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Patents ‘Gumming Up’ Innovation: Google – Bloomberg

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google Inc. General Counsel Kent Walker said the smartphone industry is using patents in an arms race that hurts consumers, leaving the company trying to “sort through the mess” of litigation.

“It’s hard to find what’s the best path — there’s so much litigation,” Walker said in an interview. “We’re exploring a variety of different things.”

Google is seeking to buy patents that would put it on a level plane with its rivals, and the company will continue to push to have the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office take a closer look at issued patents that are being used in litigation, Walker said. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission also need to do more to rein in software patents and lawsuits, he said.

“The tech industry has a significant problem,” Walker said. “Software patents are kind of gumming up the works of innovation.”

Google, which had $39.1 billion in cash and short-term investments as of June, put in an initial $900 million offer to buy the patents of bankrupt phone-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. It was outbid by a group that includes Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd., which all make devices that compete with phones running Google’s Android operating system.

via Patents ‘Gumming Up’ Innovation: Google – Bloomberg.

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Gibson Dunn – E-Discovery Basics: Admissibility and Presentation of ESI (Vol. 1, No. 10)

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In previous installments of E-Discovery Basics, we discussed litigation preparedness, legal holds, preservation, processing, review and production of electronically stored information (“ESI”). In this installment, we discuss what many consider to be the last step in the e-discovery life cycle–admissibility and presentation of ESI to a trier of fact at trial or in other proceedings (for example, in support of a summary judgment motion).

The often considerable work and expense involved in the earlier stages of the e-discovery life cycle could end up being of little value if the ESI that is identified, preserved, collected, processed, reviewed and produced is ultimately inadmissible or not effectively presented. Litigants therefore should think strategically early on so that they handle and manage ESI in a way that ensures its admissibility and effective presentation.

Admissibility: The rules of evidence establish a series of hurdles that ESI usually must overcome before being admitted into evidence:

Relevance–Does the ESI have any tendency to make some fact that is of consequence to the litigation more or less probable than it otherwise would be?

Authenticity–Is the ESI what it purports to be?

Hearsay–If offered for its substantive truth, is the ESI hearsay, and, if so, is it covered by an exception to the hearsay rule?

Original Writing–Is the ESI an original or duplicate under the original writing rule, or, if not, is there admissible secondary evidence to prove the content of the ESI? and

Probative Value and Unfair Prejudice–Is the probative value of the ESI substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, such that it should be excluded despite its relevance?

continued @ Gibson Dunn – E-Discovery Basics: Admissibility and Presentation of ESI (Vol. 1, No. 10).

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E-Discovery and Cyber-Shredding at News of the World | i-Sight Investigation Software Blog

July 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

The deletion of 500 GB of incriminating email archive data dating back to 2005 means the prosecution in the News of the World phone hacking case may be missing valuable e-discovery material.

One reporter has even gone so far as to suggest that Rupert Murdoch’s reason for shutting down the paper was to allow him to get rid of the electronic evidence.

Reuters law reporter Alison Frankel writes that Murdoch “may not be obliged to retain documents that could be relevant to civil and criminal claims against the newspaper–even in cases that are already underway. That could mean that dozens of sports, media, and political celebrities who claim News of the World hacked into their telephone accounts won’t be able to find out exactly what the tabloid knew and how it got the information.”

Obstruction of Justice

The e-discovery implications of the e-mail deletions are significant in light of the ongoing police investigation into the hacking allegations. If the executive can be identified, it’s likely that criminal charges will be filed for obstruction of justice.

“A company is supposed to suspend its routine destruction of electronically stored information if litigation is reasonably anticipated,” says Rebecca Shwayri, an attorney and e-discovery expert at Carlton Fields. “At the time the UK company shut down in the phone tapping case, litigation could definitely be anticipated. Government investigations were already being threatened once the news story broke. Arguably, a litigation hold should have been applied (at the very latest) at that time,” she says.

via E-Discovery and Cyber-Shredding at News of the World | i-Sight Investigation Software Blog.

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MediaPost Publications Netflix: Privacy Law Prevents Facebook Integration 07/25/2011

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Netflix told shareholders today that a 23-year-old privacy law is “discouraging” it from integrating with Facebook in the U.S.

The 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act requires movie rental companies to get customers’ written consent before disclosing information about the videos they have rented. The law also requires companies to shed users’ video rental records within a year of the time the provider no longer needs the data.

Congress passed the VPPA after a newspaper obtained the video rental records of Robert Bork, who had been nominated (unsuccessfully) to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. The statute provides for $2,500 in damages per violation.

Netflix says that the VPPA is “ambiguous” about how users can give permission for information on video viewing to be shared. The company also says it backs a proposed bill, HR2471, that would offer clarification.

That measure, introduced by Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.), would allow consumers to consent online to disclosure of their video rentals. It also would allow people to consent on an ongoing basis. The current statute requires consumers’ to give written consent “at the time the disclosure is sought.”

via MediaPost Publications Netflix: Privacy Law Prevents Facebook Integration 07/25/2011.

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New Evidence Act paves way for electronic evidence in courts (Nigeria)

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Computer Forensics Institute, Nigeria (CFIN), the government-approved body for the training and certification of digital forensics experts in Nigeria, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the swift way his administration signed into law the new Evidence Act that has now paved the way for the admissibility of computer and electronic generated evidences in Nigerian courts.

Peter Olu Olayiwola, president/chairman of the body in a press statement, at the weekend, congratulated Nigerians on this noble feat achieved in the early stage of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration heaving a sigh of relief that at last digital and computer forensic evidence is now admissible in the courts of our land.

He said with this development there’s hope for this country even as he expressed the gratitude of CFIN to all those in the forefront of fighting for the realisation of the new Evidence Act. The body was exceptionally grateful to Senator Sola Akinyede and his committee and the National Assembly for working tirelessly to push through the amendment of the 68-year-old Act.

Olayiwola explained the role of CFIN to nation building and said his institute works in the area of national security by assisting the federal and states law enforcement agencies, and other agencies of government that have to do with security in the area of capacity building by developing the capabilities in the identified staff that man certain critical areas in their various organizations.

While introducing computer forensics as the science of detection and investigation of crime committed either using the computer or on the computer network, internet and other digital devices with the intent of giving digital evidence in litigation, Olayiwola said computer forensics can be used to detect and gather evidence that will lead to the prosecution of the culprit. According to him, over 75 percent of all criminal cases have one form of digital or electronic evidence or the other.

via New Evidence Act paves way for electronic evidence in courts.

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Latest Mozilla Project: Android Competitor? – Tech Europe – WSJ

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Much of the success of Android is attributed to it being described, by Google at least, as being “open source.” The attraction for handset and tablet manufacturers is that it should mean there is no charge for licensing.

But, a series of patent court cases threatens to make Android rather less than free. A week ago Apple won two cases against handset manufacturer HTC, although they are being appealed with a final decision due in December. HTC and others have already struck licensing deals with Microsoft which, along with Oracle, is suing Google over elements of Android.

Developers, meanwhile, are annoyed with Google’s definition of open source saying Android is developed secretly and the readable source code is often not released until months after new versions are given to manufacturers. It is also seen as wasteful that many apps have to be rewritten almost from scratch using a different “native code” for every device.

Into this breach could step Mozilla, the organization best known for creating the Firefox web browser.

In a forum post yesterday, ironically on Google Groups, Mozilla researcher Andreas Gal announced: “We propose a project we’re calling “Boot to Gecko” (B2G) to pursue the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web.  It’s going to require work in a number of areas.”

via Latest Mozilla Project: Android Competitor? – Tech Europe – WSJ.

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Biometrics and Digital Forensics | Digital Forensics Magazine

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Just as fingerprints are used to confirm identities so to are biometrics signatures when used in access control and other applications. In Issue 8 we take an in-depth look at these implications and the practical areas for the digital investigator.

by Julian Ashbourn

Biometrics have proved useful in identity management across a variety of scenarios, from large scale border control and citizen identity applications to small scale corporate or specific sector applications where biometric identity verification can bring an additional dimension. However, there remain several factors, which are perhaps not as well or as widely understood as they might be in this context. Such factors include aspects of performance, such as equivalence of performance across nodes, security, such as the relative security of biometric templates and, especially, human factors, including behavioural factors that have an impact upon performance and the assumptions made about the results of a biometric matching transaction.

If the use of biometrics in everyday situations proliferates, can they perhaps be used in more innovative ways from a digital forensics perspective? We are all familiar with the traditional use of fingerprints and “mugshots” for purposes of law enforcement. It will be interesting to observe whether the use of biometrics within the broader IT landscape lead to assumptions with respect to forensics, or perhaps new approaches to forensic investigation.

Within our ever-changing technological world it is natural that, as interesting technologies come along, we consider how we might use them with respect to existing processes. From a specific digital forensics perspective, it is equally natural, if not essential, that any new Information Technology is incorporated into our broader understanding. However, in some cases, the methodology involved may not immediately be clear. Biometric identity verifi cation technology may be a case in point. We have an understanding that biometrics can provide a relatively robust first or second factor personal identity authentication mechanism, but how might this help us from a digital forensics perspective? In this paper we shall review the biometric situation and posit some ideas and suggestions accordingly.

via Biometrics and Digital Forensics.

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Street View cars grabbed locations of phones, PCs | Privacy Inc. – CNET News

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google’s Street View cars collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices around the world, a practice that raises novel privacy concerns, CNET has confirmed.

The cars were supposed to collect the locations of Wi-Fi access points. But Google also recorded the street addresses and unique identifiers of computers and other devices using those wireless networks and then made the data publicly available through Google.com until a few weeks ago.

The French data protection authority, known as the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) recently contacted CNET and said its investigation confirmed that Street View cars collected these unique hardware IDs. In March, CNIL’s probe resulted in a fine of 100,000 Euros, about $143,000.

The confirmation comes as concerns about location privacy appear to be growing. Apple came under fire in April for recording logs of approximate location data on iPhones, and eventually released a fix. That controversy sparked a series of disclosures about other companies’ location privacy practices, questions and complaints from congressmen, a pair of U.S. Senate hearings, and the now-inevitable lawsuits seeking class action status.

A previous CNET article, published June 15 and triggered by the research of security consultant Ashkan Soltani, was the first to report that Google made these unique hardware IDs–called MAC addresses–publicly available through a Web interface. Google curbed the practice about a week later.

via Street View cars grabbed locations of phones, PCs | Privacy Inc. – CNET News.

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China officials find 5 fake Apple stores in 1 city – San Jose Mercury News

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Chinese officials have found five fake Apple stores in the southwestern city of Kunming, and ordered two of them to suspend business while they’re investigated, a local government website said Monday.

Officials couldn’t do anything about the other three stores—which prominently displayed Apple signs and logos—because they did not find any fake Apple products for sale, according to a report by a local newspaper posted on the Kunming city government’s website.

The investigation follows a blog post last week by an American woman who lives in Kunming in Yunnan province, who stumbled across three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city. She took photos and posted them on her BirdAbroad blog.

She said they were modeled on the company’s iconic stores right down to the winding staircase and the staff wearing the customary blue T-shirts.

via China officials find 5 fake Apple stores in 1 city – San Jose Mercury News.

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Sony insurer sues to deny data breach coverage | Reuters

July 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of Sony Corp’s insurers has asked a court to declare that it does not have to pay to defend the media and electronics conglomerate from mounting legal claims related to a massive data breach earlier this year.

The dispute comes as demand soars for “cyberinsurance,” with companies seeking to protect themselves against customer claims and associated costs for data and identity theft.

How to write such policies has become a huge subject of debate in the insurance industry.

Zurich American Insurance Co asked a New York state court in documents filed late on Wednesday to rule it does not have to defend or indemnify Sony against any claims “asserted in the class-action lawsuits, miscellaneous claims, or potential future actions instituted by any state attorney general.”

via Sony insurer sues to deny data breach coverage | Reuters.

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