Microsoft has sued domain name registrar Red Register claiming that it is illegally profiting from Microsoft's trademarks.
In a lawsuit filed in Seattle earlier this month Microsoft alleges that Red Register snatched up 125 domain names, all "confusingly similar to Microsoft's Marks" in order to profit from Web advertising, a practice known as typosquatting and cybersquatting.
Web surfers may be tricked into clicking on ads on these sites "because the person finds it easier to click on the advertisement or hyperlink than to continue searching for the Microsoft site, or because the person mistakenly believes Microsoft has authorized or endorsed the advertisements," the filings state.
Typosquatting is the practice of registering domain names that contain misspellings of trademark terms. Cybersquatting is the registration of a variant of trademark.
Red Register owns domains such as windowslivecare.com, msnmesnger.com, and ageofmathology.com, Microsoft said in court filings.
Microsoft is seeking to take control of the Red Register domains and is asking for the court to fine the company for unspecified damages. The lawsuit was filed Dec. 4 in King County Superior Court in Seattle.
Although the domains are now registered to a Tortola, Virgin Islands, company named Versata Software, they were previously registered to Red Register and Microsoft believes the current Versata registration information to be false, the filings state.
Domain registrars historically made money by registering domain names to third parties, but that has changed as it has become easier to get into the domain name game. Now many registrars have begun to amass portfolios of domains themselves, or even temporarily registering domains and then dropping them before they are required to pay any fees, a practice called "domain tasting," said Karl Kronenberger, a partner with Kronenberger Burgoyne LLP, a law firm specializing in Internet disputes.
Some companies have even set up several domain name registrars and they pass their domain names from one to the other without ever having to pay fees. This is possible, because domains can be held for three days before any fees are due, Kronenberger said.
Registrars must be accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the group that oversees the Internet's domain name system, but once that has happened they can get better access to the database of domain names. Companies like Microsoft and Google have become accredited registrars for this reason.
There are presently more than 1,000 registrars worldwide, according to Kronenberger. "It costs US$8,000 per year to maintain your existence as a registrar," he said. "once you pay that, you can register domains very cheaply."
Some registrars have amassed valuable portfolios without running afoul of trademark law, but Microsoft's Red Register lawsuit is not unprecedented. In October, Yahoo filed a similar lawsuit against Belgium Domains. One month later another lawsuit was filed against Belgium Domains, this time by Dell.
Kronenberger said the Microsoft lawsuit "seems to be a pretty straightforward case of a registrar registering large batches of domains containing trademarks."
Microsoft has filed at least five other similar lawsuits in recent years. In March it announced that reached a $2 million settlement against Jason Cox of New Mexico and Newtonarch LLC. It also announced a $1 million settlement in a similar suit against Partner IV Holdings.
Microsoft and Red Register did not immediately return e-mail seeking comment for this story.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
IBM dishes five predictions for future
Drained by your commute? Blood-sucking utility bills got you down? Wondering if that tomato in your dinner salad was really organic?
The cures to those ills and more may arrive within five years, according to IBM.
The company recently released its second annual set of "Next Five in Five" predictions, visions that sketch out a future where driving is a relative pleasure, eco-friendly devices save you money and super doctors use advanced technology to probe your body's innermost depths in search of disease.
IBM's contention that driving will become safer and less aggravating may be particularly tantalizing for many.
The company said that during the next five years, a "wave of connectivity" between vehicles and roadways will help keep traffic flowing smoothly, drive down pollution and get you to your destination easier, "without the stress."
This will be accomplished through "intelligent" traffic systems that automatically adjust light patterns and shift traffic to alternative routes, as well as cars that exhibit "reflexes" thanks to communication with other vehicles and roadside sensors, according to IBM.
The company's crystal ball also revealed that the long-simmering trend toward "smart energy" devices will proliferate wildly. "Dishwashers, air conditioners, house lights, and more will be connected directly to a 'smart' electric grid, making it possible to turn them on and off using your cell phone or any Web browser," a company statement asserts.
Even the act of eating will take on new meaning, in IBM's view: "You will know everything from the climate and soil the food was grown in, to the pesticides and pollution it was exposed to, to the energy consumed to create the product, to the temperature and air quality of the shipping containers it traveled through on the way to your dinner table."
The report also suggests that doctors' ability to heal us will become even more astounding. Due to advances in X-ray and audio technologies, doctors will gain "superpowers," according to IBM. Computers will also be able to compare your health data to an ocean's worth of other patient records, helping with diagnosis and treatment, the company said.
In addition, the company said cell phones will continue to grow in power and functionality. For example, phones will enable users to snap a photo of an article of clothing, pull in results from the Web about the brand and where to buy it, and then render the garment on top of a 3-D image of the user, IBM said.
IBM's list received a measured nod from Edward Cornish, editor of The Futurist magazine and past president of the World Future Society, an organization based in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Basically, the five forecasts seem to me to be quite reasonable," Cornish said. "They're based on technologies that have been around for a number of years and are simply extrapolations."
The Futurist has released its own list of predictions for 2008 and beyond.
The organization contends, among other things, that the world will have a billion millionaires by 2025; the earth is on the verge of a "significant extinction event"; and "nonhuman entities," such as robots fueled by artificial intelligence, will make more decisions.
The cures to those ills and more may arrive within five years, according to IBM.
The company recently released its second annual set of "Next Five in Five" predictions, visions that sketch out a future where driving is a relative pleasure, eco-friendly devices save you money and super doctors use advanced technology to probe your body's innermost depths in search of disease.
IBM's contention that driving will become safer and less aggravating may be particularly tantalizing for many.
The company said that during the next five years, a "wave of connectivity" between vehicles and roadways will help keep traffic flowing smoothly, drive down pollution and get you to your destination easier, "without the stress."
This will be accomplished through "intelligent" traffic systems that automatically adjust light patterns and shift traffic to alternative routes, as well as cars that exhibit "reflexes" thanks to communication with other vehicles and roadside sensors, according to IBM.
The company's crystal ball also revealed that the long-simmering trend toward "smart energy" devices will proliferate wildly. "Dishwashers, air conditioners, house lights, and more will be connected directly to a 'smart' electric grid, making it possible to turn them on and off using your cell phone or any Web browser," a company statement asserts.
Even the act of eating will take on new meaning, in IBM's view: "You will know everything from the climate and soil the food was grown in, to the pesticides and pollution it was exposed to, to the energy consumed to create the product, to the temperature and air quality of the shipping containers it traveled through on the way to your dinner table."
The report also suggests that doctors' ability to heal us will become even more astounding. Due to advances in X-ray and audio technologies, doctors will gain "superpowers," according to IBM. Computers will also be able to compare your health data to an ocean's worth of other patient records, helping with diagnosis and treatment, the company said.
In addition, the company said cell phones will continue to grow in power and functionality. For example, phones will enable users to snap a photo of an article of clothing, pull in results from the Web about the brand and where to buy it, and then render the garment on top of a 3-D image of the user, IBM said.
IBM's list received a measured nod from Edward Cornish, editor of The Futurist magazine and past president of the World Future Society, an organization based in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Basically, the five forecasts seem to me to be quite reasonable," Cornish said. "They're based on technologies that have been around for a number of years and are simply extrapolations."
The Futurist has released its own list of predictions for 2008 and beyond.
The organization contends, among other things, that the world will have a billion millionaires by 2025; the earth is on the verge of a "significant extinction event"; and "nonhuman entities," such as robots fueled by artificial intelligence, will make more decisions.
Hitachi, Canon, Panasonic tie in flat-panel displays
Hitachi, Canon and Panasonic have agreed to a wide-ranging collaboration that will see the three companies share the cost, burden and benefits of development and production of flat-panel displays.
The move comes hot on the heels of a tie-up announced last week between Toshiba and Sharp and continues a major realignment in the fast-moving industry.
Under the terms of the initial agreement Canon and Panasonic will each buy a 24.9 percent stake in Hitachi Displays, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi that already makes small and medium size LCD (liquid crystal display) panels. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed before March 31, 2008.
Hitachi said it hopes to accelerate the development of cutting-edge LCD technology through the alliance, which was announced on Tuesday. Competition in the flat-panel display industry is fierce and there is constant pressure on manufacturers to invest in new and efficient production technology to keep prices low and their screens technologically competitive. However a new LCD plant can easily cost US$1 billion [b] or more so companies are increasingly working together to share the costs.
Meanwhile Canon said it hopes to shorten development time and gain a stable supply of LCD panels for its range of digital single-lens reflex cameras. It also hopes to develop new types of displays that can be used in its information management products.
Panasonic, which has invested heavily in PDP (plasma display panel) technology for large-size flat-panel TVs and displays, will invest in a new production line at IPS Alpha Technology. The company is a joint-venture in which Canon and Toshiba also hold stakes although Toshiba is understood to be in talks concerning its exit from the venture. The new production line will help ensure a stable supply of medium-size LCD panels for Panasonic's TV up to about 40-inches in screen size, above which it uses PDPs.
The wide-ranging collaboration and cooperation announced Tuesday is the first step of a series of planned moves that will eventually have Canon take control of Hitachi Displays and Panasonic take control of IPS Alpha Technology, the three companies said.
In addition to the LCD alliance, Canon and Hitachi plan to work together on development of OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays. OLED is a fundamentally different technology from LCD and PDP and has been under development by many display makers for several years. It's viewed by some as a potential replacement for LCD technology because it provides a brighter and richer picture but a lot of work remains before it can be produced in sufficient volume and at a low enough price to compete with LCD.
The world's first commercial OLED TV recently went on sale in Japan. Sony's XEL-1 has an 11-inch screen and is just 3-millimeters thick -- another advantage of OLED because a backlight unit isn't required -- but comes with an equally impressive ¥200,000 (US$1,750) price tag.
Last week Toshiba and Sharp announced plans to work together in the flat-panel display business. Toshiba will buy from Sharp screens for its 32-inch and larger TV sets while Sharp will buy from Toshiba the chips used in its TVs. The cooperation will begin from April next year and will slowly build towards 2010 when two goals are expected to be reached: Sharp will supply Toshiba with 40 percent of its LCD modules and Toshiba will sell to Sharp 50 percent of the chips it needs, they said.
Sony and Samsung Electronics have been cooperating in LCD panel production for sometime and jointly own S-LCD, a manufacturer of cutting-edge LCD panels based in South Korea.
The move comes hot on the heels of a tie-up announced last week between Toshiba and Sharp and continues a major realignment in the fast-moving industry.
Under the terms of the initial agreement Canon and Panasonic will each buy a 24.9 percent stake in Hitachi Displays, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi that already makes small and medium size LCD (liquid crystal display) panels. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed before March 31, 2008.
Hitachi said it hopes to accelerate the development of cutting-edge LCD technology through the alliance, which was announced on Tuesday. Competition in the flat-panel display industry is fierce and there is constant pressure on manufacturers to invest in new and efficient production technology to keep prices low and their screens technologically competitive. However a new LCD plant can easily cost US$1 billion [b] or more so companies are increasingly working together to share the costs.
Meanwhile Canon said it hopes to shorten development time and gain a stable supply of LCD panels for its range of digital single-lens reflex cameras. It also hopes to develop new types of displays that can be used in its information management products.
Panasonic, which has invested heavily in PDP (plasma display panel) technology for large-size flat-panel TVs and displays, will invest in a new production line at IPS Alpha Technology. The company is a joint-venture in which Canon and Toshiba also hold stakes although Toshiba is understood to be in talks concerning its exit from the venture. The new production line will help ensure a stable supply of medium-size LCD panels for Panasonic's TV up to about 40-inches in screen size, above which it uses PDPs.
The wide-ranging collaboration and cooperation announced Tuesday is the first step of a series of planned moves that will eventually have Canon take control of Hitachi Displays and Panasonic take control of IPS Alpha Technology, the three companies said.
In addition to the LCD alliance, Canon and Hitachi plan to work together on development of OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays. OLED is a fundamentally different technology from LCD and PDP and has been under development by many display makers for several years. It's viewed by some as a potential replacement for LCD technology because it provides a brighter and richer picture but a lot of work remains before it can be produced in sufficient volume and at a low enough price to compete with LCD.
The world's first commercial OLED TV recently went on sale in Japan. Sony's XEL-1 has an 11-inch screen and is just 3-millimeters thick -- another advantage of OLED because a backlight unit isn't required -- but comes with an equally impressive ¥200,000 (US$1,750) price tag.
Last week Toshiba and Sharp announced plans to work together in the flat-panel display business. Toshiba will buy from Sharp screens for its 32-inch and larger TV sets while Sharp will buy from Toshiba the chips used in its TVs. The cooperation will begin from April next year and will slowly build towards 2010 when two goals are expected to be reached: Sharp will supply Toshiba with 40 percent of its LCD modules and Toshiba will sell to Sharp 50 percent of the chips it needs, they said.
Sony and Samsung Electronics have been cooperating in LCD panel production for sometime and jointly own S-LCD, a manufacturer of cutting-edge LCD panels based in South Korea.
Storm worm tempts with Christmas strip show
The criminals behind the Storm botnet waited until the last minute, but they've finally started delivering unwanted Christmas presents.
Starting Monday, Storm-infected machines began sending out Christmas-themed spam in yet another attempt to trick victims into downloading malicious software. In this case, the site is named Merrychristmasdude.com, and the malware is a variation of the Storm Trojan horse program that has been plaguing systems around the world since January.
The e-mails contain titles such as "Find Some Christmas Tail," "Warm Up this Christmas" and "Mrs. Clause Is Out Tonight!"
One message reads "Yo, I am pretty sure this is up your alley, from the things you have told me before. This will be the best 2 min you spend this holiday. hehe."
Once the user clicks on the link to Merrychristmasdude.com, he is taken to a Christmas-themed Web site with photos of scantily clad women and offered a free download. That download is a malicious program, called Email-Worm.Win32.Zhelatin.pd by F-Secure, that connects to a P-to-P (peer-to-peer) network and begins downloading even more malware.
Storm's creators have built up networks of infected PCs -- called botnets -- over the past year by using a combination of sophisticated hacking tricks to avoid detection and by spamming potential victims with clever and timely e-mail messages. The network is called Storm because its original messages offered victims video of the deadly storms that battered Europe a year ago, but has also perfected the tactic of sending out holiday-themed messages.
Security experts estimate that the Storm has infected more than 15 million computers over the past year, although the current size of the network is much smaller than that.
This latest variant is being blocked by some antivirus vendors, including Kaspersky, Microsoft and Symantec, according to a technical write-up of the Christmas outbreak.
The SANS Internet Storm Center recommends that administrators block Web and e-mail access to the Merrychristmasdude.com domain.
Starting Monday, Storm-infected machines began sending out Christmas-themed spam in yet another attempt to trick victims into downloading malicious software. In this case, the site is named Merrychristmasdude.com, and the malware is a variation of the Storm Trojan horse program that has been plaguing systems around the world since January.
The e-mails contain titles such as "Find Some Christmas Tail," "Warm Up this Christmas" and "Mrs. Clause Is Out Tonight!"
One message reads "Yo, I am pretty sure this is up your alley, from the things you have told me before. This will be the best 2 min you spend this holiday. hehe."
Once the user clicks on the link to Merrychristmasdude.com, he is taken to a Christmas-themed Web site with photos of scantily clad women and offered a free download. That download is a malicious program, called Email-Worm.Win32.Zhelatin.pd by F-Secure, that connects to a P-to-P (peer-to-peer) network and begins downloading even more malware.
Storm's creators have built up networks of infected PCs -- called botnets -- over the past year by using a combination of sophisticated hacking tricks to avoid detection and by spamming potential victims with clever and timely e-mail messages. The network is called Storm because its original messages offered victims video of the deadly storms that battered Europe a year ago, but has also perfected the tactic of sending out holiday-themed messages.
Security experts estimate that the Storm has infected more than 15 million computers over the past year, although the current size of the network is much smaller than that.
This latest variant is being blocked by some antivirus vendors, including Kaspersky, Microsoft and Symantec, according to a technical write-up of the Christmas outbreak.
The SANS Internet Storm Center recommends that administrators block Web and e-mail access to the Merrychristmasdude.com domain.
U.K. health chief defends plan for records database
The head of the U.K. National Health Service has defended plans to build a centralized database of patient records following another embarrassing loss of personal information by the government.
The U.K. Department of Health admitted this weekend that nine of its regional NHS trusts have reported losing patient data. One of the trusts, the City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, in east London, lost the medical records for about 160,000 children, according to newspaper reports. The total number of records has not been disclosed.
The losses emerged as part of a wider review following similar government blunders, and have revived questions about the security of building a centralized patient records database, part of the U.K.'s National Programme for IT (NPfIT). But David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS, said the project is essential and should go ahead.
"It's vitally important that when a doctor is sitting in front of a patient they have all the information they need at their fingertips, and that's what's been driving us through all this," Nicholson told BBC Radio 4's Today program on Monday.
The proposed system will not be a single large records database, but a series of interconnected regional databases, he said. And the security system will be more rigorous than that used with most Internet banking systems, according to Nicholson.
"You'd need a user name, a password and a smart card [to access patient records] and you would have role-controlled access," he said. "So a nurse on a ward with a smart card and a password could only access a relatively small number of patient records."
The information that was reported lost over the weekend was encrypted and so not vulnerable to misuse, Nicholson said.
But Ross Anderson, a security expert at the University of Cambridge, told Radio 4 that whether the data is encrypted is not the main issue.
"One of the questions you have to ask here is not whether the data was encrypted or password protected, but why someone was able to have access to 160,000 children's records," he said. "In private industry ... if someone tried to make off with hundreds of thousands of records the alarms would sound."
Opposition leaders pounced on the latest misstep as evidence that the Labour government can't be trusted with its citizens' data. They called for further studies to show how the proposed patient records system would protect privacy.
The incident comes after the U.K.'s HM Revenue and Customs lost personal records for 25 million Britons, and the Driving Standards Agency lost records for more than 3 million learner drivers.
"The power of technology means it can be very easy to use the information, but also very easy to lose the information," the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said on the Today program. "The events of the last few weeks have woken up everybody to the importance of taking these matters seriously."
The U.K. Department of Health admitted this weekend that nine of its regional NHS trusts have reported losing patient data. One of the trusts, the City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, in east London, lost the medical records for about 160,000 children, according to newspaper reports. The total number of records has not been disclosed.
The losses emerged as part of a wider review following similar government blunders, and have revived questions about the security of building a centralized patient records database, part of the U.K.'s National Programme for IT (NPfIT). But David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS, said the project is essential and should go ahead.
"It's vitally important that when a doctor is sitting in front of a patient they have all the information they need at their fingertips, and that's what's been driving us through all this," Nicholson told BBC Radio 4's Today program on Monday.
The proposed system will not be a single large records database, but a series of interconnected regional databases, he said. And the security system will be more rigorous than that used with most Internet banking systems, according to Nicholson.
"You'd need a user name, a password and a smart card [to access patient records] and you would have role-controlled access," he said. "So a nurse on a ward with a smart card and a password could only access a relatively small number of patient records."
The information that was reported lost over the weekend was encrypted and so not vulnerable to misuse, Nicholson said.
But Ross Anderson, a security expert at the University of Cambridge, told Radio 4 that whether the data is encrypted is not the main issue.
"One of the questions you have to ask here is not whether the data was encrypted or password protected, but why someone was able to have access to 160,000 children's records," he said. "In private industry ... if someone tried to make off with hundreds of thousands of records the alarms would sound."
Opposition leaders pounced on the latest misstep as evidence that the Labour government can't be trusted with its citizens' data. They called for further studies to show how the proposed patient records system would protect privacy.
The incident comes after the U.K.'s HM Revenue and Customs lost personal records for 25 million Britons, and the Driving Standards Agency lost records for more than 3 million learner drivers.
"The power of technology means it can be very easy to use the information, but also very easy to lose the information," the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said on the Today program. "The events of the last few weeks have woken up everybody to the importance of taking these matters seriously."
The Queen logs on to YouTube
The Queen's Christmas message, an annual greeting from the U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth II to her subjects, will be available on YouTube for the first time this year as part of an official YouTube channel opened on Sunday by Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Channel, dubbed "the official YouTube channel of the British monarchy," carries both current and archive footage of the royal family and promises regular updates with new video.
The highlight of the first 18 videos is the first televised Christmas Broadcast of 1957. The channel also includes clips of The Queen Mother's wedding and the first episodes of several series such as "A day in the life of The Prince of Wales."
The clips have already attracted several thousand views since hitting YouTube about a week ago, according to statistics on the site. The 1957 broadcast has garnered a lot more attention and had just under 300,000 views at time of writing. That makes it the fifth most popular video viewed in the U.K. this week, according to YouTube.
Beating The Queen to the top-spot in the U.K. is a trailer for a new season of TV show "Lost," a teaser for the long-awaited "Duke Nukem Forever" computer game, a clip of the winning entry from TV show "X Factor" and, as the most-viewed video of the week in the U.K., a video from a Britney Spears look-a-like offering parenting tips to Britney's pregnant sister.
Buckingham Palace established its cyber credentials last year when it began offering The Queen's Christmas Message and other addresses via an RSS feed for download into iPods and other video players. Until then it had been most widely available online through the BBC's Web site.
This year's Christmas Message will be available shortly after 3pm local time (3pm GMT) on Dec. 25, at about the same time it is broadcast on British TV.
The Royal Channel, dubbed "the official YouTube channel of the British monarchy," carries both current and archive footage of the royal family and promises regular updates with new video.
The highlight of the first 18 videos is the first televised Christmas Broadcast of 1957. The channel also includes clips of The Queen Mother's wedding and the first episodes of several series such as "A day in the life of The Prince of Wales."
The clips have already attracted several thousand views since hitting YouTube about a week ago, according to statistics on the site. The 1957 broadcast has garnered a lot more attention and had just under 300,000 views at time of writing. That makes it the fifth most popular video viewed in the U.K. this week, according to YouTube.
Beating The Queen to the top-spot in the U.K. is a trailer for a new season of TV show "Lost," a teaser for the long-awaited "Duke Nukem Forever" computer game, a clip of the winning entry from TV show "X Factor" and, as the most-viewed video of the week in the U.K., a video from a Britney Spears look-a-like offering parenting tips to Britney's pregnant sister.
Buckingham Palace established its cyber credentials last year when it began offering The Queen's Christmas Message and other addresses via an RSS feed for download into iPods and other video players. Until then it had been most widely available online through the BBC's Web site.
This year's Christmas Message will be available shortly after 3pm local time (3pm GMT) on Dec. 25, at about the same time it is broadcast on British TV.
Google replies to lawmaker's questions on privacy
Google has responded to a U.S. congressman's series of questions about its privacy practices, with the company defending its use of consumer data.
Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, sent a letter to Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt Dec. 12, after privacy groups raised questions about the implications of Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad server DoubleClick.
During an earlier meeting with Schmidt, Barton had "voiced concern regarding the potential consumer protection and privacy implications of the merger," Barton said in his letter. "I believe Google's participation in our research into and consideration of the consumer protection implications of a merger of any online search engine and any behavioral or targeted advertising firms is vital to crafting sound national policy."
In response to Barton's questions about the privacy implications of the merger, Google repeated its calls for Congress to pass a national privacy law that would create a "uniform framework for privacy."
"Concerns about online privacy cannot be solved by one company alone," said the Google letter, by Alan Davidson, the company's head of U.S. public policy. "Moreover, both technologies and best practices for protecting privacy are changing rapidly. We therefore encourage you and your staff to ask these questions of other providers of online services."
Barton, ranking minority member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, had asked Google to respond to his letter before Dec. 18, about when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission was expected to complete its examination of the antitrust implications of the merger. Google's response was dated Friday, one day after the FTC announced it would not block the DoubleClick acquisition. Google hosted Barton's staff at its headquarters Wednesday and Thursday, however.
The FTC approval is the last U.S. hurdle for the merger; the European Union is still reviewing it.
Barton's letter asked several questions about Google's privacy practices, including how long Google retains search queries, e-mail drafted on Google's Gmail service and Web histories. Barton also asked why Google needed to retain data.
The IP (Internet Protocol) addresses associated with search queries will be partially deleted after 18 months, as Google previously has announced, the letter said. In other services, such as Gmail and Google Web History, the privacy preferences are customized by individual users, the letter said.
Google retains data about searches as a way to improve its search algorithms and to improve services such as the spell checking feature on Google search, the letter said. The company also uses the data to fight click fraud and other malicious efforts, the letter said.
Barton also asked if Google plans to merge its consumer data with DoubleClick's after the merger. He asked what was the benefit of the merger if Google did not plan to merge data.
"We are new to the third-party display ad serving business, so we have not yet decided whether or how we would merge DoubleClick and Google data," Davidson's letter said.
The merger would create "numerous efficiencies" not related to DoubleClick's data, Davidson added. "Acquiring DoubleClick's expertise in display ad serving will assist Google in its efforts to design an integrated interface for advertisers to manage their texts and display advertising campaigns," the letter said. "In addition, the acquisition will allow Google to provide advertisers with better metrics for the display ads the place in our advertising network."
Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, sent a letter to Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt Dec. 12, after privacy groups raised questions about the implications of Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad server DoubleClick.
During an earlier meeting with Schmidt, Barton had "voiced concern regarding the potential consumer protection and privacy implications of the merger," Barton said in his letter. "I believe Google's participation in our research into and consideration of the consumer protection implications of a merger of any online search engine and any behavioral or targeted advertising firms is vital to crafting sound national policy."
In response to Barton's questions about the privacy implications of the merger, Google repeated its calls for Congress to pass a national privacy law that would create a "uniform framework for privacy."
"Concerns about online privacy cannot be solved by one company alone," said the Google letter, by Alan Davidson, the company's head of U.S. public policy. "Moreover, both technologies and best practices for protecting privacy are changing rapidly. We therefore encourage you and your staff to ask these questions of other providers of online services."
Barton, ranking minority member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, had asked Google to respond to his letter before Dec. 18, about when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission was expected to complete its examination of the antitrust implications of the merger. Google's response was dated Friday, one day after the FTC announced it would not block the DoubleClick acquisition. Google hosted Barton's staff at its headquarters Wednesday and Thursday, however.
The FTC approval is the last U.S. hurdle for the merger; the European Union is still reviewing it.
Barton's letter asked several questions about Google's privacy practices, including how long Google retains search queries, e-mail drafted on Google's Gmail service and Web histories. Barton also asked why Google needed to retain data.
The IP (Internet Protocol) addresses associated with search queries will be partially deleted after 18 months, as Google previously has announced, the letter said. In other services, such as Gmail and Google Web History, the privacy preferences are customized by individual users, the letter said.
Google retains data about searches as a way to improve its search algorithms and to improve services such as the spell checking feature on Google search, the letter said. The company also uses the data to fight click fraud and other malicious efforts, the letter said.
Barton also asked if Google plans to merge its consumer data with DoubleClick's after the merger. He asked what was the benefit of the merger if Google did not plan to merge data.
"We are new to the third-party display ad serving business, so we have not yet decided whether or how we would merge DoubleClick and Google data," Davidson's letter said.
The merger would create "numerous efficiencies" not related to DoubleClick's data, Davidson added. "Acquiring DoubleClick's expertise in display ad serving will assist Google in its efforts to design an integrated interface for advertisers to manage their texts and display advertising campaigns," the letter said. "In addition, the acquisition will allow Google to provide advertisers with better metrics for the display ads the place in our advertising network."
Wikia search project to launch Jan. 7, Wales says
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has set Jan. 7 as the launch date for an open-source search project that eventually hopes to challenge Google and other established players.
The Wikia Search project has assembled the basic technologies for a search engine, including a search application, search algorithm and Web crawler. The project will allow technology enthusiasts to help filter sites and rank search results, using a community model akin to that of Wikipedia.
The idea is to challenge the established players by offering a search service that is more transparent to end users, meaning they can see how search results are arrived at. Wales has described Yahoo and Google as opaque services that don't explain how results are arrived at.
Wales has started to invite a handful of people to test an early version of the search platform, which will be publicly launched on Jan. 7, he wrote in an email to the Wikia mailing list Monday.
The search tool will take time to evolve, and the initial service won't match the capabilities of the leading search engines. Contributors will have to develop the search platform over time, in a similar way that Wikipedia took time to get enough entries to be useful.
The search project is part of Wales' for-profit company, Wikia Inc., which offers a software platform that anyone can use to build wikis. In a similar way, the Wikia Project will allow other people to build their own search engines.
Wikia Inc. was started in 2004 and has received investment money from Amazon.com and Bessemer Venture Partners.
The Wikia Search project has assembled the basic technologies for a search engine, including a search application, search algorithm and Web crawler. The project will allow technology enthusiasts to help filter sites and rank search results, using a community model akin to that of Wikipedia.
The idea is to challenge the established players by offering a search service that is more transparent to end users, meaning they can see how search results are arrived at. Wales has described Yahoo and Google as opaque services that don't explain how results are arrived at.
Wales has started to invite a handful of people to test an early version of the search platform, which will be publicly launched on Jan. 7, he wrote in an email to the Wikia mailing list Monday.
The search tool will take time to evolve, and the initial service won't match the capabilities of the leading search engines. Contributors will have to develop the search platform over time, in a similar way that Wikipedia took time to get enough entries to be useful.
The search project is part of Wales' for-profit company, Wikia Inc., which offers a software platform that anyone can use to build wikis. In a similar way, the Wikia Project will allow other people to build their own search engines.
Wikia Inc. was started in 2004 and has received investment money from Amazon.com and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Cisco green plan looks beyond routers
Cisco Systems wants to turn the enterprise data network into an electricity meter.
Using open standards, the company wants to get server and storage vendors to collect and share information about their equipment and send it to Cisco routers and switches. The data could include power consumption, operating temperature and more. It's becoming a critical job, and because the network touches all IT resources across the enterprise, data collection should happen there, according to Paul Marcoux, vice president of green engineering.
Marcoux joined Cisco from American Power Conversion only about six weeks ago, after Cisco created the position to overlook energy issues across all parts of the company. Networking gear itself makes up a much smaller portion of IT power consumption than do servers or storage, but Cisco plans to go beyond just making its own products more efficient.
Power is a growing issue in data centers as the cost of energy rises and concerns about global climate change increase. Being able to collect and analyze information about power usage is a big part of the battle and becoming more crucial in the age of virtualization, according to Marcoux. Distributing storage and processing cycles without regard for power issues is not just inefficient, it's dangerous, he said.
If virtualization software looks at a process that requires more computing power or storage space, then enlists servers or storage devices that are near to overheating or running out of power, it could send a rack of servers over the edge and shut it down, Marcoux said. For that reason, the virtualization system needs to know the power status of all the resources it may call upon, he said.
By the same token, consolidated data centers typically serve many departments of an enterprise and consume a lot of power, but those groups generally don't have to pay for their part of the power. In fact, the electricity bill often bypasses even the IT department, going to building management instead, Marcoux said. Collecting data about the power consumed by each device, and eventually by individual transactions, would allow enterprises to bill each department for the power it uses, he said.
Software on routers and switches would collect the information and then take actions or forward it on to separate building management, energy management or virtualization control systems, Marcoux said. Given the large amount of energy data to be processed, Cisco may introduce daughtercards for its platforms to provide extra computing power, he said. He hopes the technology will be in place and collecting information in enterprises within three years.
Because data centers contain gear from so many vendors, open standards are the only way to make such a system work, according to Cisco. Fortunately, there already are several available standards, Marcoux said. Having standards already in place will help speed up adoption, Marcoux said.
"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're just trying now to utilize the wheel," Marcoux said.
Cisco's proposal would represent a whole new role for networks beyond communications, said Burton Group analyst Dave Passmore. Server vendors might go along with the plan, but Cisco can't count on smooth sailing, he said. Centralized power regulation would play a role in overall management of the data center, an area where Cisco is attempting to make inroads with other initiatives as well.
"Who controls virtualization in the data center is going to be the new battleground," Passmore said.
Using open standards, the company wants to get server and storage vendors to collect and share information about their equipment and send it to Cisco routers and switches. The data could include power consumption, operating temperature and more. It's becoming a critical job, and because the network touches all IT resources across the enterprise, data collection should happen there, according to Paul Marcoux, vice president of green engineering.
Marcoux joined Cisco from American Power Conversion only about six weeks ago, after Cisco created the position to overlook energy issues across all parts of the company. Networking gear itself makes up a much smaller portion of IT power consumption than do servers or storage, but Cisco plans to go beyond just making its own products more efficient.
Power is a growing issue in data centers as the cost of energy rises and concerns about global climate change increase. Being able to collect and analyze information about power usage is a big part of the battle and becoming more crucial in the age of virtualization, according to Marcoux. Distributing storage and processing cycles without regard for power issues is not just inefficient, it's dangerous, he said.
If virtualization software looks at a process that requires more computing power or storage space, then enlists servers or storage devices that are near to overheating or running out of power, it could send a rack of servers over the edge and shut it down, Marcoux said. For that reason, the virtualization system needs to know the power status of all the resources it may call upon, he said.
By the same token, consolidated data centers typically serve many departments of an enterprise and consume a lot of power, but those groups generally don't have to pay for their part of the power. In fact, the electricity bill often bypasses even the IT department, going to building management instead, Marcoux said. Collecting data about the power consumed by each device, and eventually by individual transactions, would allow enterprises to bill each department for the power it uses, he said.
Software on routers and switches would collect the information and then take actions or forward it on to separate building management, energy management or virtualization control systems, Marcoux said. Given the large amount of energy data to be processed, Cisco may introduce daughtercards for its platforms to provide extra computing power, he said. He hopes the technology will be in place and collecting information in enterprises within three years.
Because data centers contain gear from so many vendors, open standards are the only way to make such a system work, according to Cisco. Fortunately, there already are several available standards, Marcoux said. Having standards already in place will help speed up adoption, Marcoux said.
"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're just trying now to utilize the wheel," Marcoux said.
Cisco's proposal would represent a whole new role for networks beyond communications, said Burton Group analyst Dave Passmore. Server vendors might go along with the plan, but Cisco can't count on smooth sailing, he said. Centralized power regulation would play a role in overall management of the data center, an area where Cisco is attempting to make inroads with other initiatives as well.
"Who controls virtualization in the data center is going to be the new battleground," Passmore said.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Google's DoubleClick deal brings greater focus on privacy
Nearly lost in the news about the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's approval on Thursday of Google's acquisition of DoubleClick was another action by the agency: the publication of a proposed set of privacy principles governing online behavioral advertising.
The release of the privacy principles is an important and welcome step, said Peter Swire, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, and a law professor at Ohio State University. Although some privacy groups blasted the FTC for approving Google's DoubleClick deal, the acquisition has helped place focus on the entire online advertising industry's privacy practices, Swire said.
"It's good that the FTC is shining a spotlight on this industry," Swire said Friday. "Online advertising is in its second boom. They're trying lots of new techniques; some of those techniques have privacy problems."
The FTC hosted a workshop on behavioral advertising and privacy in November. The agency's proposed privacy principles, a series of "self-regulatory" steps the FTC is recommending for online advertisers, come in part from that workshop.
Among the FTC's proposals:
-- Web sites that collect information for behavioral advertising should provide a "clear, consumer-friendly, and prominent statement" about the reason for collecting that data. Consumers should be able to choose whether they will allow that information to be collected.
-- Any company that collects or stores consumer data for behavioral advertising should provide "reasonable security" and should keep data only as long as necessary to fulfill legitimate business or law enforcement needs.
-- Companies should only collect sensitive data for behavioral advertising if they obtain express consent from the consumer.
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a group focused on online privacy and civil liberties, also praised the FTC for releasing its privacy principles. The principles are a "clear sign that the commission does not believe that the industry's current self-regulation framework is sufficient to protect consumers today,” CDT Deputy Director Ari Schwartz said in a statement.
CDT also called on Google to "step up and make a clear, public statement about its plans for proactively protecting consumer privacy." Consumer privacy in the behavioral advertising market remains an industrywide concern that requires the focus of consumers, policymakers and companies, CDT said.
The release of the privacy principles should send a signal to online advertisers, said Leslie Harris, CDT's president. "In releasing these principles, the FTC hasn't closed the door to other options," she said in a statement. "Self-regulation is part of the solution for protecting consumer privacy, but clearly self-regulation hasn't lived up to its promises. ... We'll need a rigorous mix of self-regulation backed by regulatory enforcement."
Other privacy groups criticized the FTC for its ruling allowing Google's acquisition of DoubleClick to move forward. The agency had reason to act on privacy concerns raised by the merger and failed, said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), one of three privacy groups that asked the FTC to block the merger or impose privacy conditions.
The FTC could have established "the necessary safeguards for personal data and competition that could have allowed a global [privacy] framework to emerge," Rotenberg said. "[The FTC's] sole purpose is to protect the public interest. It failed to do so ... in a case that will have far-reaching implications for the Internet economy and the privacy rights of American consumers."
Joseph Turow, a communication professor at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed. The European Union is still investigating the Google-DoubleClick deal, with a decision not due until April, and it is likely that regulators there will take a harder look at privacy issues, he said.
Consumer tracking and privacy should be part of the FTC's antitrust review when it looks at online advertising deals, he said. "You can't talk about the digital advertising market today without talking about competition in targeting Americans," he said.
Google supports the FTC's efforts to create privacy guidelines, David Drummond, the company's senior vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer, said in a blog post. "The FTC’s decision publicly affirms what we and numerous independent analysts have been saying for months: Our acquisition does not threaten competition in what is a robust, innovative, and quickly evolving online advertising space," Drummond wrote. "In fact, we firmly believe the transaction will increase competition and bring substantial benefits to consumers, web publishers, and online advertisers."
Critics failed to show specific privacy harms, added Thomas Lenard, president of iGrowthGlobal, a conservative think tank. "I don’t see a problem because nobody has demonstrated the acquisition will result in any privacy harm to consumers," he said. "All the allegations are very hypothetical. Privacy advocates assert that Google’s and DoubleClick’s activities injure consumers, but they don’t provide any evidence."
If the FTC had blocked the deal, it would be "penalizing success, and that would send a bad signal to the marketplace," Lenard added. "That would also be bad for consumers."
The release of the privacy principles is an important and welcome step, said Peter Swire, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, and a law professor at Ohio State University. Although some privacy groups blasted the FTC for approving Google's DoubleClick deal, the acquisition has helped place focus on the entire online advertising industry's privacy practices, Swire said.
"It's good that the FTC is shining a spotlight on this industry," Swire said Friday. "Online advertising is in its second boom. They're trying lots of new techniques; some of those techniques have privacy problems."
The FTC hosted a workshop on behavioral advertising and privacy in November. The agency's proposed privacy principles, a series of "self-regulatory" steps the FTC is recommending for online advertisers, come in part from that workshop.
Among the FTC's proposals:
-- Web sites that collect information for behavioral advertising should provide a "clear, consumer-friendly, and prominent statement" about the reason for collecting that data. Consumers should be able to choose whether they will allow that information to be collected.
-- Any company that collects or stores consumer data for behavioral advertising should provide "reasonable security" and should keep data only as long as necessary to fulfill legitimate business or law enforcement needs.
-- Companies should only collect sensitive data for behavioral advertising if they obtain express consent from the consumer.
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a group focused on online privacy and civil liberties, also praised the FTC for releasing its privacy principles. The principles are a "clear sign that the commission does not believe that the industry's current self-regulation framework is sufficient to protect consumers today,” CDT Deputy Director Ari Schwartz said in a statement.
CDT also called on Google to "step up and make a clear, public statement about its plans for proactively protecting consumer privacy." Consumer privacy in the behavioral advertising market remains an industrywide concern that requires the focus of consumers, policymakers and companies, CDT said.
The release of the privacy principles should send a signal to online advertisers, said Leslie Harris, CDT's president. "In releasing these principles, the FTC hasn't closed the door to other options," she said in a statement. "Self-regulation is part of the solution for protecting consumer privacy, but clearly self-regulation hasn't lived up to its promises. ... We'll need a rigorous mix of self-regulation backed by regulatory enforcement."
Other privacy groups criticized the FTC for its ruling allowing Google's acquisition of DoubleClick to move forward. The agency had reason to act on privacy concerns raised by the merger and failed, said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), one of three privacy groups that asked the FTC to block the merger or impose privacy conditions.
The FTC could have established "the necessary safeguards for personal data and competition that could have allowed a global [privacy] framework to emerge," Rotenberg said. "[The FTC's] sole purpose is to protect the public interest. It failed to do so ... in a case that will have far-reaching implications for the Internet economy and the privacy rights of American consumers."
Joseph Turow, a communication professor at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed. The European Union is still investigating the Google-DoubleClick deal, with a decision not due until April, and it is likely that regulators there will take a harder look at privacy issues, he said.
Consumer tracking and privacy should be part of the FTC's antitrust review when it looks at online advertising deals, he said. "You can't talk about the digital advertising market today without talking about competition in targeting Americans," he said.
Google supports the FTC's efforts to create privacy guidelines, David Drummond, the company's senior vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer, said in a blog post. "The FTC’s decision publicly affirms what we and numerous independent analysts have been saying for months: Our acquisition does not threaten competition in what is a robust, innovative, and quickly evolving online advertising space," Drummond wrote. "In fact, we firmly believe the transaction will increase competition and bring substantial benefits to consumers, web publishers, and online advertisers."
Critics failed to show specific privacy harms, added Thomas Lenard, president of iGrowthGlobal, a conservative think tank. "I don’t see a problem because nobody has demonstrated the acquisition will result in any privacy harm to consumers," he said. "All the allegations are very hypothetical. Privacy advocates assert that Google’s and DoubleClick’s activities injure consumers, but they don’t provide any evidence."
If the FTC had blocked the deal, it would be "penalizing success, and that would send a bad signal to the marketplace," Lenard added. "That would also be bad for consumers."
McAfee to pay $13.8 million to settle backdating lawsuits
McAfee has taken two major steps toward closing the stock-option backdating scandal that has plagued the company for the past two years.
On Friday, the security vendor filed 10 years' worth of restated financial reports, a process that was set off by the scandal. The company also said it had reached a tentative settlement in a class-action lawsuit relating to its accounting practices.
Charges for the restatement will be $137.4 million. McAfee has also set aside US$13.8 million to cover lawsuits filed in 2006 on behalf of McAfee shareholders, the company said in a statement released on Friday.
McAfee is one of more than 100 U.S. companies that have been investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for improper backdating of options. In backdating, companies would alter the date that stock options grants were made to certain employees so they could be purchased at a lower price and ultimately sold by the employee at a greater profit. The practice, while not illegal, was often improperly disclosed in regulatory filings, leading to SEC investigations of many high-profile companies, including Apple, Dell and Broadcom.
Earlier this year, McAfee's former legal counsel, Kent Roberts, was indicted on fraud charges related to the scandal.
The restated reports cover the period from 1995 until the first quarter of McAfee's fiscal 2006 year. The company has also filed 10-Q reports for the first three quarters of its fiscal 2007 year, putting it up-to-date with the SEC for the first time since March 2006.
On Friday, the security vendor filed 10 years' worth of restated financial reports, a process that was set off by the scandal. The company also said it had reached a tentative settlement in a class-action lawsuit relating to its accounting practices.
Charges for the restatement will be $137.4 million. McAfee has also set aside US$13.8 million to cover lawsuits filed in 2006 on behalf of McAfee shareholders, the company said in a statement released on Friday.
McAfee is one of more than 100 U.S. companies that have been investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for improper backdating of options. In backdating, companies would alter the date that stock options grants were made to certain employees so they could be purchased at a lower price and ultimately sold by the employee at a greater profit. The practice, while not illegal, was often improperly disclosed in regulatory filings, leading to SEC investigations of many high-profile companies, including Apple, Dell and Broadcom.
Earlier this year, McAfee's former legal counsel, Kent Roberts, was indicted on fraud charges related to the scandal.
The restated reports cover the period from 1995 until the first quarter of McAfee's fiscal 2006 year. The company has also filed 10-Q reports for the first three quarters of its fiscal 2007 year, putting it up-to-date with the SEC for the first time since March 2006.
U.S. trade agency to investigate antivirus patent claims
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to investigate claims by Trend Micro of competitors' patent infringement involving antivirus products.
Trend Micro filed a trade complaint Nov. 21 against fellow cybersecurity vendors Barracuda Networks of Campbell, California; Panda Software International, based in Spain; and Panda Distribution of Glendale, California.
Trend Micro's complaint accuses the three companies of infringing its patent for virus detection and removal apparatus for computer networks. The technology "represents a dramatic departure from the traditional antivirus methods of safeguarding individual computers," the company says in its complaint.
The Trend Micro complaint accuses Barracuda of importing antivirus software that infringes its patent. The complaint says Barracuda uses code from the open-source antivirus product ClamAV, which is written in part in Europe and Australia. Barracuda also imports hardware components, the complaint says.
Panda's products also contain code imported into the U.S., the Trend Micro complaint says.
A Barracuda spokeswoman said the complaint is curious. "It is interesting that the ITC has decided to take up an investigation, given Barracuda Networks manufactures all of its products in the United States and does not import anything of significance," said Kylie Heintz.
A Panda representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comments.
The ITC case will be referred to an administrative law judge, who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The judge will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. That initial determination is subject to commission review.
The ITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time, the commission said in a news release. Within 45 days, the ITC will set a target date for completing the investigation.
Trend Micro filed a trade complaint Nov. 21 against fellow cybersecurity vendors Barracuda Networks of Campbell, California; Panda Software International, based in Spain; and Panda Distribution of Glendale, California.
Trend Micro's complaint accuses the three companies of infringing its patent for virus detection and removal apparatus for computer networks. The technology "represents a dramatic departure from the traditional antivirus methods of safeguarding individual computers," the company says in its complaint.
The Trend Micro complaint accuses Barracuda of importing antivirus software that infringes its patent. The complaint says Barracuda uses code from the open-source antivirus product ClamAV, which is written in part in Europe and Australia. Barracuda also imports hardware components, the complaint says.
Panda's products also contain code imported into the U.S., the Trend Micro complaint says.
A Barracuda spokeswoman said the complaint is curious. "It is interesting that the ITC has decided to take up an investigation, given Barracuda Networks manufactures all of its products in the United States and does not import anything of significance," said Kylie Heintz.
A Panda representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comments.
The ITC case will be referred to an administrative law judge, who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The judge will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. That initial determination is subject to commission review.
The ITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time, the commission said in a news release. Within 45 days, the ITC will set a target date for completing the investigation.
AT&T, Vonage finalize patent lawsuit settlement
A patent infringement lawsuit filed by AT&T against voice-over-IP telephony provider Vonage has been settled, Vonage said late Friday.
The settlement brings an unusually speedy end to the lawsuit, which was filed by AT&T on Oct. 17. It alleged Vonage wilfully infringed an AT&T patent related to telephone systems that allow people to make VOIP (voice-over-Internet Protocol) calls using standard telephone devices. A breakdown in talks between the two companies over the issue led to the lawsuit, said AT&T at the time.
Less than a month later, on Nov. 7, the two companies said they had tentatively agreed to a settlement. At that time Vonage said it would pay AT&T around US$39 million under the terms of the settlement.
Final terms were not disclosed on Friday when, in a brief statement, Vonage said the dispute had been settled.
Vonage previously settled a patent suit with Verizon Communications for $80 million to $120 million, depending on the results of its appeal of a court ruling on two patents, and with Sprint Nextel for $80 million. As part of the Sprint Nextel deal Vonage agreed to license more than 100 patents covering technology for connecting calls from a traditional phone network to an IP network. The Verizon settlement came after a court found Vonage had infringed upon the carrier's patents.
The settlement brings an unusually speedy end to the lawsuit, which was filed by AT&T on Oct. 17. It alleged Vonage wilfully infringed an AT&T patent related to telephone systems that allow people to make VOIP (voice-over-Internet Protocol) calls using standard telephone devices. A breakdown in talks between the two companies over the issue led to the lawsuit, said AT&T at the time.
Less than a month later, on Nov. 7, the two companies said they had tentatively agreed to a settlement. At that time Vonage said it would pay AT&T around US$39 million under the terms of the settlement.
Final terms were not disclosed on Friday when, in a brief statement, Vonage said the dispute had been settled.
Vonage previously settled a patent suit with Verizon Communications for $80 million to $120 million, depending on the results of its appeal of a court ruling on two patents, and with Sprint Nextel for $80 million. As part of the Sprint Nextel deal Vonage agreed to license more than 100 patents covering technology for connecting calls from a traditional phone network to an IP network. The Verizon settlement came after a court found Vonage had infringed upon the carrier's patents.
Lucent agrees to pay fines for China dealings
Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to pay $2.5 million in fines to resolve allegations that it provided Chinese government officials with free trips to Disneyland and other tourist attractions.
The company has to pay $1 million to resolve U.S. Department of Justice charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) when providing travel and other perks to Chinese government officials, the DOJ said Friday. The company also agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The agreement with the DOJ wraps up a multiyear investigation into whether Lucent, before its November 2006 merger with Alcatel, provided things of value to the Chinese officials and improperly accounted for the expenses.
The company cooperated fully with the DOJ and SEC investigations, an Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman said. The company is "glad to put the matter behind us" and looks forward to successful business dealings in China in the future, she said.
From about 2000 to 2003, Lucent spent millions of dollars on more than 300 trips for Chinese government officials that included sightseeing, entertainment and leisure, the DOJ said. The trips were approved by senior Lucent Chinese officials, with the support of Lucent employees in the U.S.
Lucent improperly recorded expenses for these trips and failed to implement internal controls to monitor the provision of travel and other things of value to Chinese officials, the DOJ said in a press release.
In 2002 and 2003, there were 24 Lucent-sponsored trips for Chinese government customers, and at least 12 trips were primarily for sightseeing, the DOJ said. The people participating in these trips were senior government officials, including the heads of state-owned telecommunications companies in Beijing and the leaders of provincial telecommunications subsidiaries.
Between 2000 and 2003, Lucent provided Chinese government officials with trips to the U.S., Europe, Australia and elsewhere that were often characterized as "factory inspections" or "training," the DOJ said. By 2001, Lucent had outsourced most of its manufacturing and no longer owned factories for its customers to tour. These trips were primarily sightseeing tours to locations such as Disneyland, Universal Studios and the Grand Canyon, and typically lasted 14 days and cost between $25,000 and $55,000 per trip, the DOJ said.
Lucent admits to all of this conduct in the agreement announced on Friday. The agreement also requires Lucent to adopt new or modify existing internal controls, policies and procedures. Those internal controls must ensure that Lucent keeps fair and accurate books, the DOJ said. The agency has agreed not to prosecute Lucent if it complies with all of the requirements in the agreement over a two-year term.
The company has to pay $1 million to resolve U.S. Department of Justice charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) when providing travel and other perks to Chinese government officials, the DOJ said Friday. The company also agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The agreement with the DOJ wraps up a multiyear investigation into whether Lucent, before its November 2006 merger with Alcatel, provided things of value to the Chinese officials and improperly accounted for the expenses.
The company cooperated fully with the DOJ and SEC investigations, an Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman said. The company is "glad to put the matter behind us" and looks forward to successful business dealings in China in the future, she said.
From about 2000 to 2003, Lucent spent millions of dollars on more than 300 trips for Chinese government officials that included sightseeing, entertainment and leisure, the DOJ said. The trips were approved by senior Lucent Chinese officials, with the support of Lucent employees in the U.S.
Lucent improperly recorded expenses for these trips and failed to implement internal controls to monitor the provision of travel and other things of value to Chinese officials, the DOJ said in a press release.
In 2002 and 2003, there were 24 Lucent-sponsored trips for Chinese government customers, and at least 12 trips were primarily for sightseeing, the DOJ said. The people participating in these trips were senior government officials, including the heads of state-owned telecommunications companies in Beijing and the leaders of provincial telecommunications subsidiaries.
Between 2000 and 2003, Lucent provided Chinese government officials with trips to the U.S., Europe, Australia and elsewhere that were often characterized as "factory inspections" or "training," the DOJ said. By 2001, Lucent had outsourced most of its manufacturing and no longer owned factories for its customers to tour. These trips were primarily sightseeing tours to locations such as Disneyland, Universal Studios and the Grand Canyon, and typically lasted 14 days and cost between $25,000 and $55,000 per trip, the DOJ said.
Lucent admits to all of this conduct in the agreement announced on Friday. The agreement also requires Lucent to adopt new or modify existing internal controls, policies and procedures. Those internal controls must ensure that Lucent keeps fair and accurate books, the DOJ said. The agency has agreed not to prosecute Lucent if it complies with all of the requirements in the agreement over a two-year term.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
NetBooks aims at 'S' of SMB
If the success of NetSuite's IPO this week was any indication, the market for on-demand ERP (enterprise resource planning) software is red-hot. Startup NetBooks hopes to capitalize on that.
NetBooks recently began offering hosted ERP software. But the company, based in Rohnert Park, California, has set its sights on a particular class of customer: the millions of small, owner-managed U.S. businesses with between two and 50 employees. "It's the backbone of the economy," said NetBooks' founder, Ridgely Evers.
Evers has long played in this space. While at Intuit, he led the creation of QuickBooks, the popular accounting software.
NetBooks' core suite covers marketing, sales, inventory and finance, but doesn't include functions like e-mail or calendaring. "We're not a Microsoft Office replacement," Evers stressed.
The product is engineered for ease of use, he said: "For our target market, IT is the word 'it.'"
NetBooks has added other capabilities through partnerships, including PayCycle for payroll and UPS Online Shipping. The firm will make major new partner announcements in early 2008 and release new software features throughout the year, according to Evers.
Evers declined to discuss how many customers the firm has landed so far, saying only, "we're very early in our growth."
NetBooks costs US$200 per month, or $1 per hour, for five users, along with free access for a customer's bookkeeper, accountant and "marketing coach." Unlimited support -- accessed by clicking a button within the NetBooks software -- and free upgrades are included in the price. The company also says that if a customer signs up for the service at a given price, they will never pay more for it.
One analyst said NetBooks shows promise but faces many challenges.
"If they do in fact do all the things they claim to do, this is great," said Marc Songini of Nucleus Research in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
"They're doing a smart thing by offering these [third-party] integrations so customers don't have to do it," he added.
Still, he said, "They're very small, and don't have a lot of recognition. It's going to be tough for them to get up and running and get critical mass."
For one thing, NetSuite does sell its service to small businesses, Songini said. Also, if a giant like Google began offering a similar suite of hosted applications, startups like NetBooks would be hard-pressed to succeed, he said.
The other challenge centers on marketing. Larger ERP and CRM (customer relationship management) vendors have clear sales targets: C-level executives. The small business market may be immense, but it is also broad.
"Obviously, that bottom segment of the market is wide-open, but the problem has been, how do you sell to it," Songini said.
Songini said one possibility would be for NetBooks to strike reseller deals with computer manufacturers and retailers like Dell or Radio Shack.
NetBooks recently began offering hosted ERP software. But the company, based in Rohnert Park, California, has set its sights on a particular class of customer: the millions of small, owner-managed U.S. businesses with between two and 50 employees. "It's the backbone of the economy," said NetBooks' founder, Ridgely Evers.
Evers has long played in this space. While at Intuit, he led the creation of QuickBooks, the popular accounting software.
NetBooks' core suite covers marketing, sales, inventory and finance, but doesn't include functions like e-mail or calendaring. "We're not a Microsoft Office replacement," Evers stressed.
The product is engineered for ease of use, he said: "For our target market, IT is the word 'it.'"
NetBooks has added other capabilities through partnerships, including PayCycle for payroll and UPS Online Shipping. The firm will make major new partner announcements in early 2008 and release new software features throughout the year, according to Evers.
Evers declined to discuss how many customers the firm has landed so far, saying only, "we're very early in our growth."
NetBooks costs US$200 per month, or $1 per hour, for five users, along with free access for a customer's bookkeeper, accountant and "marketing coach." Unlimited support -- accessed by clicking a button within the NetBooks software -- and free upgrades are included in the price. The company also says that if a customer signs up for the service at a given price, they will never pay more for it.
One analyst said NetBooks shows promise but faces many challenges.
"If they do in fact do all the things they claim to do, this is great," said Marc Songini of Nucleus Research in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
"They're doing a smart thing by offering these [third-party] integrations so customers don't have to do it," he added.
Still, he said, "They're very small, and don't have a lot of recognition. It's going to be tough for them to get up and running and get critical mass."
For one thing, NetSuite does sell its service to small businesses, Songini said. Also, if a giant like Google began offering a similar suite of hosted applications, startups like NetBooks would be hard-pressed to succeed, he said.
The other challenge centers on marketing. Larger ERP and CRM (customer relationship management) vendors have clear sales targets: C-level executives. The small business market may be immense, but it is also broad.
"Obviously, that bottom segment of the market is wide-open, but the problem has been, how do you sell to it," Songini said.
Songini said one possibility would be for NetBooks to strike reseller deals with computer manufacturers and retailers like Dell or Radio Shack.
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