Ideaflood/Hoshiko
- Ideaflood billed itself as "an intellectual property generation and holding company," with their entire business model built on bullying smaller companies into paying licensing fees for overbroad software patents
- Threatened many small website hosting companies, such as Freehomepage.com and T35 webhosting (www.t35.com)
- Threatened community site LiveJournal, whose 3 million users each have their own subdomain, and thus standing in the way of LJ users' ability to speak freely in groups
- The patent has since been reassigned to a company called Hoshiko, LLC
Sheldon F. Goldberg
- Threatening small online gaming websites
- Claiming to own basic online gaming architecture
C2 (formerly Acceris)
- Overbroad patents cover nearly all current implementations of VoIP, an emerging technology, thus stifling innovation and use of VoIP as a tool of free speech
- Crippling the progress of small VoIP developers could undermine ease of communication online
Human Rights and Free Expression Groups Demand Release of Vietnamese Bloggers
Last week, EFF joined eight international press and digital freedom organizations in sending a letter to the Vietnamese government to call on them to release five youth activists currently held in detention in Hanoi without access to legal counsel. The activists are all active bloggers and contribute to prominent citizen...
Dangerously Vague Cybersecurity Legislation Threatens Civil Liberties
There is a spate of proposed cybersecurity legislation working its way through the House and Senate. The bills are aimed primarily at facilitating cooperation regarding so-called “cybersecurity” issues among different branches of government as well as between government and the private sector. The bills range from being downright...
Clear Channel / Live Nation
- Claiming to own a monopoly on all-in-one technologies that produce post-concert live recordings on digital media
- Forcing bands like the Pixies to use ClearChannel's CD-burning systems instead of their own or those of small start-up companies
- Threatening to sue anyone who produces post-show live recordings at any of its 100+ venues in the U.S.
- Twisting artists' arms to give up a significant chunk of their concert merchandise sales, one of the few revenue streams not already taxed by most recording labels
San Francisco Ordinance to Safeguard Against SFPD/FBI Surveillance Abuses Faces Risk of Mayoral Veto
Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to pass the Safe San Francisco Civil Rights Ordinance, legislation that ensures that the San Francisco Police Department's counterterrorism activities are controlled by San Franciscans, rather than by the FBI. The ordinance requires San Francisco police officers working with the FBI's...
Sunshine Week Wrap-up: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Last Friday marked the end of Sunshine week, a national initiative to promote dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. It’s the third year for the Obama administration, which has been taken to task for reversing early promises on transparency. Have they improved? Here’s our review:
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EFF Backs Judge Calling for Warrant in Cell Phone Tracking Case
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation and the ACLU Foundation of Texas Friday in backing a judge who required a search warrant before approving the seizure of two months of cell phone location data by law enforcement.
In this...
Acacia Technologies
- Laughably broad patent would cover everything from online distribution of home movies to scanned documents and MP3s
- Threatening dozens of small companies, including many home-grown adult websites
- Infringement campaign threatens to chill freedom of expression by limiting small companies' and individuals' ability to stream their content online
