legal

New York A.G. removes 2,100 sex offenders from online games

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been able to remove more than 2,100 registered sex offenders from popular online games, his office announced today.

The registered sex offenders have been kicked out of a host of games from developers Gaia Online, NCSoft, and THQ, among others, as part of the attorney general's Operation: Game Over, an initiative designed to remove registered sex offenders from video games that might have children playing them.

"The Internet is the crime scene of the 21st century, and we must ensure that online video game platforms do not become a digital … Read more

Drunken tweets get you in trouble? Show some remorse, U.K. says

Offensive or controversial messages posted to social networks might not lead to prosecution if users show a little remorse, the U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service said today.

In a 14-page guide (PDF) published today on prosecuting cases related to social-media use, the CPS said that while some posters might publish "grossly offensive, obscene, or false" information on Twitter or Facebook that they could be prosecuted for, they can escape such issues if they quickly remove it from the site.

"If a message is taken down very swiftly and there is remorse, then it may not be proportionate to have a criminal prosecution," Keir Starmer, director of public prosecutions, said today in an interview with the Guardian. "It is not a defense that you have sobered up, but it is relevant that whatever the material was, it was taken down pretty quickly when the person realized it was inappropriate."… Read more

Apple wins U.S. trademark for Mac boot chime

The iconic startup sound of Apple's Mac computers is now trademarked in the United States, following an approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple filed for the trademark in June, and was granted the trademark yesterday, notes Patently Apple.

The sound, which has changed only a handful of times over the years, was created by programmer Jim Reekes, who spent 12 years at Apple as a software architect. It even made an appearance in Pixar's 2008 film "Wall-E."

Here's a collection of Mac chimes (including the ones indicating massive errors) from over … Read more

U.S., EU form alliance to curb child sexual abuse on the Web

The U.S. has teamed up with nearly 50 countries around the world in an effort to curb child sexual abuse on the Internet.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom today announced a new initiative called the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online. A host of European Union countries have joined the effort. South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey, and Nigeria are among the many non-EU countries that will participate in the alliance.

The alliance will make it easier for the participating countries to work together to identify instances of child sexual … Read more

Military judge sets terms for possible Manning plea

Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private accused of sharing documents with WikiLeaks that were eventually released on the Internet, is now one step closer to handling some of the claims brought against him.

Military judge Col. Denise Lind today accepted the language used to describe seven charges to which Manning could plead guilty. The charges include Manning willfully sending videos, war logs, and other classified materials to WikiLeaks.

The Associated Press was first to report on the ruling.

To be clear, Col. Lind's ruling does not imply that Manning willl offer a guilty plea. Instead, the ruling approves … Read more

When Samsung talks strategy, it thinks of Apple

Samsung's worldwide war with Apple will be one of the main focuses at the South Korean company's annual strategy meeting next month, according to a report.

Some 200 "chiefs" as well as top Samsung executives will meet in South Korea next month as part of the company's annual strategy meeting, local news outlet The Chosun Ilbo reports.

According to the report, the company plans to talk shop about its goals, which include changes to its product sales and its legal strategy with Apple.

The two rivals are currently entrenched in a massive legal battle with … Read more

Samsung won't talk settlement with Apple? Yeah, right

Samsung's insistence that it has no plans to negotiate a settlement with Apple may simply be a head fake in a long-running legal game between the two companies.

It's foolish to rule out the possibility of peace between the two given how far the fight's gone and how much is still left to sort out legally,say intellectual property and legal experts.

"When it's all said and done, they have so many litigations, in so many geographies, with billions of dollars at risk," says Richard Ehrlickman, the president and founder of patent brokerage firm … Read more

Apple appeals Chinese ruling over encyclopedia infringement

Apple has filed an appeal after a Chinese court ruled that the company is responsible for an app that contained pirated material.

The tech giant lost a case brought to court by China Publishing House, which claimed that Apple infringed copyright protection by allowing the sale of an app containing large sections of "Encyclopedia of China" without the publishing house's consent.

The iPhone and iPad-compatible app can be downloaded from Apple's App Store.

In September, a Chinese court ordered Apple to pay compensation of 520,000 yuan, which is roughly $83,000.

First reported by the … Read more

Samsung: We don't intend to negotiate with Apple

It appears Samsung Electronics won't be following in HTC's footsteps.

HTC on Saturday settled its long-running legal dispute with Apple, raising expectations that Samsung may do the same. But the Korean conglomerate's mobile chief, J.K. Shin, has told the Yonhap News Agency that the company will bank on a legal resolution instead of an out-of-court settlement.

Shin said he doesn't intend to negotiate at all with Apple, illustrating just how far apart the two companies are. While Apple scored a significant victory in the U.S., there are a number of legal clashes going on … Read more