E-Commerce News: Law

Dish Network DVR Features Get Stay of Execution

Thursday - July 2, 2009

The final day of reckoning in the four-year battle between TiVo and EchoStar has been pushed out a little further. Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted EchoStar's request to stay a contempt order imposed by the U.S. District Court the day before, until its appeal can be heard. The two companies have been locked in a dispute over allegations that EchoStar, through its Dish Network, infringed on TiVo's pause, rewind and live record patents. In 2006, TiVo's assertion of that claim was upheld. [More...]

Tea Parties, Pirate Ships and a Kayak: A Summer at Sea

Thursday - July 2, 2009

For seven months, a New York Times reporter named David Rohde was held prisoner by Taliban kidnappers. However, you wouldn't learn that from reading The New York Times -- or even Wikipedia, for that matter. In addition to other news organizations, the Times reportedly asked Wikipedia not to publish information on the abduction. [More...]

Marketers Aim to Self-Regulate Consumer Tracking Online

Thursday - July 2, 2009

Companies that track consumer behavior online for advertising purposes are vowing to make their practices more transparent and to give people a way to decline being shadowed. It's unclear how much of an effect the new policies will have. One consumer group said the changes don't go far enough, and that extensive profiles of people still will be collected without their complete consent. [More...]

Large Tech Firms: Beware of Obama Administration's Antitrust Plans

Thursday - July 2, 2009

In a dramatic repudiation of Bush administration policies, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice department withdrew its recent report setting standards for the prosecution of monopolization offenses. The report was controversial from the start. The FTC declined to join it after three of the commissioners called it a "blueprint for radically weakened enforcement" against anticompetitive practices. [More...]

Amazon Turns Gears of Internet Tax Wars

Wednesday - July 1, 2009

More companies are joining in the fight over Internet taxation begun by Amazon.com. Blue Nile and Overstock.com have joined the Web's largest retailer in dropping affiliate programs in North Carolina and Rhode Island, according to numerous press reports. Amazon also reportedly dropped its affiliate program in Hawaii. [More...]

Cablevision Scores Win for DVR in the Sky

Tuesday - June 30, 2009

Cable TV operators won a key legal battle against Hollywood studios and television networks on Monday as the Supreme Court declined to block a new digital video recording system that could make it even easier for viewers to bypass commercials. The justices declined to hear arguments on whether Cablevision Systems' remote-storage DVR system would violate copyright laws. [More...]

Kayak Makes Waves Over Bing's Design Similarities

Friday - June 26, 2009

Microsoft is the target of yet another legal challenge -- this time from the online travel Web site Kayak, which has sent the software giant a letter noting similarities between its own site and Bing's travel service. It has asked Microsoft to take steps to address the matter. [More...]

Dell Found in Contempt for Dragging Feet in Lawsuit

Friday - June 26, 2009

A state court judge on Thursday found Dell in contempt of court, saying the computer company was making a "mockery" of the system with its alleged piecemeal production of documents in a civil lawsuit over New Orleans' crime camera system. Judge Rosemary Ledet also ordered Texas-based Dell to pay $25,000 in sanctions. [More...]

China Waves Big Stick - Will Google et al Cower?

Thursday - June 25, 2009

China's bid to clamp down on online porn has sparked a flurry of activity. PC makers are scrambling to install Green Dam Youth Escort, an Internet filtering software application, on every desktop and laptop sold in the country by the July 1 deadline issued by the nation's government. However, they're not taking things lying down. [More...]

TJX Closes Chapter in Data Breach Saga

Wednesday - June 24, 2009

The parent company of retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall's will pay $9.75 million in a settlement with multiple states related to a massive data theft that exposed tens of millions of payment card numbers. Framingham, Mass.-based TJX said Tuesday it will pay $2.5 million to create a data security fund for states as well as a settlement amount of $5.5 million and $1.75 million to cover expenses. [More...]

Google: Italian Court Case Threatens Internet Freedom

Tuesday - June 23, 2009

Testimony begins Tuesday in the Italian trial of four Google executives accused of defamation and violating privacy for allowing a video to be posted online showing an autistic youth being abused. All four deny wrongdoing. The case could set the tone for new limits on sharing videos and other content on the Web. [More...]

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