trial

The British are renowned for their sense of humor. It is, indeed, one of the only reliable British exports over the last 40 years. Together with airlines, Carey Mulligan, Cadbury's chocolate.

So you might have thought that even judges in a dreary place like Doncaster, U.K. have the ability to estimate when something might be intended to be a joke.

It seems not. As Paul Chambers, the man who tweeted his frustration about the possibility of a canceled flight, has lost his appeal against what some might think is one of the more putrid convictions of recent times.… Read more

Three of the four Scandinavian men convicted for operating The Pirate Bay--perhaps the best-known file-sharing tool in the world--were in a Swedish court today to begin their appeals court trial.

In April 2009, co-founders Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, and Carl Lundstrom were found guilty of copyright violations, sentenced to a year in prison, and ordered to pay the equivalent of $3.6 million. They are now trying to get their convictions overturned.

According to the Web site of Swedish publication Svenska Dagbladet, prosecutors produced e-mails allegedly written by some of the founders and used them to try … Read more

At the same time YouTube has helped law enforcement from all over the world nab criminals, the video-sharing site has also helped authorities weed out cops who use excessive force.

Perhaps one of the better-known cases involves Patrick Pogan, a former New York City police officer who was seen in a much-watched YouTube video body-slamming a bicyclist in 2008. Pogan is accused of assault and filing a false police report and his trial got underway on Monday, according to a story in The New York Times.

The 24-year-old Pogan, who has resigned from NYPD, faces up to four years in … Read more

Want some good deals on software and popular national services, plus do some good for the world, to boot? Then check out this great deal from TrialPay called The Big Bundle. In exchange for a $29.99 donation to the American Cancer Society, visitors to The Big Bundle Web site will receive more than $700 worth of products and services from participating companies.

Get software deals from Trend Micro, Skype, Corel, Siber Systems, Evernote, WinZip, Foxit, PopCap games, and many more, all as a part of this affordable package. You also get bargains from Zagat, Shoebuy, 1800Flowers, SmugMug, Picnik Premium, … Read more

Update 5:48 p.m. PT: To include quotes from Thomas Rasset's attorney.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman found liable for willful copyright infringement of 24 songs last month, has asked a federal court for a new trial or a reduction in the amount of the $1.92 million damages she was ordered to pay.

Thomas-Rasset, who a jury found liable for willful copyright infringement, asked the court Monday to either alter or amend the judgment, remove or change the award of statutory damages to the minimum, or give her a new trial. The minimum damages would be $18,… Read more

We check in with reporter Greg Sandoval on the RealDVD trial, during which RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser showed off a prototype "DVD jukebox" the company has in the works. RealNetworks thinks it could be the ultimate solution for home movie libraries, but the movie industry sees it more as a movie pirate's treasure chest.

Also in this podcast: Time Warner looks to unload AOL's "dead weight"; Simplify offers a solution to music libraries that are too big to fit on an iPhone; Sony is reportedly ready to unveil the next version of the PlayStation … Read more

The four defendants in the high-profile Pirate Bay trial face year-long jail terms if found guilty when the verdict gets announced in Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday. But even if prosecutors get their way, it's less evident whether a legal victory would also translate to a broader deterrent against illegal file sharing.

Clearly, this case is being viewed on both sides of the Atlantic as a potentially landmark decision in the heated controversy surrounding unauthorized Internet file sharing. The prosecution accuses the four men standing trial--Peter Sunde, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Fredrik Neij, and Carl Lundstrom--of making copyright-protected material available through … Read more

You know a Web app has come into its own when it gets banned in courtrooms and locker rooms.

Twitter, which went from being just another Web geek service to an Internet phenomenon lampooned on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," is now becoming a nuisance for at least two American institutions--the judicial system and the NBA.

Some judges and lawyers believe the integrity of trials is being threatened by jurors posting comments about cases on the popular microblogging service.

Lawyers for a building products company are asking an Arkansas court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment … Read more

File swappers are expected to be keeping their eyes on a court in Sweden this week as a landmark copyright-infringement trial gets under way.

The four men behind the popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay go on trial Monday in Stockholm, accused of helping millions of Internet users illegally download protected movies, music, and computer games. The defendants--Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi, and Carl Lundström--face up to two years in prison and a fine of 1.2 million kronor ($143,529) if convicted of being accessories and conspiracy to break Swedish copyright law.

Two of … Read more