Legal Issues

A kerfuffle that exploded online in the past few days over who created the concept of a "bristlebot," a small robot mashed up with a toothbrush, looks like it has a happy ending after an agreement between a New York publisher and two Silicon Valley "makers."

The controversy arose when a forthcoming book called "The Invasion of the Bristlebots" was discovered at the recent New York Toy Fair, raising the hackles of many who were deeply familiar with the concept of bristlebots, which had first been spread in late 2007 by the Silicon Valley … Read more

When it comes to whimsy, there's no doubt that the concept of a "bristlebot," a combination robot and toothbrush, is dripping with it.

But there's little whimsy going on right now over a controversy that has arisen with the appearance at the recent Toy Fair in New York of a book from Klutz publishing called "Invasion of the Bristlebots."

That's because in December 2007, the inventors at Evil Mad Scientist posted a how-to entry on the Make blog about something they called "BristleBots," a combination of a robot and a toothbrush: … Read more

In the latest twist in the long-running suit over Microsoft's "Vista capable" marketing program, a judge on Wednesday decided the matter no longer qualified as a class action suit.

According to the ruling, a copy of which is posted on TechFlash, the judge ruled that each PC buyer has to bring his or her own legal action in order to seek damages from Microsoft.

"Absent evidence of class-wide price inflation, Plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that common questions predominate over individual considerations," Judge Marsha Pechman wrote in the ruling.

Although Pechman declined to dismiss the suit entirely, … Read more

It's always interesting to note where Bill Gates is putting his money.

Fortunately, his Cascade Investment arm details his largest holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to regulatory filings made on Wednesday, Gates' Cascade Investment arm (along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) now holds, among other things, a 5.2 percent stake in Eastman Kodak.

It's not the first photography-related investment for Gates, who owns stock photography company Corbis.

Barron's reporter Eric Savitz also noted Gates holdings in companies ranging from $1.28 billion worth of Canadian National Railway to $391 million worth … Read more

While European regulators are showing a continued interest in regulating Microsoft, the Obama administration may have its sights set elsewhere.

In a speech in June, the woman nominated to be the new administration's antitrust chief said that Google, not Microsoft, is the big competitive worry.

"For me, Microsoft is so last century. They are not the problem," Christine Varney said at a June 19 panel, according to Bloomberg News, which unearthed the comments this week. In the same speech, Varney said that Google poses a threat because it already "has acquired a monopoly in Internet online … Read more

Facing a federal complaint from a leading privacy advocacy organization and a revolt of tens of thousands of its users, Facebook on Tuesday night backed down from what many have seen as an onerous privacy policy.

The policy had seemed to grant Facebook perpetual rights to users' uploaded content, and the threatened complaint from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) had demanded, essentially, that the social-networking service return to its previous terms.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post late Tuesday that the company had decided to do just that:

A leading privacy advocacy group is preparing to file a federal complaint against Facebook's new privacy policies, a published report said Tuesday.

According to PC World, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is getting ready to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, demanding that the massively popular social networking service return to its previous policies.

It appears that the major thrust of EPIC's--and many others' anger--at Facebook stems from new language in the privacy policy that grants the company seemingly perpetual control over content users post there:

Microsoft's patent push is paying off.

The software maker, which stepped up its rush to the patent office five years ago, has reached a milestone, having received its 10,000th U.S. patent earlier this month.

The efforts have propelled Microsoft to the upper echelon among patent filers, though IBM still gets more patents issued than any other company. Last year, Big Blue became the first company to have 4,000 patents issued in a single year.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has risen to the top 5 among patent recipients and for the last two years has topped a key ranking … Read more

The European Union is considering forcing Microsoft to distribute rival browsers as part of Windows, the software maker disclosed in a regulatory filing this week.

As part of its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed on Thursday, the software maker offered more details on the EU's statement last week that it believes Microsoft's inclusion of a browser in Windows violates antitrust law.

Microsoft said that the EU is considering forcing computer makers, known as original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, to offer multiple browsers with new Windows PCs.

"While computer users and OEMs are already … Read more