In a first, East Texas judge hits patent troll with attorneys’ fees

eDekka LLC had a patent that “teaches someone… a new way of doing things.”

Federal court in Marshall, Texas. (credit: Joe Mullin)

The most litigious "patent troll" of 2014 has been effectively shut down, and will have to pay attorneys' fees to several defendants.

US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, who hears more patent cases that any other federal judge, issued an order (PDF) on Thursday saying that the behavior of eDekka LLC qualified as "exceptional," and that the company should pay the legal fees of various companies it sued.

Gilstrap's courtroom is perhaps the surprising spot in the nation from which a patent troll slap-down might originate. The judge has been criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for making life unnecessarily difficult for patent defendants. He's also invalidated relatively few patents under Supreme Court precedent set in last year's Alice Corp. case, even as other federal judges have been tossing out software patents at a steady clip.

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Android on the desktop: Not really “good,” but better than you’d think

Surprisingly good mouse and keyboard support, but the interface can’t scale.

Enlarge / This would all work with Bluetooth, but wires are more fun.

Android is the most popular mobile OS on the planet, and Google has brought the OS to cars, watches, and televisions. And, according to a report from The Wall Street JournalGoogle will soon be bringing Android to yet another form factor: desktop and laptop computers. Re-architecting Android for a mouse and keyboard is going to require major changes to the smartphone operating system, but Android is actually much farther along that path today than most people realize.

We've Frankensteined together a little Android desktop setup using a Nexus 9 and a USB keyboard and mouse to see just how easy—or complicated—it was to use what is still formally a "mobile" operating system in a desktop context today, right now, without complicated changes or reconfigurations. It worked, but Android still has a ways to go before it can be called a real desktop operating system—quite a ways, in some cases.

The biggest affordance Android makes for a desktop OS is that it supports a keyboard and mouse. Any Android device can pair with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and if you want to go the wired route, just about any phone can plug in a mouse and keyboard via a USB OTG cable and a USB hub. Some OEMs even build Android devices with a keyboard and mouse, like the Asus Transformer series, which is a convertible laptop that runs Android.

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Fairphone 2 modular, ethically-sourced smartphone begins shipping

Fairphone 2 modular, ethically-sourced smartphone begins shipping

The Fairphone 2 is a smartphone with a modular design that makes it easy to repair (and possibly easy to upgrade in the future). It’s also built from ethically-sourced materials. As the name suggests, this is the second smartphone from the Fairphone team, and it’s generated a lot of buzz for not only avoiding use […]

Fairphone 2 modular, ethically-sourced smartphone begins shipping is a post from: Liliputing

Fairphone 2 modular, ethically-sourced smartphone begins shipping

The Fairphone 2 is a smartphone with a modular design that makes it easy to repair (and possibly easy to upgrade in the future). It’s also built from ethically-sourced materials. As the name suggests, this is the second smartphone from the Fairphone team, and it’s generated a lot of buzz for not only avoiding use […]

Fairphone 2 modular, ethically-sourced smartphone begins shipping is a post from: Liliputing

HTML5: Facebook gibt Flash weitestgehend den Laufpass

Adobes Appell wurde erhört: Facebook verzichtet bei Videos künftig auf Flash und nutzt stattdessen HTML5 – und das in allen Browsern. Einzige Ausnahme bleiben aus verständlichen Gründen vorerst Spiele. (Facebook, Soziales Netz)

Adobes Appell wurde erhört: Facebook verzichtet bei Videos künftig auf Flash und nutzt stattdessen HTML5 - und das in allen Browsern. Einzige Ausnahme bleiben aus verständlichen Gründen vorerst Spiele. (Facebook, Soziales Netz)

Windows 10 Mobile: Abo für Office Mobile im Continuum-Betrieb notwendig

Wer künftig auf einem Smartphone mit Windows 10 Mobile im Continuum-Modus das Office-Paket nutzen möchte, benötigt ein Office-365-Abo. Bis Ende März 2016 ist die Nutzung aber kostenlos. (Windows 10 Mobile, Office 365)

Wer künftig auf einem Smartphone mit Windows 10 Mobile im Continuum-Modus das Office-Paket nutzen möchte, benötigt ein Office-365-Abo. Bis Ende März 2016 ist die Nutzung aber kostenlos. (Windows 10 Mobile, Office 365)

3DMark Holiday Beta: Futuremark zeigt erste Benchmarks für VR-Headsets

Futuremark hat eine VR-Version des aktuellen 3DMark veröffentlicht. Szenen wie Fire Strike können so auf einem VR-Headset betrachtet werden. Zudem gab es auf einer Partnerveranstaltung erste Bilder des kommenden 3DMark mit DirectX-12-Schnittstelle zu sehen. (3DMark, DirectX)

Futuremark hat eine VR-Version des aktuellen 3DMark veröffentlicht. Szenen wie Fire Strike können so auf einem VR-Headset betrachtet werden. Zudem gab es auf einer Partnerveranstaltung erste Bilder des kommenden 3DMark mit DirectX-12-Schnittstelle zu sehen. (3DMark, DirectX)

1337x Staff Abandon “Insecure” Torrent Site, Start Over

One of the most active torrent communities is witnessing an exodus of moderators and admins. Nearly all active staff of 1337x have abandoned the site claiming that the owner failed to fix several security holes. The (former) staffers have now launched their own site and have begun redirecting 1337x traffic to their new home.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

1337xWithout proper moderation any torrent site will turn into a swamp of fake files and malicious content.

This became painfully apparent earlier this year when The Pirate Bay was left unmoderated, and a similar situation is now taking place at 1337x.to.

The site, which is one of the most visited torrent sites on the Internet, has built up a strong community in recent years. As with most other sites the day-to-day operations are managed by admins and moderators, who volunteer their free time to dealing with spam and other inappropriate content.

After a redesign, however, the staffers have grown impatient with the site’s owner who failed to respond to various complaints. One of the most pressing issues is a security hole which allows others to hijack user accounts.

“The new design is full of bugs, leaving users unprotected and vulnerable to attacks. The owner has refused to fix those problems creating dissension in the ranks,” former 1337x moderator ‘The Ghost’ informs TF.

The vulnerabilities allow outsiders to take over the accounts of regular users and post all sorts of spam.

“What would happen, is somebody would reply to a comment that had a script injected. Once they replied, their account got hijacked and started uploading infected torrents,” The Ghost says.

The above is just one example, according to the moderator. These and other bugs caused a lot of problems for the moderation crew as well as the users. However, they reportedly remain in place today.

Since the owner has been very unresponsive, all active moderators and admins have decided to step down. They were already paying for the server rent and the 1337x domain names, which will likely be forwarded to the new home.

Visitors who access the old forum URL (1337x.net) are now redirected to the new home at leetxtorrents.org, where a new forum was created with a copy of the database.

Another “former” 1337x staffer Mustangx, who owns the original .com and .org domains, confirms the staff exodus and says that they are working on a new torrent site as well. The staffers don’t have access to the old code, so they have to start anew.

“We have a team working on an entirely new site at the moment. We hope to have it ready for the new year,” Mustangx says.

In recent days the owner of the original 1337x reappeared again. However, many staffers believe that it’s too late to make things right, although it hurts to leave their old home behind.

“Nobody likes the idea of just leaving the old site sitting there but it doesn’t have an off button. Kind of like leaving a claymore mine lying around the internet,” The Ghost concludes.

At the time of writing the old 1337.to site remains operational, but the domain may be redirected in the future as well.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

The Secret of Monkey Island (1990): Gummihuhn und Bananen-Pflücker aus der Hose

Wir beenden die zweite Staffel von Golem retro_ und werden Pirat. Das machen wir schon seit über 25 Jahren recht häufig, denn in keinem Adventure macht das so viel Spaß wie in dem von 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island. (Monkey Island, Adventure)

Wir beenden die zweite Staffel von Golem retro_ und werden Pirat. Das machen wir schon seit über 25 Jahren recht häufig, denn in keinem Adventure macht das so viel Spaß wie in dem von 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island. (Monkey Island, Adventure)

Who Stands to Win & Lose After Cox’s Piracy Defeat?

On Thursday, United States ISP Cox Communications was found liable after it failed to disconnect subscribers it knew had committed several copyright infringements. Although an appeal could be on the way, who will benefit from the ruling and how is it likely to affect the piracy landscape?

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

On Thursday following a two-week trial, a Virginia federal jury ruled that US-based ISP Cox Communications could be held liable for piracy carried out by its users.

After failing to act on copyright infringement warnings sent by anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp on behalf of music publisher BMG, Cox was found guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement and ordered to pay $25 million in damages.

At the time of writing Cox is considering its options, including the possibility of appeal, but should the ruling stand the piracy landscape in the United States could be changed forever.

Internet service providers

Firstly, rival Internet service providers such as Comcast are likely to be somewhat nervous about how this decision will affect them and how they will be expected to handle copyright complaints in the future.

During the BMG case the judge found that Cox’s repeat infringer policy was lacking, so much so that it that meant the company lost its safe harbor protections under the DMCA.

It is now likely that if they haven’t already done so, major ISPs will be scrambling to have very clear repeat infringer processes committed to paper and have their employees follow them to the letter. After the decision this week, any one of them could be beaten with the same stick used to beat Cox.

The big question, however, is exactly how repeat infringers will be handled and what their ultimate punishment will be. In the Cox case the clear suggestion was that there needed to be not only suspensions, but also disconnections. That is not something that currently happens regularly in the United States.

Six Strikes

While Cox was one of the few large ISPs that refused to join, most major ISPs in the United States are already part of the so-called ‘Six Strikes’ (Copyright Alerts) scheme. Officially known as the Copyright Alerts System, the program sees pirating subscribers receive escalating warnings about their copyright infringing behaviors.

Along the way they may also face mitigation measures, such as a temporary break in service while having to fill in a copyright-related questionnaire. But then, after the sixth ‘strike’, it appears nothing much happens.

While terminations may be threatened by ISPs, there is no evidence to suggest they are being carried out on anything like a large scale. Certainly, the ‘Six Strikes’ deal itself does not mandate disconnections for repeat infringers, it merely makes the suggestion that could be an option for ISPs.

copyright-alerts1

Nevertheless, if the Cox decision stands, ISPs across the United States will be more aware of the implications of handling infringers in the way that Cox has. At the very least they will be seeking to maintain their Safe Harbor protections under the DMCA so dealing with subscribers more firmly (or at least more clearly) seems the likely outcome.

Rightscorp

As it stands thus far, Thursday was a good day for Rightscorp. The company hasn’t been doing well for some time but its argument that ISPs must implement disconnections for repeat infringers now has more momentum than it did before. That positivity for the company also reflected in its stock Thursday, albeit it briefly.

rights1

But while on the surface the disconnection threat might seem good for Rightscorp, in practice things may not work out so well.

Rightscorp currently tries to negotiate with alleged pirates with the suggestion that the anti-piracy outfit won’t press for ISP disconnection as long as people pay the cash demanded in their settlement emails. However, if one assumes that the Cox decision stands then the power over whether to disconnect someone is now well and truly out of Rightscorp’s hands.

In the past Rightscorp might’ve pushed an ISP to pressure a subscriber, but with ISPs taking more of an interest in preserving Safe Harbor protections, subscribers paying Rightscorp won’t have any positive effect on whether a customer is disconnected or not. After all, one cannot simply pay a fine to a third party to absolve an ISP of liability under the law.

Granted, outfits like BMG might agree not to sue ISPs if they pass on Rightscorp’s threats and subscribers pay their fines, but ISPs will have to put policies in place across the board and it’s difficult to imagine any copyright holders getting special treatment. Furthermore, if ISPs have solid repeat infringer policies, there will be nothing to sue them over.

Finally, and perhaps crucially, disconnected former Internet users generate zero revenue for Rightscorp.

Internet users

Presuming that the Cox decision stands (and it may not after appeal), US Internet subscribers could be faced with a new reality, one that doesn’t simply allow them to pirate most online content with impunity. Sure, copyright trolls do snag a few thousand in their nets, but overall nothing currently happens to Internet pirates.

Presuming that “six strikes” is where the line is drawn in the sand, subscribers could be faced with not having access to the Internet, at least from their current supplier, after getting caught six times. That’s a lot of chances by almost any measure but will most users allow things to get that far?

Is it likely that many more subscribers, faced with a guarantee of disconnection, will take measures to protect their activities online by using VPNs or similar anonymity tools?

While that remains to be seen, the implications of mass anonymity could be intriguing. Not only will subscribers eliminate the threat of disconnection, but US ISPs will also have fewer concerns over disconnecting users. On top, trolls like Rightscorp will have much fewer people to chase for cash.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. With at least $25m at stake it’s likely that the Cox case will run for some time yet. And it could be quite a ride.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.