Judge Warns Google, Publishers to Settle Library Case

"A judge warned lawyers for authors and publishers and Google Tuesday that he will decide whether snippets of books can be sold online without the permission of copyright holders if the sides do not settle their 6-year-old case soon with an agreement to create a massive online library."

'Kill Switch' Internet Bill Alarms Privacy Experts

"Just as the Egyptian government recently forced the Internet to go dark, U.S. officials could flip the switch if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset legislation becomes law, say its critics."

In U.S. Courts, Facebook Posts Become Less Private

"It's the latest litigation tactic in the online age: U.S. lawyers are trying to mine the private zones of Facebook and other social-media sites for photos, comments, status updates and other tidbits that might contradict what their opponents are saying in court. And increasingly, judges in civil cases are granting access to online caches that had formerly been considered off-limits."

FCC Approves Controversial 'Net Neutrality' Rules

"The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday approved a 'high-level rules of the road' designed to ensure that internet providers grant everyone equal access to the Web."

French Deal May Break Deadlock Between Google and Publishers

"A new agreement between Hachette Livre and Google could offer a way forward in the ongoing dispute between authors, publishers and the search engine over the digitising of out-of-print books."

Federal Authorities Say Firing for Posts on Facebook Illegal

"A Connecticut woman who was fired after posting disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind case by federal authorities who say her comments are protected speech under labor laws."

'Free' Movies, Songs No More as Colleges Bust File-Sharing

"Every college across the country must either have installed software to block illegal file-sharing or have created some other procedure for preventing it. The requirement is part of the 2008 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which took effect July 1."

Movie Clips and Copyright

". . .professors can legally extract movie clips and incorporate them into lectures, as long as they are willing to decrypt them — a task made relatively easy by widely available programs known as 'DVD rippers.' The exemption also permits professors to use ripped content in non-classroom settings that are similarly protected under 'fair use' — such as presentations at academic conferences."

Inaccessible E-Readers May Run Afoul of the Law, Feds Warn Colleges

"The Departments of Education and Justice are cautioning college leaders against the adoption of electronic readers that can't be used by blind people."

Judge Sides with Google in $1B Viacom Lawsuit

"A federal judge in New York is siding with Google in a $1 billion copyright lawsuit filed by media company Viacom over YouTube videos."

Supreme Court Rules Employers Can Read Employee Texts

"The Supreme Court has ruled that employers may monitor employee conversations made via an employer-issued cell phone if there is a 'legitimate work-related purpose' to do so."

Court Says Internet Filtering in Public Libraries Not Censorship

"A Washington state supreme court issued a decision yesterday supporting a public library's decision to fully filter Internet content, stating that such filtering could be considered 'collection development.'"

Visual Artists Plan to Sue Google Over Digital-Library Project

"In another potential setback for the vast digital library planned by Google, several groups representing photographers and other visual artists plan to file a federal lawsuit against the company on Wednesday, alleging that its efforts to digitize millions of library books amounts to a large-scale infringement of their copyrights, The New York Times reported."

Justice Dept. Criticizes Latest Google Book Deal

"In another blow to Google's plan to create a giant digital library and bookstore, the Justice Department on Thursday said that a class-action settlement between the company and groups representing authors and publishers had significant legal problems, even after recent revisions."

Study: Cell Phone Bans Don't Reduce Accidents

"A new study suggests laws banning the use of hand-held devices while driving have not reduced the rate of accidents in three states and the District of Columbia."

The Global Antitrust Battle Over Google's Library

"The case presents a tangle of issues: how to create new markets for old books without shortchanging authors; how to nurture new technology without stifling competition; and how to preserve all that when one company — in this case, Google — is pioneering the revolution and could profit handsomely. One commentator, who supports the original settlement, has called it 'the World Series of antitrust.'"

Facebook Spammer Ordered to Pay $711 Million

"A California judge awarded Facebook $711 million in damages against spammer Sanford Wallace for bombarding the Web site with junk messages. . .Wallace, who has also been called the 'Spam King,' accessed Facebook members' accounts without their permission and sent out "phony" Wall posts and messages, the company said."

Internet Access Now a Legal Right in Finland

"In Finland, broadband access isn’t a privilege, it’s a right. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has pushed through a law requiring telecom companies to offer speeds of at least 1 megabit per second to all of the country’s 5.3 million citizens."

FCC Proposes New Open Internet Rules

"U.S. phone companies may be forced to open their wireless networks to rival Internet services like Skype and Google Voice under a proposal brought out by the top telecom regulator to safeguard so-called Internet neutrality. The proposal, if adopted, would be a victory for consumer advocates and big Internet companies like Google Inc at the expense of telecom operators like AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel Corp."

Google Working to Revise Digital Books Settlement

"The news out of this is that there are frantic negotiations going on in
back rooms right now, said James Grimmelmann, an associate professor at
the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School, which
raised antitrust and other objections to the settlement. The parties are
scared enough to be talking seriously about changes, with each other and
the government. The government is being the stern parent making them do
it."