February 2008
Thu, Feb, 28 2008
The European Commission has fined Microsoft €899 million in an unprecedented move penalising the company for not complying with a previous Commission order.
Thu, Feb, 28 2008
A US appeals court has ordered a reconsideration of the damages that Microsoft must pay to a Guatemalan inventor who successfully sued it for patent infringement.
Thu, Feb, 28 2008
The founder of a company set up to re-sell Microsoft software licences claims he will still be able to do so, despite changes made by Microsoft to its software licences which appear to be designed to stop the re-sale.
Wed, Feb, 27 2008
The Information Commissioner has ordered the Government to release minutes of cabinet meetings at which the decision to invade Iraq was made. The order has been made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Wed, Feb, 27 2008
One of the internet's biggest sellers of domain names is being sued for allegedly forcing consumers to buy addresses from it to the exclusion of other providers.
Wed, Feb, 27 2008
The European Commission hopes that more companies will take part in public private partnerships after it published legal guidance on how such deals should be structured.
Wed, Feb, 27 2008
The European Commission and US Government have seized 360,000 computer components in a series of co-ordinated raids. The action was the first time that the two bodies have worked on a joint enforcement operation to protect intellectual property rights.
Tue, Feb, 26 2008
Europe's data protection watchdogs have said that internet companies that do any personal data processing in Europe must comply with its privacy laws even if they are based outside of Europe.
Tue, Feb, 26 2008
A woman who hired a yacht using a certificate she downloaded from Facebook has been questioned by police and cautioned under the Fraud Act.
Tue, Feb, 26 2008
Some of the UK's biggest media and internet companies have agreed to warn users when they publish material that some might find offensive. A series of guidelines has been brokered which will see online material tagged for suitability.
Tue, Feb, 26 2008
The European Commission has said that a Microsoft pledge to make its software more open and accessible to developers will not affect its judgment on alleged past infringements of EU law.
Tue, Feb, 26 2008
A Parliamentary committee today launched an inquiry into how life insurance companies should use inherited estates – the surplus (or "orphan") assets that have built up over the years in their with-profits funds.
Mon, Feb, 25 2008
Software licences are obscure, unbalanced and unfair, according to the National Consumer Council (NCC), which has filed a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It wants the OFT to force software publishers to use clearer licences.
Thu, Feb, 21 2008
Social networking website Facebook claims to have fixed the privacy problems that have dogged it in recent weeks.
Thu, Feb, 21 2008
The European Parliament has asked EU member states to press ahead with a plan to criminalise copyright infringement. The Parliament wants a proposal it agreed last year to be approved by ministers from each member state.
Thu, Feb, 21 2008
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) concerning a US government programme of eavesdropping on citizens' phone calls without a court warrant.
Thu, Feb, 21 2008
Two London law firms must pay £815 each after the Information Commissioner sued them for not fulfilling their duties under the Data Protection Act. The two firms had failed to register themselves as processors of personal information.
Wed, Feb, 20 2008
Television stations will now be responsible for all aspects of on air competitions, broadcast regulator Ofcom has said. It will issue new mandatory licence conditions for all broadcasters enforcing the move.
Wed, Feb, 20 2008
Mobile device makers Motorola and Research In Motion (RIM) are locked in a legal deadlock over patents for their technologies. Each says the other is using its patents without permission. RIM makes the popular Blackberry mobile email device.
Wed, Feb, 20 2008
A committee of the body responsible for the internet's addressing system has found no evidence of front running, a form of deceptive domain name acquisition.
Tue, Feb, 19 2008
The European Commission will regulate the cost of text messages sent and received abroad if the industry does not tackle overcharging, Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding has said.
Tue, Feb, 19 2008
Financial magazine The Economist has failed in its attempt to gain control of the internet address theeconomist.com.
Tue, Feb, 19 2008
Computer printers could be violating European citizens' human rights the EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security has warned. Franco Frattini said that secret ID codes printed by machines could be invading users' privacy.
Thu, Feb, 14 2008
The European Commission is to consult on whether to change the current controversial surcharge on devices or storage media which can hold music or video.
Thu, Feb, 14 2008
Many of the people behind identity theft scams are themselves having data stolen from them in the process, a security researcher has revealed.
Wed, Feb, 13 2008
Intel has been raided by European Commission competition officials just weeks before it faces a critical Commission antitrust hearing. It is the second time its European offices have been raided by officials conducting an investigation into the firm.
Wed, Feb, 13 2008
Sex offenders will be banned from using social networking sites under a law proposed in the US state of New York. The proposed law would allow the release of offenders' details to social networking site operators to keep offenders from using them.
Wed, Feb, 13 2008
The European Commission's reform of VAT on internet-delivered services such as software, ringtones and music has been adopted and will take effect from 2015.
Tue, Feb, 12 2008
Victims of Government data loss are being encouraged to buy packs claiming to help them claim compensation. Thousands have paid out, but privacy lawyers have warned that success is very unlikely.
Tue, Feb, 12 2008
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) will not appeal against a High Court ruling that some computer programs can be patented. It has amended its guidance to firms on the controversial issue.
Tue, Feb, 12 2008
An employee's past conduct can be taken into account when dismissing them, even if that conduct was the subject of a written warning which has since expired, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Tue, Feb, 12 2008
Japan and the European Union have agreed to create an information exchange scheme in a bid to beat intellectual property crime. The countries made the agreement as part of a new trade co-operation deal.
Tue, Feb, 12 2008
The Government is said to be close to publishing plans for a new law that would force internet service providers (ISPs) to trawl their networks for file sharers and ban them from using their service.
Thu, Feb, 7 2008
Agency workers do not have the same rights as employees, the Court of Appeal has ruled, handing businesses a victory in ongoing struggles about employees' rights.
Wed, Feb, 6 2008
A victim of a constructive dismissal can only be compensated by an employment tribunal for damages relating to that actual dismissal, not for an employer's bad behaviour leading up to it, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Wed, Feb, 6 2008
Rivals who tried to have a Virgin Media broadband advert banned have failed in their attempt. The advert has been cleared by watchdog the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) despite claims that the ads were misleading and called competitors liars.
Wed, Feb, 6 2008
American football team the New England Patriots applied for a trade mark on the phrase 19–0 to represent the 18 games leading up to last Sunday's Super Bowl and the victory they had predicted for themselves. They then lost the match.
Wed, Feb, 6 2008
The Financial Services Authority will not publish new rules on insurance brokers' commissions before 2009. But the regulator said that it still has concerns about commissions and will carry out further work on disclosure and conflicts of interest.
Tue, Feb, 5 2008
Three major record labels have launched court actions against three Chinese internet companies accusing them of building a business on copyright infringement. One of them is China's biggest search engine, Baidu.com.
Tue, Feb, 5 2008
The European Commission has launched investigations into German and Swedish prohibitions on internet gambling. The Commission has requested further information from the countries over concerns that they restrict free trade.
Tue, Feb, 5 2008
The cost of pan-European patent protection will be slashed on 1st May this year, the date when a new agreement on translations comes into effect. Full translations of applications filed in English will no longer be required.
Mon, Feb, 4 2008
Up to £20 billion-worth of radio spectrum will be released on to the open markets because of a decision by Ofcom to allow public sector bodies including the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to trade or sell their allocated spectrum.
Mon, Feb, 4 2008
Google is said to be in talks with Yahoo! about creating a business alliance that would help the beleaguered search veteran fend off a hostile takeover bid by Microsoft. Google has already published a highly-critical opinion of the proposed deal.
Mon, Feb, 4 2008
The European Court of Justice has been advised to extend protection against disability discrimination to carers and not just those with disabilities. A ruling to that effect could force a change in UK law.
Fri, Feb, 1 2008
The head of Europe's privacy watchdogs said that he is still in negotiations with Google about a major data retention dispute and is confident that the search giant will change its policies.
Fri, Feb, 1 2008
OPINION: In the coming weeks some long-running questions about the very nature of privacy and data protection will be answered by the highest possible courts.
Fri, Feb, 1 2008
OPINION: In the aftermath of the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) loss -of personal information and a subsequent flood of data security breaches, large organisations should be ready to prove that they can take care of personal information.
