Court Affirms $675,000 Penalty in Music-Downloading Case (CNET)
A Massachusetts federal court upheld a $675,000 damages award against Joel Tenenbaum, who was accused of illegally downloading and distributing 31 songs over a two-year period
Genius or Troll? Patent Owner Sues Dozens Over Anti-Piracy Method (GigaOM)
A Miami man who says he invented a form of cryptography to fight online piracy is suing Google, Shazam and dozens of others that use common digital water-marking techniques to prevent copyright infringement.
New Yorker Pleads Guilty in Virginia Criminal Copyright Case (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Dennis Newsome entered a guilty plea in federal court in Virginia to four counts relating to criminal copyright infringement. Newsome allegedly sold illegal copies of computer software and training materials from John Wiley & Sons and CBT Nuggets.
RapidShare: We’ll help Hollywood, but ‘not at all costs’ (Q&A) (CNET)
Daniel Raimer, general counsel of media-hosting site Rapidshare, talked to CNET about the techniques the company uses to detect and curb piracy.
Jury Awards $1 Billion to Apple in Samsung Patent Case (The New York Times)
A jury found that Samsung infringed on a series of Apple’s patents on mobile devices, and awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages in a decision that could force smartphone makers to redesign their products to be less Apple-like.
Samsung Case Puts Apple Closer to Google Fight (The New York Times)
Though Apple has not directly pursued Google, and instead sued the cellphone makers that use Android in their products, the jury verdict against Samsung puts apple closer to a Google fight.
Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.