints has security weaknesses, according to Europe's privacy watchdog the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
Tue, Nov, 13 2007
Four small technology companies will challenge recent guidance from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) in the High Court next week. It states that few claims to computer programs for carrying out patentable methods are eligible for patenting.
Tue, Nov, 13 2007
The Foreign Office has promised to keep data safer in future, after its website exposed the details of those seeking visas for entry into the UK. An investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found a breach of the Data Protection Act.
Tue, Nov, 13 2007
New phone numbers beginning with the prefix 03 are now in operation, according to telecoms regulator Ofcom. The numbers will operate at or under normal 01 and 02 prices no matter where the call is made in the UK.
Mon, Nov, 12 2007
A US blogger who reported on a court ruling has been ordered by car rental firm Avis to remove an image of its logo from his blog posting to avoid charges of trade mark abuse.
Mon, Nov, 12 2007
A coalition of the biggest names in internet publishing is campaigning for the reversal of a US court ruling that leaves some publishers liable for comments made by internet users. Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo! have all petitioned the court.
Mon, Nov, 12 2007
A US university and a small company founded by academics are taking a patent infringement lawsuit against Google, claiming that they invented technology at the heart of the giant company's search engine.
Fri, Nov, 9 2007
The European Commission has published a plan to compel EU members to gather more information on air passengers travelling in and out of the EU in what it says is an attempt to combat terrorism.
Fri, Nov, 9 2007
Europe's top privacy regulator has said that European privacy laws will need to be overhauled in just five years' time. He also said that the rules governing which countries can be sent Europeans' data could be improved.
Thu, Nov, 8 2007
Breaches of the European copyright levy system on blank media should be criminalised, a report by an authors' group says. The report is an attempt to convince the European Commission not to scrap the levy.
Wed, Nov, 7 2007
The date when significant parts of the Companies Act come into force has been put back a year. It will now be 1st October 2009 instead of 1st October 2008, according to the UK Government.
Wed, Nov, 7 2007
It is impossible to enforce a ban on internet gambling and so such a ban is 'null and void', according to a German court. The Court of Appeal in the state of Hessen reversed a ruling from a lower court banning an Austrian firm from operating.
Tue, Nov, 6 2007
A case of unfair dismissal was not heard by an Employment Tribunal because the application was received nine seconds too late. The late submission was made by a law student charging £120 per hour.
Tue, Nov, 6 2007
The Wikimedia Foundation is not responsible for defamatory comments published in its user-generated encyclopaedia Wikipedia, a French court has ruled. The comments had been removed quickly after being notified to the site operators.
Mon, Nov, 5 2007
NHS Lothian will not appeal the decision of the Scottish Information Commissioner that forced the publication of a £1.2 billion private finance initiative (PFI) hospitals contract.
Mon, Nov, 5 2007
Online privacy activists are lobbying US telecoms regulators to create an internet advertising block list like the 'do not call' list that blocks telemarketing calls.
Mon, Nov, 5 2007
Velcro has won control of the domain name velcro.biz from the chief executive of a rival firm who argued that because the Velcro trade mark had become a generic name for hook and loop fasteners, he was entitled to the domain.
Fri, Nov, 2 2007
A patent licensing company has filed a patent infringement suit against some of technology's biggest names in a notoriously patent holder-friendly US court. The suit names Dell, Apple, Sony and Intel, amongst others.
Thu, Nov, 1 2007
Four English police forces have been ordered to delete criminal records because they have been kept for too long. The forces are appealing the decision to the Information Tribunal.
Thu, Nov, 1 2007
Pan-European regulation of large sections of the financial services sector comes into force today, but the benefits of the system will largely pass smaller firms by, according to the British Banking Association (BBA).
Thu, Nov, 1 2007
The House of Lords has supported the overturning of an earlier court decision that could have damaged confidence in e-commerce. The Lords ruled against Lloyds TSB, Tesco Personal Finance and American Express yesterday.
