Michael Liedtke

September 08, 2005 | Law.com

Google has settled the last part of a lawsuit alleging the online search engine leader's ad network illegally exploited insurer Geico's brand, avoiding a trial on an issue that threatened to bog down one of the Internet's biggest moneymaking machines. The Geico suit is just one of several trademark battles shadowing Google's method for selling the text-based ads that provide the financial fuel for the company's popular search engine.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

February 21, 2006 | Legaltech News

Google on Friday criticized the Bush administration's demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company's credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets. The case has attracted widespread attention because the Justice Department's demand to peek under the hood of the Internet's most popular search engine has underscored the potential for online databases becoming tools for government surveillance.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

December 13, 2007 | Law.com

A federal judge has approved a roughly $30 million judgment against eBay Inc. more than four years after a jury concluded the online auctioneer had infringed on the patent of a small Virginia company. U.S. District Court Judge Jerome Friedman's certification edges MercExchange LLC a step closer to cashing in on its long-running battle against one of the Internet's powerhouses. But eBay still hopes to avoid writing a check.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

May 05, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Those who join the social networking site and then discontinue using it in fairly short order are more numerous than those who become habitual posters, a new study concluded.

By Michael LiedtkeThe Associated Press

2 minute read

February 21, 2006 | Law.com

Google on Friday criticized the Bush administration's demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company's credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets. The case has attracted widespread attention because the Justice Department's demand to peek under the hood of the Internet's most popular search engine has underscored the potential for online databases becoming tools for government surveillance.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

August 04, 2004 | Law.com

A new study says Wal-Mart Stores' wage and benefit policies cost California taxpayers $86 million annually to provide health care and other public assistance to the company's underpaid workers. Wal-Mart disputed the university study, which is based on the premise that the retailer's paltry pay scale forces its workers to supplement their incomes with food stamps and other taxpayer-backed programs at an unusually high rate.

By Michael Liedtke

2 minute read

July 29, 2008 | Law.com

Business software maker Oracle accused rival SAP on Monday of knowingly buying and then embracing an illegal operation set up to steal Oracle's products and customers. The allegations emerged in new documents filed in a federal fraud case that Oracle brought against SAP last year in San Francisco. Oracle claims that SAP executives were aware of and even contemplated covering up alleged illegal activities by TomorrowNow, a SAP subsidiary. The Justice Department has also been investigating Oracle's claims.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

March 19, 2007 | Legaltech News

Cingular Wireless will refund $18.5 million to former California customers penalized for canceling their mobile phone service because of trouble making and receiving calls. About 115,000 ex-Cingular customers from January 2000 through April 2002 will receive refund checks of $160.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

August 15, 2005 | Law.com

Stung by a publishing industry backlash, Google has halted its efforts to scan copyrighted books from some of the nation's largest university libraries so the material can be indexed in its leading Internet search engine. The project troubles publishers because they fear making digital versions of copyrighted books available on the Internet could open the door to unauthorized duplication and distribution, similar to the rampant online pirating that has decimated music industry sales.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

June 07, 2006 | Legaltech News

Google introduced a spreadsheet program Tuesday. Jonathan Rochelle, project manager for Google Spreadsheet, said the program's main goal is to enable groups of authorized users to collaborate on the same document without having to e-mail attachments back and forth.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read