According to the act, data brokers would be required to institute a security policy for collecting, using, selling and securing the information they hold, and they would be required to monitor their security systems regularly.

If a breach occurs, the Federal Trade Commission or an independent auditor would review the broker’s security plan following a breach, and subsequently the FTC would be permitted to require audits for five years.

Source: eWeek

A court has ruled that a lawsuit over a company purchasing a rival’s trademark as a search keyword should go to trial, in what could be the first case to scrutinize the trademark infringement liability of keyword purchasers.

Edina Realty sued rival real estate company TheMLSonline.com, accusing it of false advertising, trademark infringement and trademark dilution. According to the suit, MLS used “Edina Realty” in search terms purchased on Google and Yahoo, in the text of the MLS ads that appeared on the two search sites, and in hidden links and text on the MLS Web site.

“This case offers the first solid data point (in the U.S.) that buying competitors’ trademarks as keywords…could constitute trademark infringement,” Eric Goldman, assistant professor of law at Marquette University Law School, wrote on his blog Wednesday.

A ruling issued last week by the U.S. District Court in Minnesota said evidence of actual trademark dilution had not been provided in the case but that the case could go to trial because there were disputes on material facts with regard to whether the use of the trademark was causing confusion among consumers.

Source: News.com

In its effort to uphold the Child Online Protection Act, the U.S. Department of Justice is leaving no stone unturned. In addition to American Online, MSN, and Google, the government has demanded information from at least 34 Internet service providers, search companies, and security software firms, InformationWeek learned through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by InformationWeek, the Department of Justice disclosed that it has issued to subpoenas to a broad range of companies that includes AT&T, Comcast Cable, Cox Communications, EarthLink, LookSmart, SBC Communications (then separate from AT&T), Symantec, and Verizon.

Asked which companies objected to, or sought to limit, these subpoenas, Department of Justice spokesperson Charles Miller declined to comment because the litigation is ongoing. He also declined to comment on utility of the information gathered by the government.

Source: InformationWeek

Google plans to sell up to 5.3 million shares of Class A common stock, which could would raise nearly $2.1 billion, based on Wednesday’s closing price.

The plan, included in documents filed Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, marks the search company’s second follow-on stock offering since going public less than two years ago.

Source: News.com

Microsoft said Wednesday that it will now license several of its hardware-specific technologies to other manufacturers.

The software giant said that it will license three technologies: its “U2″ interface, which autosenses either a PS2 or a USB connector; the “tilt wheel” found in its latest keyboards, and a “magnifier” feature that zooms a specific area of the screen.

Source: extremetech

iAnywhere, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. (NYSE: SY), today announced the AvantGo Windows Mobile Smartphone beta. Windows Mobile Smartphone users can now take advantage of the free AvantGo mobile Internet service with access to over a thousand websites optimized for reading on their phone, including news, weather, sports, and more from the world’s leading media brands.

“We’re excited to offer AvantGo to the rapidly growing Windows Mobile Smartphone user base,” said Neil Versen, senior director
of AvantGo at iAnywhere. “The new Smartphone devices in the market are impressive and a great fit for the unique AvantGo mobile content experience.”

AvantGo provides always-available access to mobile content via wireless or desktop synchronization.

YouTube is limiting the length of videos people can upload in an attempt to cut back on the number of pirated movies and TV shows people can’t resist putting up on the popular video-sharing Web site.

“We did some analysis of the videos in our system over 10 minutes in length, and we found the overwhelming majority of them were full length, copyrighted videos from TV shows and movies,” the company wrote in posting on its blog on Monday. “However, we also recognize that there are legit content creators out there who may have videos over 10 mins, so we’ve created a Premium Content Program for those of you with professional-produced videos.”

Source: News.com

Tower Records announced Wednesday that it has added a bookstore to its online business. The move is part of an expansion that has seen the music retail giant add MP3 players to its shelves, introduce video games and start its own podcasting network, in addition to opening new physical stores.

Source: News.com

A lawyer for TiVo Inc. said Wednesday that Dish Network stole TiVo’s technology for pausing live television, even after other broadcasters agreed to pay TiVo a licensing fee.

Morgan Chu said Dish Network’s action partly explains why TiVo has never made a profit despite its popular set-top box, which has changed the way Americans watch television.

Chu made the comments at the beginning of TiVo’s lawsuit against EchoStar Communications Corp., which owns Dish Network. TiVo is seeking undisclosed damages.

Harold McElhinny, EchoStar’s lead lawyer, said EchoStar invented its own digital video recorder, which uses different technology than the TiVo box.

Source: AP

ICANN , the Internet’s main oversight body, is currently meeting in New Zealand to discuss key Internet issues. One of the matters slated to be hashed out was the creation of a top-level domain for adults-only content.

But the U.S. has blocked the move, reported the Wellington Dominion Post, which quoted the chairman of Canada’s ICM Registry, Stuart Lawley, as saying that “religious conservatives” in the U.S. used their “access to the powers that be” to halt the talks.

The ICM Registry is in favor of an adults-only zone, which the organization feels would benefit parents who are trying to keep porn from children. According to news reports, ICM has spent five years and millions of dollars campaigning for the right to manage .XXX addresses.

Source: newsfactor

Microsoft is moving full steam ahead with a plan to permanently modify the way Internet Explorer renders multimedia content on Web pages, but in what amounts to an admission that the changes could be disruptive, the software maker plans to give Web developers an extra 60 days to continue making preparations.

The IE update, which results from a multimillion-dollar patent spat with Eolas Technologies, changes the way the browser handles ActiveX controls and could have a significant impact on how online advertising and streaming media content is delivered over the Internet.

According to information reaching eWEEK, Microsoft announced the plans for a one-time 60-day extension during a conference call with industry partners on March 28 wherein Redmond officials reiterated the need for Web pages to be completely re-authored to avoid possible disruptions.

If Web sites and advertising units aren’t re-authored, Microsoft warned that ActiveX Controls and Java Applets will require user activation before the user can interact with the control.

Media software maker Ulead has dropped Blu-ray Disc support from the latest release of its DVD MovieFactory video capture and disk-mastering application - even though the software has only been shipping for just over a week.

DVD MovieFactory 5 went on sale on 20 March complete with BD-R support. Today, Ulead said it would be yanking the direct BD recording module from the application and would remove the software’s BD authoring support. HD DVD authoring and recording will remain available to users, Ulead said.

Ulead didn’t say precisely why it has been forced to pull the BD code, but it explained that it and its partner, InterVideo, are “actively co-operating” with the BD licensing body, that “testing is moving forward” and that “confident that the testing process will conclude smoothly and that Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 will earn the distinction of being the first application software to receive full Blu-ray Disc verification”.

Source: The Register