May 24
The FCC has been given the go-ahead on a plan to switch over its telephone subsidy program for rural areas into one that will do the same for broadband Internet … Continue reading
May 24
On Friday, court documents were unsealed that reveal a push against gag orders by Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo, with the argument behind it being violation of the First Amendment. … Continue reading
May 23
Last month, SpaceX filed a lawsuit to get work with the Air Force, something that has been henceforth granted to a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture. That led to … Continue reading
May 23
Millions of eBay users have already changed their passwords after the auction site was hacked, eBay has confirmed, updating its homepage to finally make clear to visitors that their information … Continue reading
Apr 22
Bad luck, suspicious subletters: Airbnb is in the process of removing over 2,000 New York City listings that aren’t "providing a quality, local experience to guests."
Apr 19
Candy Crush Saga is one of the most popular mobile games ever; On the last count, the game had been played more than 150 billion times and had 500 million … Continue reading
Apr 18
Pandora has been swept up into another legal spat, this one over the golden oldies — music made before 1972, with record companies accusing the Internet radio service of state … Continue reading
Apr 17
We’re sure that even before Pandora set up shop, they had approached music labels and publishers in order to secure the rights to stream the songs performed by a variety of artists and bands. If they didn’t we’d have expected to see the company hit with a lawsuit during its first day of operations.
However it seems that there might be some copyright areas that Pandora might have neglected, or thought that they were in the clear, and this is with regards to songs recorded before 1972. In a recent lawsuit, the major record labels, Sony, Warner, and Universal have jointly sued Pandora over alleged copyright infringement.
They claim that songs that are recorded before 1972 are subject to copyright as well and that Pandora needs to pay them in order to have the right to stream it. Some of the examples given includes James Brown’s “I Got You” and the Beatle’s “Hey Jude” which are covered by state law, even if they are protected under federal copyright law.
The labels go on to claim that if Pandora does not pay them their dues, they could stand to lose millions. According to the labels in a statement released to The New York Times, “This case presents a classic attempt by Pandora to reap where it has not sown. Pandora appropriates plaintiffs’ valuable and unique property, violates New York law, and engages in common law copyright infringement and misappropriation and unfair competition.”
Pandora themselves do not appear to be too worried as they believe that they are confident in their legal position and hope to resolve this matter quickly.
Major Record Labels Hit Pandora With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Audio, legal, pandora,
Apr 17
Liking A Company’s Facebook Page Could Potentially Void Your Right To Sue Them
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe next time you plan on “liking” a particular company on Facebook, you might want to think twice because thanks to certain legal wordings, it seems that by doing so, you could be giving up the right to sue the company for any wrongdoing. This does not mean that you cannot have complaints about the company’s products or services, it’s just that if you wanted to sue them because of it, you can’t.
It depends from company to company, but it has recently been noticed that General Mills, the company behind cereals such as Cheerios and Chex, as well as other brands like Bisquick and Better Crocker, have recently updated their privacy. The new policy indicates that if a customer has a dispute with them and who has ever received anything that could be construed as a benefit, like an online discount code/coupon, their right to sue is essentially waived.
Instead customers are expected to submit their complaints via information negotiation via email, or go through arbitration to seek relief. According to General Mills, “Please note we also have new legal terms which require all disputes related to the purchase or use of any General Mills product or service to be resolved through binding arbitration.”
For those unfamiliar with the process of arbitration, it’s because where any disputes one party has with another is resolved through discussions by presenting the side of their story to an arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators, after which the arbitrator will decide on who wins the dispute, kind of like a judge, except that this does not take place in the courts.
This isn’t the first time that companies have employed such tactics, tactics which General Mills believes are reasonably sound. “While it rarely happens, arbitration is an efficient way to resolve disputes — and many companies take a similar approach. We even cover the cost of arbitration in most cases. So this is just a policy update, and we’ve tried to communicate it in a clear and visible way.”
However it does give you something to think about the next time you like a brand/company’s Facebook page, or decided to use one of its online discount codes or coupons towards your next purchase.
Liking A Company’s Facebook Page Could Potentially Void Your Right To Sue Them , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Web, legal,
Apr 17
Why Aereo Matters
Posted in: Today's Chili
On April 22nd, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of the television networks versus Aereo, an innovative service that lets you stream broadcasts over the internet. How it’s decided could define the future of television, and how we watch it.
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