Google, Apple, Napster target of online video patent suit

According to the New York Times, Google, Apple and Napster have been named in a patent suit filed by the now defunct Internet video service Intertainer in a federal district court in Texas. The company, which holds nine patents, alleges that the tech giants have infringed on its intellectual property covering the management and distribution of digital media. Intertainer is no stranger to the courtroom. ...more

New variants of NetSky and Sober worm their way out of the weekend

The weekend virus haul has netted new NetSky and Sober worms. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, told us the company was currently seeing more reports of Sober-F rather than NetSky-S, but this could all change as the rest of the world comes online. 'It's not a massive outbreak,' he said. ...more

VeriSign hit with customer-stealing lawsuit

VeriSign's latest sales methods have sparked protests from rivals, resulting in a lawsuit being brought by competitor BulkRegister, reports Reuters. The lawsuit, alleges that Verisign sought to dupe domain name owners into switching their accounts in which the domain is held. The direct marketing campaign emailed 'domain-name expiry' notices to name owners registered by competitors, implying that they could lose control of their names unless they renewed them, along with a $29 fee, by 15 May. ...more

US tech companies bid to annul wireless patent

Some of the world's biggest technology companies have joined together defeat a key patent claimed by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The companies include Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Apple and Netgear. At issue is a patent issued in the US to CSIRO in 1996 that, the organisation claims, increases the speed of a wireless network up to five times. ...more

Apple to hold another 'special event' next week

Apple will hold another of its 'special events' next week, a little over a month since the last one where CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPod nano. The event, to be held next Wednesday, 12 October, is heralded with the tagline 'One more thing.. ...more