Corporate and legal

Live-television streaming service Aereo is revving up its fight against major U.S. broadcasters.

The company took out a full-page ad in the front section of The New York Times on Tuesday, making a case as to why its business isn't breaking copyright law.

"People have enjoyed the right to access over-the-air broadcast television using an antenna for over 70 years," the ad says. "About 54 million Americans use some sort of antenna to watch TV. This is not piracy. This has been part of the American way since the beginning of broadcasting."

Aereo is … Read more

The European Commission would like to prepare a case against China-based companies Huawei and ZTE over the possibility of unfair business practices, but it needs help from technology companies that are unwilling to get involved, according to a new report.

Reuters, which claims to have spoken to people with knowledge of the issue, reported that the EC would like to investigate whether Huawei and ZTE have been unfairly using state subsidies to undercut prices offered by European companies. The EC is the executive arm of the European Union.

For the trade investigation to move forward, the EC needs to have … Read more

Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will hit its stores later this month.

T-Mobile's Galaxy S4 will come out first on April 24 for $149.99 down and monthly service payments, which are likely to be $20. Sprint's Galaxy S4 will hit the market three days later, and will cost $249.99 with a two-year contract.

T-Mobile's and Sprint's prices for the Galaxy S4 can't exactly be stacked side by side because T-Mobile requires the monthly fees and Sprint requires a two-year service contract. Sprint said that new customers that switch … Read more

AT&T has offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for vandalizing its network in the heart of Silicon Valley.

In what appears to be coordinated acts of vandalism, fiber-optic cables near San Jose, Calif., were cut in two locations early Tuesday morning before shots were fired at electric transformers at a nearby PG&E substation. Damage to the underground cables, which are accessible by manhole covers, prevented residents of the city of Gilroy to the south from using landlines to make 911 calls for emergency service.

The … Read more

The America Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission today asking the agency to investigate the four major mobile carriers' security practices in regards to smartphones.

The civil liberties group claims that AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint are not doing enough to protect users' private and personal data -- specifically on Android devices. The gist of the complaint (PDF) is that these carriers aren't providing users with timely security updates, which the ACLU says is akin to "deceptive and unfair business practice."

"The major wireless carriers have sold millions of … Read more

Microsoft has struck a patent-licensing agreement with Hon Hai, parent company of Foxconn, that protects the company from being sued by the software giant over devices it makes that run Google's Android and Chrome operating systems.

Hon Hai will pay Microsoft unspecified royalties in exchange for "broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio," the companies announced this evening.

Microsoft has long argued that Chrome and Android infringe on its patented technology in areas ranging from the user interface to the underlying operating system. However, rather than going after Google for patent violations, Microsoft has targeted device makers, … Read more

Intrigue and suspense movie thrillers are made from stuff like the story of Gottfrid Svartholm Warg. And for Warg, it seems like his story may be coming to an end.

The Pirate Bay co-founder was charged today with conspiracy to hack into several Swedish agencies and allegedly attempting to make an illegal online money transfer out of a local bank, according to Swedish news site The Local.

"A large amount of data from companies and agencies was taken during the hack, including a large amount of personal data, such as personal identity numbers (personnummer) of people with protected identities,&… Read more

Marissa Mayer is sprinting and trying to start a chain reaction. That's how she described her plan to return Yahoo to its former glory during the company's first-quarter 2013 earnings call.

The Yahoo CEO shared how she is executing a series of "sprints" to revive the company. The first sprint, which Mayer said is now over, was about recharging Yahoo's culture and getting employees to believe in the company's future. That also meant bringing in new talent and making Yahoo the "best place to work."

"We implemented more than 567 employee … Read more

Michigan Judge Raymond Voet doesn't like phones interrupting court proceedings. It's fair enough; court is very serious business, and the last thing you need is someone's wacky ringtone right at the moment of sentencing. Voet, therefore, decided that offenders are liable to be held in contempt and fined, a policy that's stated in a clear sign hanging in Voet's courtroom.

So when, in the middle of court, his own phone started asking him to give it voice commands, he had no choice but to hold himself accountable.

"The prosecutor was in the middle of his closing arguments," Voet, an Ionia County 64-A District Court judge, told ABC News. "He lost his train of thought and looked at me. I felt my face starting to burn red." Voet turned off his phone and allowed the prosecutor to continue. During a break in proceedings, however, he fined himself the $25. … Read more