Michael Liedtke

September 27, 2007 | Law.com

An ethics group is urging Congress to scrutinize Google Inc.'s copyright controls after finding hundreds of apparently pirated movies available on the Internet search leader's Web site. In letters sent to several lawmakers on Sept. 26, the National Legal and Policy Center excoriated Google for allowing its video-hosting service to become an online theater for showing and promoting illegally copied movies.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

July 22, 2004 | Law.com

Oracle Corp. and the Justice Department summed up their respective points in Tuesday's closing arguments of a pivotal trial challenging the software maker's $7.7 billion takeover bid for rival PeopleSoft Inc. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling could extend or end Oracle's relentless pursuit of Pleasanton, Calif.-based PeopleSoft -- a saga that began in June 2003 with a hostile bid that stunned the software industry.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

March 15, 2006 | Law.com

A federal judge said Tuesday he intends to order Google to turn over some of its Internet records to the Justice Department, but expressed reservations about requiring the company to divulge some of its most sensitive data --- the actual requests that people enter into its popular search engine. The judge told the Justice Department it can expect to get at least some of the information sought from Google as part of the Bush administration's effort to revive a law meant to shield children from online porn.

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

September 27, 2005 | Law.com

A California judge ruled Friday that Visa USA and MasterCard International don't have to send individual warnings to thousands of consumers whose personal account information was stolen during a high-tech heist uncovered this year. The ruling represents a setback for a consumer lawsuit targeting Visa and MasterCard for a computer security breakdown that occurred at CardSystems Solutions, a payment processor for merchants. The breach had exposed up to 40 million credit and debit accounts to potential abuse.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

September 23, 2011 | Legaltech News

Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt sparred with senators during a hearing that repeatedly cast the internet search leader as a greedy monopolist more driven to expand its empire than to steer web surfers to the most helpful information. "Google does nothing to block access to any of the competitors and other sources of information," Schmidt testified.

By Marcy Gordon and Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

September 18, 2009 | Legaltech News

Google is giving 2 million books in its digital library a chance to be reincarnated as paperbacks. The "Espresso Book Machine" has been around for several years, but it figures to become a hotter commodity now that it has access to books scanned from some of the world's largest libraries.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

November 06, 2006 | Legaltech News

Microsoft Corp. has embraced Novell Inc.'s open-source software platform, forming a technological truce between two longtime antagonists who want to make it easier for the still-dominant Windows operating system and the increasingly popular Linux system to work together.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

September 14, 2007 | Law.com

Google Inc. is calling on businesses and regulators throughout the world to adopt international standards for protecting consumer privacy online and offline. The request, to be unveiled in France, comes as the online search leader battles privacy concerns that threaten its plan to buy Internet ad service DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 billion.

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

October 27, 2006 | Legaltech News

Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison posed a challenge to Linux software leader Red Hat Inc. on Wednesday by announcing Oracle would begin offering maintenance services for Red Hat products -- and charge less for it than Red Hat does. Is a takeover on the way?

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

October 19, 2006 | Law.com

The chairman of KLA-Tencor Corp. retired Tuesday with a less valuable stock-option package, becoming the latest insider swept up in the computer chip supplier's efforts to clean up an accounting mess expected to cost up to $400 million. Kenneth Levy decided to step down from the board late Monday after KLA acknowledged it improperly booked employee stock options for several years. KLA also accepted the resignation of its GC, Stuart Nichols, and severed its ties with former CEO Kenneth Schroeder.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read