Archive
Category: Litigation
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Kookaburra sits in the old gum treeee, merrily infringing
With all the fuss over the iiNet decision today, it might be easy to overlook another interesting copyright judgment that was handed down just a few metres away. In Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Ltd [2010] FCA 29, the owner of copyright in the children’s song ‘Kookaburra Sits in the… Read more →
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Australian travel agent sues Irish web developer for breach of contract
Australian travel franchise Flight Centre has commenced proceedings against Datalex, an Irish web developer, alleging breach of contract and misleading or deceptive conduct. It’s a pretty standard commercial dispute, with a slight twist: a non-existent product. The facts run something like this: developer promises to deliver customised Fancy New Booking System by a certain date,… Read more →
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“We’re not copyright police”: iiNet
The iiNet trial continues. During argument yesterday, Cobden SC for iiNet argued that to require internet service providers (ISPs) to forward notices of copyright infringement to their subscribers would impose an unreasonable duty on ISPs to ‘police’ their customers. The issue arises in the context of interpreting the requirements for authorisation liability under ss 36(1A)… Read more →
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Google wins online defamation case: not a ‘publisher’ of website content
In an eminently sensible decision, Eady J has held that Google is not liable for defamatory material that appears in the extract displayed underneath search results. Stated more precisely, Metropolitan International Schools Ltd v DesignTechnica Corporation [2009] EWHC 1765 (QB) now stands for the proposition that the facilitator of a defamatory imputation who, without human… Read more →
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Facebook as service intermediary: Australian Court allows online service
In the first example of its kind, the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory allowed notice of default judgment to be served on a number of defendants via Facebook. According to court reports, Master Harper made an order for substituted service via Facebook, ordering that the defendants could be validly served by sending a… Read more →
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Corporate cyber-espionage alleged by petroleum software developer
The president of Platte River Associates, a United States software development company, has pleaded guilty to charges of hacking into a competitor’s website and copying commercially sensitive files. The company develops specialist petroleum exploration software, and the target of the cyber-espionage was Zetaware, one of its chief competitors. It all smells rather suspect: the executive,… Read more →
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Cisco sued for GPL copyright infringement
The Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) has commenced proceedings against Cisco Systems Inc, alleging copyright infringement. The plaintiff argues that Cisco distributed software subject to the General Public License (GPL) without meeting the terms of the popular open source licence. Specifically, FSF alleges that Cisco’s subsidiary Linksys sold networking products containing GPL software without making… Read more →
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White Cows in Green Fields? Gateway Shareholder Class Actions Proceed
Last September, Gateway Inc, a United States manufacturer of consumer computer hardware, announced its intention to accept a takeover offer made by Acer Inc, the American subsidiary of a Taiwanese hardware and systems manufacturer. Acer offered cash consideration of USD $1.90 per share, valuing Gateway at just under USD $710 million. Well, it seems that… Read more →
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ISP Discovery in Civil Cases
Internet service providers (‘ISPs’) have become increasingly rich sources of information in complex criminal and civil matters. Parties in civil matters have used subpoenas to obtain information, but the California Superior Court has recently barred civil litigants from obtaining information from ISPs because the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (US) had no provisions for civil discovery.… Read more →
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Creative Sues Apple over iPod User Interface; Apple Counter-Claims
Creative Technology, manufacturer of digital music players, last Monday announced that its United States subsidiary, Creative Labs, has commenced proceedings against Apple in a United States federal court for alleged patent infringement. The United States Patent and Trade Mark Office issued the relevant patent (‘the Zen patent’) to Creative on 9 August 2005. According to… Read more →