March 2009
Tue, Mar, 31 2009
The European Commission has prepared a set of questions and answers as well as a flowchart to help companies understand when they can and when they cannot send personal data abroad.
Tue, Mar, 31 2009
The European Commission today delivered an ultimatum to internet firms - improve your approach to privacy online, or face a regulatory clampdown from Brussels.
Tue, Mar, 31 2009
Navigation device maker TomTom has agreed to make patent payouts to Microsoft for five years, settling a lawsuit brought against it by the software giant. TomTom said that the settlement does not break any licence terms for the Linux operating system.
Tue, Mar, 31 2009
A home shopping television channel has lost its legal bid to force its way higher up a satellite system's programming menu. JML failed to prove that the allocation of channel slots by Freesat was irrational.
Mon, Mar, 30 2009
German authorities have ended their search for a female serial killer after discovering that DNA thought to be from 40 crime scenes actually came from a woman who packed the cotton swabs used to gather evidence.
Mon, Mar, 30 2009
The Pirate Bay has unveiled a feature that makes it easy for web users to post links to pirated material on their Facebook page. The activity risks passing liability for copyright infringement on to Facebook, a technology lawyer warned.
Fri, Mar, 27 2009
Insurers look set to lose at least part of their block exemption from European competition rules, according to a preliminary report published by the European Commission this week.
Thu, Mar, 26 2009
US brewer Anheuser-Busch has lost its attempt to register the word 'budweiser' as a trade mark for beer in the European Union. Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar has won the right to market its beers under the name.
Thu, Mar, 26 2009
The European Parliament has backed European Commission proposals that would allow consumers to band together to take action against companies that breach competition law.
Thu, Mar, 26 2009
Data which is protected by the Data Protection Act can be transferred to the US to help in the investigation of companies run by Bernard Madoff, the High Court has said. The transfer would usually be barred but is justified in this case, the Court said.
Wed, Mar, 25 2009
Companies may begin to use complex commercial services contracts when engaging law firms after a case underlined the rights of workers whose jobs are transferred to another firm.
Wed, Mar, 25 2009
The Government may expand its plans to keep a record of all email, internet and phone communications to include communication over social networking sites. Users of services such as Facebook and Bebo can send each other messages via the sites.
Wed, Mar, 25 2009
Companies are renegotiating their IT outsourcing deals as prices fall by up to 20%, research firm Gartner has said. Falling prices are the result of the recession and of problems particular to India, it said.
Wed, Mar, 25 2009
A navigation device company that is being sued by Microsoft in a patent dispute has joined the Open Innovation Network, a collection of companies that pools its Linux-related patents to defend against legal action.
Tue, Mar, 24 2009
A digital rights group has written to the internet's major companies asking them to opt out of a controversial behavioural advertising system in order to protect site users' privacy. Companies can choose to have their sites excluded from the system.
Tue, Mar, 24 2009
When a contract is poorly drafted and its effect unclear courts should interpret it in order to give it force rather than to render it void, the Court of Appeal has said.
Tue, Mar, 24 2009
Academics have analysed the requests received by Google for copyrighted material to be removed from the internet and found that almost a third of requests may be unwarranted and over half of link removal demands came from competitor companies.
Tue, Mar, 24 2009
A committee of MPs says it is "deeply disappointed" by the UK Government's refusal to set up a proper compensation scheme for Equitable Life policyholders.
Mon, Mar, 23 2009
The UK has become a 'database state', collecting more data than other countries and organising them in databases which, in almost a quarter of cases, are illegal, according to a new report. Eleven of the UK's 46 databases almost certainly break the law.
Mon, Mar, 23 2009
The state is allowed to bug communication between lawyers and their clients, the House of Lords has said. The UK's highest court ruled that spy law the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) allows lawyers' conversations to be bugged.
Mon, Mar, 23 2009
EDITORIAL: A privacy campaigner has vowed to bring a legal challenge over the launch of Google Street View in the UK. It is understandable that some people are uncomfortable with Google photographing 25 towns and cities, but that doesn't make it illegal.
Fri, Mar, 20 2009
FEATURE: Intellectual property laws have come a long way in China. Brands entering the territory just need to make a few preparations, warns Hong Kong lawyer Alison Ross.
Fri, Mar, 20 2009
Researchers have devised two novel ways to eavesdrop on people as they enter passwords, emails, and other sensitive information into computers, even when they're not connected to the internet or other networks.
Thu, Mar, 19 2009
A privacy campaigner will launch a legal challenge to Google's Street View service, which was launched today. Simon Davies of Privacy International says that he will pursue "a test case" against Google.
Wed, Mar, 18 2009
Employers worried about night shift work causing breast cancer must be careful not to breach sex discrimination laws, a health and safety law expert has warned. But organisations should review their risk assessments for night shift workers, he said.
Wed, Mar, 18 2009
A new statutory code could help decide whether an insurance broker or intermediary is acting for the insured or the insurer when passing on pre-contract information to the insurer.
Wed, Mar, 18 2009
An advisor to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that it is impossible to create a decisive test for whether or not trade marks are registered in bad faith. The ruling is unlikely to provide companies with more clarity about bad faith.
Wed, Mar, 18 2009
Irish internet service providers (ISPs) have rejected claims that they are responsible for users' copyright infringement. They have said that their operations are protected by law.
Wed, Mar, 18 2009
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) ruled on more domain name disputes last year than ever before but has warned that disputes will rocket if a plan to allow the creation of infinite numbers of domains goes ahead.
Tue, Mar, 17 2009
Telecoms regulator Ofcom will force phone providers to record sales calls in an attempt to cut down on 'slamming', where a provider signs up a customer without their permission. The regulator has also published new rules on mis-selling of mobile services.
Tue, Mar, 17 2009
The Government has outlined its proposals for a digital rights agency to help encourage compliance with copyright laws. The Government wants creative industries to work together on measures to encourage compliance with the law.
Tue, Mar, 17 2009
A juror who published Twitter messages during the course of a trial has undermined the trial process and its verdict, lawyers have claimed while launching an appeal. The US juror told reporters he did not think posting the messages was wrong.
Tue, Mar, 17 2009
Media regulator Ofcom will take over the regulation of video on demand services, but will delegate it to an industry-formulated co-regulator, the Government has said.
Tue, Mar, 17 2009
Getty Images is suing a removals firm for the alleged use of a copyright-protected image on its website. The global picture company is taking action against a removals and haulage firm based in London, JA Coles.
Mon, Mar, 16 2009
A man whose invention caught the attention of millions of television viewers may have infringed a patent he applied for himself 10 years ago. A contestant on the Dragons' Den TV programme may have to defend his invention from legal action.
Mon, Mar, 16 2009
The European Commission has reiterated its demand for the creation of a single European patent. It said the absence of such a protection is hindering the growth of technology companies in the European Union.
Thu, Mar, 12 2009
People in Scotland who were diagnosed with pleural plaques caused by negligent exposure to asbestos at work will be allowed to claim compensation under a law passed by the Scottish Parliament this week.
Thu, Mar, 12 2009
EDITORIAL: The European Court of Human Rights missed an opportunity to kill an absurd libel law this week. That law exposes online news archives around the world to indefinite liability in British courts.
Thu, Mar, 12 2009
A BBC programme has broken the Computer Misuse Act by acquiring and using software to control 22,000 computers, creating a botnet capable of bringing down websites. A technology law specialist has said that the activity is illegal.
Thu, Mar, 12 2009
The UK's privacy watchdog lags most of Europe in the strength of its powers, according to research produced by a data protection journal.
Thu, Mar, 12 2009
One in three people use the same password for all their online accounts, a security company survey suggests. Sophos research found that only 19% of respondents never use the same password for multiple websites.
Wed, Mar, 11 2009
Publishers' indefinite liability for defamatory material in their online archives is not a restriction on their rights to free speech, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled. The decision backs a 160-year-old rule of English law.
Wed, Mar, 11 2009
Google has launched a behavioural advertising system which will track users' online activity to display to them adverts it thinks will be more relevant to them. The company said users will be alerted to the activity through labels on ads.
Wed, Mar, 11 2009
The European Parliament has rejected calls for community-wide regulation of online gambling saying it is a job for individual countries.
Wed, Mar, 11 2009
The European Union's Database Directive is infringed when data is taken out of someone else's database regardless of what they intend using the information for, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said.
Tue, Mar, 10 2009
The Scottish Information Commissioner has called for more public leaders to follow the lead of Scotland's police chiefs, who have signed up to publish all their expenses. Kevin Dunion also wants the reach of freedom of information laws to be expanded.
Tue, Mar, 10 2009
The cost of registering trade marks in the UK will fall under plans proposed by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The move is a response to reduced EU trade mark prices and to falling demand for marks.
Tue, Mar, 10 2009
Video-sharing site YouTube has blocked access to music videos for UK users over a licensing dispute with publishers. It said that it was being asked to make a loss on every song played, but the publishers' group said negotiations had not concluded.
Tue, Mar, 10 2009
A plan to create a limitless supply of new internet domains has been postponed so that the concerns of major brand holders can be taken into account. Brand holders have objected to the costs they will incur in defending their names.
Mon, Mar, 9 2009
The Government has shelved plans to allow Government departments to share citizens' personal information with each other and with the private sector. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said that the u-turn was a response to criticism of the plan.
Mon, Mar, 9 2009
A construction industry consultant will be prosecuted under the Data Protection Act for running a database of over 3,000 workers which was used by the industry as a 'blacklist' or employees to avoid, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has said.
Fri, Mar, 6 2009
The cost of registering EU-wide trade marks will drop by 40% within weeks in a move that one expert said would almost certainly reduce the number of trade marks registered in the UK.
Thu, Mar, 5 2009
The Pope has called on ICANN to keep religion out of the domain name system.
Thu, Mar, 5 2009
A UK law which allows companies to force people to retire at 65 or at that company's specified retirement age does not necessarily breach European Union laws, the EU's highest court said today.
Thu, Mar, 5 2009
The trade body for the online advertising industry has produced guidelines for companies to follow to ensure that behavioural advertising does not breach users' rights to privacy. Privacy activists have said the rules do not protect users enough.
Wed, Mar, 4 2009
A mobile phone airtime reseller did not have a legal duty to take network O2 to court on behalf of a company which had sold it its subscriber base, the High Court has said. The Court said the claim was based on a mistaken interpretation of a contract.
Wed, Mar, 4 2009
Companies are being urged to implement software escrow agreements as more and more firms go bust. One legal expert said that companies should go further and assess their whole software supply chain to protect against the effects of the downturn.
Tue, Mar, 3 2009
The Council of Ministers of the 27 EU nations has rejected plans that would expand the scope of a European Union security breach law beyond telecoms companies. The European Parliament and privacy watchdogs had called for the change.
Tue, Mar, 3 2009
Local authorities across England should change their rules on collecting information about children, a new report into the protection of children's privacy has said.
Mon, Mar, 2 2009
Companies that withhold all payment for goods or services in order to strengthen their hand in negotiations over disputed amounts will have to pay punitive interest on that money, the Court of Appeal has said.
Mon, Mar, 2 2009
There should be no new exemption from copyright law for users' adaptations of copyright-protected content, the UK Government has said. To create such an exemption for user-generated content would ignore the rights of content creators, it said.
