judge

Brazil made good on its promise today and detained the country's head of operations for Google, according to the Associated Press.

The debacle began last week when Google refused to remove denigrating video clips of a politician from YouTube as ordered by a Brazilian judge. Laws in the country limit public criticism of political candidates.

Since Google failed to remove the clips, Judge Flavio Peren initiated a statewide, 24-hour suspension of Google and YouTube, while also ordering the arrest of Google executive Fabio Jose Silva Coelho.

According to the Associated Press, Brazil's federal police said that Coelho should … Read more

It seems die-hard Olympics fans hate the Internet now that results are posted instantaneously. The drama that prime-time coverage can usually deliver is somewhat dampened by the fact that a list of winners is readily available quicker than the time it takes to turn on a TV.

Even if you casually browse a site like Twitter, you're bound to accidentally uncover some breaking news from the Summer Games. Come to think of it, it's probably harder to shield yourself from the news than it is to find it out. … Read more

Ever wondered what the thought process must have been like for Apple's designers in coming up with the early iterations of the iPhone and iPad? Or if there were any crazy versions that never made it to the shelf?

Now, thanks to the Apple vs. Samsung patent court case, you can take a look at some of the early sketches and prototypes of these devices by way of public court documents.

According to Ina Fried at All Things D, Apple filed several documents Saturday that include dozens of hand-drawn and computer-generated sketches of early iPhone and iPad designs, along … Read more

As the Apple vs. Samsung patent trial rapidly approaches, settlement talks between the two companies still seem to be stymied, according to Reuters.

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with two of Samsung's top executives, vice chairman Choi Gee-sung and mobile chief Shin Jong-Kyun, in an undisclosed meeting last week to see if the two sides could resolve the matter before trial, according to Reuters. But the talks were to no avail -- mediation between the two companies still seems to have fallen short.

The two tech giants became embroiled in this legal battle in April 2011 when Apple filed … Read more

The federal judge presiding over Facebook's "sponsored stories" lawsuit has abruptly quit the case a day before a scheduled hearing to discuss a proposed settlement.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh filed papers today to recuse herself from the lawsuit, which claimed the social-networking giant violated California law and plaintiffs' right to privacy by publicizing their "likes" in advertisements without asking them, compensating them, or allowing them to opt out.

Koh's one-page court filing (see below) said the case would be referred to another U.S. District Court judge by the assignment committee. The … Read more

The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was tentatively denied its request for arbitration in the gender discrimination lawsuit brought by junior partner Ellen Pao.

According to Reuters, Judge Harold Kahn made a preliminary ruling today that the case should continue to go through the courts rather than be moved to third-party arbitration, which the firm requested last month.

"There is no arbitration agreement between plaintiff and defendant," Kahn wrote in his initial ruling, according to Reuters.

Kleiner Perkins, in a statement, said it believes it has strong arguments and precedent to move the matter to … Read more

A former Intel engineer has pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of data from the chip giant before leaving the company, according to a Bloomberg report.

The worker, Biswamohan Pani, 36, of Chelmsford, Mass., stole the sensitive chip-related information "to advance his career with a competitor," according to Bloomberg. He worked at an Intel chip-manufacturing plant in Hudson, Mass.

Pani gave notice to Intel on May 29, 2008, with his last day set for June 11 and began work at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on June 2, "while retaining access to Intel's … Read more

Those last-ditch efforts that AT&T reportedly attempted in order to save its proposed bid for T-Mobile don't look to have paid off.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle has assigned a February 13 start date for a nonjury trial to decide whether AT&T's proposed merger with T-Mobile, which would make AT&T the largest nationwide carrier, would violate antitrust laws.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against AT&T at the end of August with the purpose of blocking the merger, as the DOJ reasoned that such a behemoth of a … Read more

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has refiled a lawsuit against several major technology companies over claims of patent infringement.

In his revised complaint filed yesterday, Allen alleges that 11 tech companies and retailers--Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube, eBay, Netflix, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples--are violating patents granted to him when he headed Interval Research, a small R&D firm that he started in 1992 and ran until it went out of business in 2000.

Allen initially filed the suit in August in U.S. District Court in Seattle. At the time, Allen's Interval Licensing company--which holds the patents … Read more