u.s. department of justice

As expected, a bill that would have given the U.S. Department of Justice increased ability to shut down sites it accused of illegal file sharing, won't be a law any time soon.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act proposes to give the DOJ the power to shut down Web sites "deemed" to be trafficking in pirated films, software, music, and other U.S. intellectual property. Attempts to rush the bill through the Senate before Congress adjourned for November elections were unsuccessful. The legislation simply ran out of time.

Supporters, who now must wait until after … Read more

Killing legislation that would enable the government to shut down Web sites accused of piracy was a top priority for many technology trade groups today.

Last week, a Senate committee stunned the tech sector by announcing it would try to fast-track a bill designed to grant the U.S. Department of Justice wide authority to combat illegal file sharing and counterfeiting.

The bill, which was introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee and backed by the committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), could go to a vote in the Senate as early as tomorrow.

Critics say the proposed legislation, known … Read more

A group of senators want to hand the U.S. Department of Justice the power to shut down Web sites dedicated to the illegal sharing online of film, music, software, and other intellectual property.

"The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act will give the Department of Justice an expedited process for cracking down on these rogue Web sites regardless of whether the Web site's owner is located inside or outside of the United States," according to a statement from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and committee member Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah).

Under … Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice has closed its investigation of cell phone text message pricing without any action taken against wireless operators, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The Justice Department launched its investigation into text message pricing in September 2008, after Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) asked the agency to look into why wireless operators had doubled text-messaging rates from 10 cents per message to 20 cents per message sent and received. Kohl said he was concerned that the industry had colluded to increase rates at roughly the same time.

Wireless companies denied that they had colluded to set rates. … Read more

Federal antitrust regulators and Microsoft issued a joint status report Tuesday on the software giant's compliance with the 2003 final judgment on interoperability with third parties.

In the interim report, the parties focus on efforts by the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce the final judgments of the 2003 order and Microsoft's work on complying with those judgments.

The final settlement stems from a 2002 consent decree, which the court, in a ruling earlier this year, extended by two years. Under the settlement, Microsoft agreed to be subject to antitrust review for compliance of the consent decree, … Read more

U.S. law often comes down hard on price fixing. That's why a magazine story in October about efforts to create a music subscription site potentially backed by the top four music labels may have sounded alarms in Washington.

Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment have received requests for information from the U.S. Department of Justice about a proposed music site called Total Music. The DOJ interest comes after an October BusinessWeek story that said Doug Morris, Universal's CEO, pitched an idea for a subscription site to at least two of his three main competitors, … Read more