Man jailed for refusing to give police USB stick password – BBC News

Posted January 16th, 2014 in computer programs, encryption, fraud, news, sentencing, terrorism by tracey

‘A man has been jailed for refusing to give police the password to a memory stick that they could not crack. Syed Hussain, 22, from Luton, was convicted of failing to provide police with the password to the stick seized in a counter-terrorism operation.’

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BBC News, 15th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Shortcomings of Computer-Generated Exhibits – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

Posted December 9th, 2013 in computer programs, evidence, juries, news by sally

‘Guidelines should be given on the use of computer-generated exhibits, Dr Gareth Norris writes.’

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Criminal Law and Justice Weekly,

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk

Rivals can create copycat software through testing developers’ software and interpreting their user manuals, rules UK court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 25th, 2013 in appeals, computer programs, copyright, news by tracey

‘Businesses can replicate the way a rivals’ computer program operates by interpreting how it functions from reading user manuals or other accompanying documents their rivals produce without infringing copyright, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd November 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

In-game app fees face OFT consumer protection crackdown – BBC News

Posted September 26th, 2013 in children, codes of practice, computer programs, consumer protection, news by sally

“A UK watchdog is threatening action against video game app-makers it finds in breach of consumer protection laws.”

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BBC News, 25th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NSA and GCHQ unlock privacy and security on the internet – The Guardian

“US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and emails, according to top-secret documents revealed by former contractor Edward Snowden.”

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The Guardian, 6th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Separate extensions to software licensing deal transferred in liquidation deemed valid and invalid by High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 20th, 2013 in computer programs, contracts, insolvency, licensing, news, time limits by tracey

“A software licensing arrangement transferred as a result of a voluntary liquidation continued to apply for six months beyond the end of the initial contract period but an additional longer extension to that contract could not be implied, the High Court has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Culture change call for Chancery Division – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 1st, 2013 in computer programs, courts, news, reports by sally

“The Chancery Division of the High Court must undergo cultural change – and replace its ‘patchwork quilt’ of IT systems – according to the first comprehensive review of the division in 30 years.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 31st July 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Google told to delete Street View payload data or face UK prosecution – The Guardian

Posted June 21st, 2013 in computer programs, contempt of court, data protection, internet, news by tracey

“Google has been threatened with criminal proceedings by the information commissioner’s office (ICO) over data secretly collected by its Street View cars in the UK.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Software Patents: HTC Europe Co Ltd v Apple Inc – NIPC Law

Posted May 14th, 2013 in appeals, computer programs, EC law, news, patents by sally

“In HTC Europe Co Ltd v Apple Inc [2013] EWCA Civ 451 (3 May 2013), the Court of Appeal (Lord Justices Richards, Lewison and Kitchin) ventured again into what Lord Justice Lewison described at paragraph [140] of the Court’s judgment as “the minefield of the exclusion from patentability of computer programs ‘as such’.”

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NIPC Law, 13th May 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Google facing High Court case after UK maps rival submits complaint about its search practices – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 16th, 2013 in competition, computer programs, internet, news by sally

“A UK technology firm that provides internet maps has initiated legal action against Google in the High Court in which it has claimed that it has been the victim of anti-competitive practices engaged in by the internet giant.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

VLM Holdings Ltd v Ravensworth Digital Services Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted February 21st, 2013 in computer programs, copyright, law reports, licensing, subsidiary companies by sally

VLM Holdings Ltd v Ravensworth Digital Services Ltd [2013] EWHC 228 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 63

“Where the authority given by a head licensor to a sub-licensor was sufficiently wide in scope to allow the grant of a sub-licence which was capable of surviving termination of the head licence, the head licensor must be taken on normal agency principles as giving ultimate permission for the granting of the sub-licence.”

WLR Daily, 13th February 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Computer programming languages should not be viewed as copyrightable, says High Court judge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 29th, 2013 in computer programs, copyright, news by sally

“Computer programming languages should not be viewed as being copyrightable, a High Court judge has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th January 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Usedsoft GmbH v Oracle International Corp – WLR Daily

Posted July 5th, 2012 in computer programs, copyright, EC law, law reports, licensing by sally

Usedsoft GmbH v Oracle International Corp (Case C-128/11); [2012] WLR (D) 192

“Article 4(2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2009/24/EC meant that the right of distribution of a copy of a computer program was exhausted if the copyright holder who had authorised, even free of charge, the downloading of that copy from the Internet onto a data carrier had also conferred, in return for payment of a fee intended to enable him to obtain a remuneration corresponding to the economic value of the copy of the work of which he was the proprietor, a right to use that copy for an unlimited period. In the event of the resale of a user licence, the second acquirer of the licence, as well as any subsequent acquirer of it, was able to rely on the exhaustion of the distribution right under article 4(2), and hence be regarded as lawful acquirers of a copy of a computer program within the meaning of article 5(1) and benefit from the right of reproduction provided for in that provision.”

WLR Daily, 3rd July 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted May 4th, 2012 in computer programs, copyright, EC law, law reports by tracey

SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Ltd: (Case C-406/10);  [2012] WLR (D)  131

“The functionality of a computer program, the programming language and the format of data files used in a computer program in order to exploit certain of its functions did not constitute a form of expression of that program within the meaning of article 1(2) of Council Directive 91/250/EEC on the legal protection of computer programs (OJ 1991 L122, p 42) and, as such, were not protected by copyright in computer programs for the purposes of that Directive.”

WLR Daily, 2nd May 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Image processing software not excluded from patentability, IPO rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 6th, 2012 in computer programs, news, patents by tracey

“A computerised method of processing images and categorising features within it into database-searchable words is not excluded from patentability, a hearing officer at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th January 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Damages for unlawful software use not high enough, says industry body – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 13th, 2011 in computer programs, copyright, damages, news by tracey

“Software companies should be entitled to bigger damages for the use of copied software, industry lobby group the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th May 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Indexing company liable for users’ infringement, says High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 30th, 2010 in computer programs, copyright, internet, news by sally

“A company which indexes and sorts postings to Usenet groups is liable for the copyright infringement of its users when they download films, software and television programmes, the High Court has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th March 2010

Source: www.out-law.com

Software development agreement did not transfer copyright, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 2nd, 2009 in computer programs, copyright, news by sally

“A company has failed in its attempt to declare itself the owner of software that it paid another company to develop. The High Court has refused to declare that copyright in the software passed to Infection Control Enterprises Ltd (ICEL).”

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd December 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

IPO sticks to four-step software patent test – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 19th, 2008 in computer programs, news, patents by sally

“The UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will still use a previously formulated test on software patents despite a court ruling which many took to be critical of its approach.”

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OUT-LAW.com,  18th December 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

European patent body will issue definitive ruling on software patents – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 28th, 2008 in computer programs, EC law, news, patents by sally

“The European Patent Office (EPO) has asked its ultimate legal authority to look at the European Patent Convention (EPC) and issue advice on the patentability of software. The EPO said that such advice was necessary to ensure the uniform application of the EPC.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th October 2008

Source: www.out-law.com