Legal Issues

Readers, I need your help. Actually, TV fans everywhere need it.

Because Hulu is free, I've never gone to the site with the expectation of finding any specific TV show or movie that I wanted to watch. Sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised to find a gem of a show or a movie, and other times I've felt utterly disappointed by a lack of quality content. It's all depended on my mood and what kind of thing I wanted to see.

But there are some shows it seems to me are just out-and-out missing on Hulu. And … Read more

Now that Google has said it will stop censoring search results on its Chinese Web site, a key question is whether rivals Yahoo and Microsoft will do the same.

In the wake of a major cyberattack last month, Google said Tuesday that it will no longer censor its Google.cn site and may pull out of China entirely.

"We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search … Read more

Although Microsoft was largely ready for an injunction that went into effect on Monday against selling certain versions of Microsoft Office, there were a few visible impacts.

The injunction stems from a verdict in which the custom XML function in recent versions of Microsoft Word was found to infringe on technology patented by Toronto-based I4i. A judge later issued an injunction barring sales of Office 2003 and Office 2007 versions containing the feature.

As noted by Computerworld, most versions of Office were unavailable from Microsoft's online store. As of 1:30 p.m. PST, only the $679 Office Ultimate … Read more

Microsoft filed another appeal Friday in its patent dispute with I4i, but also said that it will comply with the injunction against Office that is set to go into effect on Monday.

The software maker asked for either a hearing before the full appeals court or for the partial panel that heard its case to grant it a new hearing. A jury last year ruled that the custom XML feature in Office 2007 infringed on an I4i patent and a judge imposed both monetary damages and issued an injunction barring sales of Office containing the offending feature.

"Today Microsoft … Read more

Perhaps the next time Brad Smith heads to Brussels, it will be for a vacation.

After years of wrangling with Microsoft, the European Commission announced an accord with the software giant Wednesday on several fronts that seems poised to put an end to its antitrust concerns with Redmond.

In the wake of the announcement, I spoke to Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, about the decision, what it means for the future of Windows, and whether the company sees its spot on the antitrust hot seat now being taken up by other companies, including Google.

Here's an edited transcript of … Read more

Microsoft said on Tuesday that a blogging application posted to its MSN China site did in fact copy code from a rival.

Microblogging site Plurk lashed out at Microsoft on Monday saying that the Juku application stole its user interface and code. Microsoft said on Monday that it was investigating the matter and suspended the Juku service on Monday night.

Microsoft has said a third party and not it or its Chinese joint venture partner wrote the Juku program.

"The vendor has now acknowledged that a portion of the code they provided was indeed copied," Microsoft said in … Read more

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles discussing how people in the tech industry are working with or around federal and state governments.

Can you chart a logical path from a 2003 academic conference on the legal issues surrounding virtual worlds and online games to Barack Obama's first executive action as president?

Beth Noveck can.

If you're not familiar with her--and few outside her specific professional and social circles would be--Noveck, a 38-year-old lawyer originally from Toms River, N.J., is Obama's deputy chief technology officer for open government.

Precisely what &… Read more

Microsoft said late Monday that is suspending access to an MSN China microblogging site amid allegations the service is based on code swiped from a rival.

Canadian start-up Plurk lashed out at Microsoft earlier on Monday, saying that 80 percent of the code for Juku appeared to be lifted directly from its service.

Microsoft reiterated late Monday that it is investigating the matter but issued a statement saying it was pulling down the Juku feature while it looks into things.

"Earlier today, questions arose over a feature developed by a third-party vendor for our MSN China joint venture," … Read more

Microsoft said on Monday afternoon that it's investigating allegations that a recently launched microblogging site in China lifts the code and interface of a start-up's rival service.

"Microsoft takes intellectual property seriously, and we are currently investigating these allegations," company spokesman Mark Murray said in a statement. "It may take some time due to the time zone differences with Beijing."

Earlier on Monday, Canada's Plurk went public with charges that Microsoft's Juku service "rips off" the look and feel of its microblogging service and also appears to use more than … Read more