Richard Koman Resources on ZDNet

ZDNet Resources

Brewster Kahle offers a cookbook for fighting security letters: Just talked to Brewster Kahle at the Internet Archive about their successful settlement with the FBI of a lawsuit over a National Security Letter. The FBI had demanded personal information on a user; the Archive replied with a lawsuit challenging the propriety of the NSL. As part of the settlement,...; Tags: Security, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FBI, Library, Brewster Kahle, Cookbook, National Security Letter, Federal Government, Government, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-08
Zune of the future may come with copyright cop: Microsoft is "exploring" the possibility of building in copyright protection into the Zune player, Saul Hansell writes in the Times. The agreement is part of NBC Universal's deal to sell its programming for Zune. Microsoft is parsing this story very closely -- to Clintonian levels, in fact....; Tags: NBC, Microsoft Zune, Microsoft Corp., Saul Hansell, Content Management, Strategy, Enterprise Software, Software, Management, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-08
Archive.org fights FBI demand for user info -- and wins: After a protracted battle with the FBI, the Internet Archive has won the retraction of what it says was an unconstitutional national security letter demanding personal information on an individual. Under the settlement with the FBI, Internet Archive Brewster Kahle as well as lawyers from the ACLU and EFF are...; Tags: FBI, NSL, Federal Government, Internet, Government, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-07
MPAA wins $111m from bankrupt TorrentSpy: A federal judge in L.A. awarded the Motion Picture Association of America a $111 million judgment against TorrentSpy.com, the file-sharing site that shut down in March, AP reports. TorrentSpy operators Valence Media LLC were hit for $30,000 per violation for nearly 3,700 illegal movie and TV shows. ...; Tags: MPAA, TorrentSpy, Peer To Peer (P2P), Litigation, Internet, Business Operations, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-07
Egypt shuts off cell anonymity: As protests continue to mount over rising food prices, Egypt is moving to keep close tabs on cellphone users. The government wants cellphone companies to close down anonymous subscribers, Reuters reports. "Everyone who uses the telephone must be known," Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid told a news...; Tags: Phone, Cell Phone, Egypt, Text Messaging/SMS/MMS, Cellular Phones, Telecom & Utilities, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Online Communications, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-07

MSFT walks away from YHOO: The antitrust connection: It's interesting that such a large part of Steve Ballmer's letter giving up on the Yahoo deal focused on the antitrust implications of Yahoo's deal with Google. In four separate bullet points, Steve explains Microsoft's "particular concern" over the arrangement: undermining Panama, harming engineer retention, giving Google even greater dominance...; Tags: Antitrust, Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp., MSFT, Corporate Law, Security, Business Operations, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-04
Amazon.com sues NY over sales tax law: New York's new online sales tax law applies a novel way to get revenue out of online retailers. It's ready-made to tax Amazon.com and the Seattle-based company doesn't like it one bit. Amazon sued New York this over the law. Here's the theory, as the Times explains:...; Tags: New York, Amazon.com Inc., Taxes, Free Trade, Sales Strategy, Financial Planning, Finance, Sales, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-02
Bill would penalize companies that aid net censorship: The Global Online Freedom Act, introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), would penalize companies who facilitate other countries censoring the Internet. Call it the anti-Yahoo law. "American high-tech firms have produced the technology and know-how that has led to a modern-day information revolution," Smith said...; Tags: Olympic Games, Beijing, Internet, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-02
Judge: Webcasters owe ASCAP $100m: A federal judge ruled that that webcasters owe ASCAP – one of three major performing rights organizations representing songwriters – a flat 2.5 percent cut of music revenues. It's a big chunk of change. For just the year 2006, it will cost AOL, Yahoo and Real...; Tags: Ars Technica, Webcasting, Webcaster, ASCAP, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-01
House committee passes 'gluttonous' Pro IP Act: So, we have a credit crisis, a foreclosure crisis, a full-blown recession and no plans on how to get out of Iraq or how to create a regional solution. So what do we need? How about an intellectual property czar and stiffer penalties for unauthorized music downloading? ...; Tags: Damage, CD, IP, Piracy, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-05-01
The end of RIAA litigation: I spent this morning on the phone with Ray Beckerman of the Recording Industry v The People blog, who laid out why the decision is pretty much the touch of death for the RIAA's litigation strategy. Here's the scenario: The entire litigation model is based on the...; Tags: Damage, RIAA, Reproduction, Litigation, Business Operations, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-30
Expert praises, criticizes Atlantic v. Howell decision: It's becoming clear that the Atlantic v. Howell decision is a major big deal in the RIAA lawsuit landscape, as the heavy hitters are starting to comment. William Patry just published a seven-volume treatise on copyright law, Patry on Copyright (yours for just over $1,500). He's also...; Tags: Copyright Law, Judge, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-30
Judge decisively rejects RIAA legal theory: A federal district judge has delivered a pretty resounding blow to a theory the RIAA has been using to win verdicts in its copyright-infringement lawsuit campaign. In Atlantic Records v. Howell, Judge Neil Wake refused the RIAA's motion for summary judgment based on the "making available" theory. ...; Tags: Theory, RIAA, Judge, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-29
Free COFEE opens Microsoft BitLocker: Microsoft has released a tool to law enforcement that helps get around the encryption provided by the company's own BitLocker software, distributed in Windows Vista. PC World has an extensive article about Microsoft's COFEE -- Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor – which some 2,000 law enforcement...; Tags: Microsoft Corp., Computer, COFEE, Law Enforcement Agent, Productivity, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-29
Email voting for overseas troops?: The Pentagon is pushing states to allow email balloting for troops overseas but so far few states are playing along, AP reports. "The personnel that fight our wars, the people who are most affected by the decisions on the use of the military, are being...; Tags: State, E-voting, E-mail, Corporate Governance, Government, Online Communications, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-29
RIAA sues Project Playlist: Is Project Playlist legal? The site allows users to build playlists of music found on other websites (whether they got there legally or not the site claims disinterest) and then streams them to listeners. They pay the relevant performance royalties. A WikiAnswer claims, "It is 100%...; Tags: Performance, RIAA, Music, Music File, Performance Management, Web Site Development, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Internet, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-29
Mexican officials nabs BlackBerries: If you were the lead press person for a Mexican Delegation visit with President Bush, what would you do when you noticed that all of the White House staff in the meeting had deposited their BlackBerries on a table outside the hotel meeting room? Grab those...; Tags: U.S. Secret Service, Phone, White House, Official, RIM BlackBerry, Handhelds, Hardware, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-25
Defense concerns may scuttle Apple-PA Semi deal: The Defense Department could potentially throw a spanner in Apple's plans to acquire chip design firm PA Semi, according to EETimes. That's because of reports that Apple is acquiring the company for its intellectual property and design know-how -- not for its current product line. If Apple is...; Tags: U.S. Department Of Defense, Chip, PA Semi, Semiconductors, Network Technology, Hardware, Networking, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-25
EPA scientists face political pressure: The Union of Concerned Scientists has documented widespread political interference at the Environmental Protection Agency. The group conducted a broad investigation that combined interviews, analysis of documents and 1,600 responses to a survey. The results of these investigations show an agency under siege from...; Tags: Scientist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Marketing Research, Marketing, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-24
Online thieves worse than 1960s Mafia: It took Robert F. Kennedy to break the back of Mafia families like the Bonannos (that's Joe Bananas pictured) and we need that kind of dedicated commitment to stop today's equivalent of organized crime: online scammers, many of them from Eastern Europe. That was the message Attorney General Michael Mukasey...; Tags: Banking, Government, Federal Government, Financial Services, Richard Koman; Blog posts 2008-04-24