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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder defended the criminal case against the late activist Aaron Swartz today, saying the penalties sought represented a "good use of prosecutorial discretion."

In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder denied that Justice Department prosecutors engaged in any wrongdoing, arguing that Swartz could have avoided a lengthy prison sentence if he had simply accepted a guilty plea of up to six months.

Swartz committed suicide on January 11 in New York. His family and friends have blamed prosecutors for filing 13 felony charges -- meaning years or decades in prison if … Read more

A once-obscure copyright law that the U.S. Senate unanimously approved in 1998 has finally irritated so many members of the public that Congress might bother to defang it.

It's not like the flaws of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have remained a state secret for the last 15 years: it's been wielded to threaten Princeton security researchers, restrict replacement garage door openers, and jail a programmer who dared to create an e-book converter. One federal appeals court even invoked the law when banning "linking" to certain DMCA-offending Web sites.

Not one of those extrusions of … Read more

The White House warned today of the threat posed by WikiLeaks, LulzSec, and other "hacktivist" groups that have the ability to target U.S. companies and expropriate confidential data.

A new administration-wide strategy (PDF) disclosed at a high-profile event in Washington that included Attorney General Eric Holder says the theft of trade secrets is on the rise and predicts such theft will undermine U.S. national security unless halted.

It's a "steadily increasing threat to America's economy and national security interests," Holder said at the event, which also featured officials from the State Department … Read more

Saying they had "many questions" about the prosecution of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide earlier this month, two key members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have requested a briefing with the Justice Department.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter today to Attorney General Eric Holder that outlines seven questions the lawmakers have for prosecutors concerning the prosecution of Swartz.

"Many questions have been raised about the appropriate level of punishment sought by prosecutors for Mr. Swartz's alleged offenses, and how the Computer Fraud … Read more

As smartphones get smaller, flatter, sleeker, and shinier, they also get harder to hold onto. The HandAble holder is one way to avoid developing a smartphone death grip.

The accessory market is a crowded one, but HandAble is just clever enough and simple enough to warrant a look. It attaches to the back of the phone and consists of a retractable disk that you slip your fingers under, keeping the phone snug against your hand.

HandAble is the brain child of Aaron Block, a 78-year-old inventor. The accessory was originally a Kickstarter project, but one that failed to reach its funding goal. An unfunded Kickstarter project doesn't mean the idea has to die. HandAble is proof of that.… Read more

New from the Department of Things I Didn't Know I Wanted But Now Can't Live Without: Bondi.

This cute little gizmo is designed to hold and hang your smartphone. It has feet at the bottom, "hands" that hug your device, and a hanger-style head.

All these limbs can bend any which way, meaning Bondi is actually good for other purposes as well.

Here are some short commercials that show the Bondi in action:… Read more

I have a certain affinity for tacky novelty gifts. I used to peruse comic book ads offering untold delights such as X-ray specs, hand buzzers, and fake vomit.

The Prescription Bottle Beer Holder from Gadgets and Gear would fit right in with those tasteless gags. It's bound to be a hot joke gift among both frat boys and medical professionals.… Read more

Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and H.G. Wells' "Things to Come" may have first been published decades ago, and have long been in the public domain, but that doesn't mean they won't soon be under copyright once again.

That could be the result of a Supreme Court ruling today that Congress can re-copyright public domain works, Wired wrote.

With its 6-2 decision in Golan v. Holder (PDF), the top U.S. court held that Congress has the duty to comply with an international treaty known as the Berne Convention, which permits re-copyrighting works--books, musical … Read more

A bizarre attempt by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to seize the domain name of a hip-hop blog accused of copyright infringement ended today with the government abruptly abandoning the lawsuit.

Government officials initially trumpeted the seizure of the music blog, DaJaz1.com, and 81 others as an example of the law prevailing over pirates. Attorney General Eric Holder warned at the time that "intellectual property crimes are not victimless," and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director John Morton proclaimed that "today, we turn the tables on these Internet thieves."

The only problem? It … Read more