The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Carnegie-Mellon
University, in Pittsburgh, PA, warned of a new method of attacking
computers of Internet users, called Internet protocol spoofing. The CERT
team recommends four types of routers that are
equipped to guard against this type of intrusion, in which an intruder
enters a computer network and masquerades as a friendly machine. The
advisory issued after an attack in December 1994 on the San Diego
Supercomputer Center. (New York Times, 1/23/95, A1;
San Jose Mercury News, 1/24/95, 1A.)
Computer hackers broke into the Stanford Linear Accelerator Project
computer system, accessing a single computer to change files that would
give them future entry into the network and its email system. Stanford
University officials were forced temporarily to cut off
outside access to the lab. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/24/95, 11A.)
A Federal District Court in Washington issued an injunction against
Stratton Oakmont, requiring it to comply with an out-of-court settlement
it reached with the S.E.C. last year. The settled suit alleged Stratton
used abusive sales practices. A hearing on a permanent
injunction against the firm has been scheduled. Stratton Oakmont is the
firm that filed a libel suit against Prodigy, after a posting on the
computer network accused the firm of violating securities laws. (New
York Times, 1/12/95, C2.)
On December 29, 1994, CompuServe Information Service posted an
electronic demand for royalty payments from companies that make graphic
software for viewing pictures in the Graphic Interchange Format (GIF).
The companies had until January 10, 1995, to pay
CompuServe a royalty on the programs they sell. The fee demanded by
CompuServe is 1.5% of the price of any program plus a one-time fee of
$1. GIF was developed by CompuServe in 1987 and is the most common way
to store, view and transmit photographs and
other graphic images. (GIF is the standard format for images posted on
the World Wide Web.) GIF became a standard because CompuServe encouraged
its adoption by not charging a licensing fee. But GIF is based on a
software algorithm patented by Unisys in 1985.
Unisys notified CompuServe about infringement two years ago and the
companies reached a licensing agreement in June 1994. Unisys is
demanding royalty payments from dozens of companies other than
CompuServe. (New York Times, 1/5/95, C1; San Jose Mercury
News, 1/5/95, 1F.)
Declining to be identified for fear of reprisal, several software
companies asked U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin not to approve
the July 1994 consent decree between Microsoft and the Justice
Department. The brief alleges that while Microsoft engaged in
illegal activities between 1988 and 1994, the decree does not deprive
Microsoft of the consequences of those actions -- its near-monopoly
position in PC operating systems and growing strength in the
applications market. The companies also complain there is now less
competition and higher prices in the operating system market, contrary
to predictions of the Justice Department after the decree was announced.
Microsoft and the Justice Department attacked the "last-minute"
opposition to the proposed antitrust settlement. (San
Jose Mercury News , 1/11/95, 1F; 1/14/94, p.35; 1/18/95, 1F.)
A former McDonald's supervisor, Michael Huffcut, is suing McDonald's,
a franchise owner and an employee for $2 million and punitive damages,
alleging the employee copied voice mail-messages between Huffcut and a
McDonald's manager with whom he was having
an affair and transmitted the messages to the franchise owner. The owner
played the tape to Huffcut's wife and then fired him. (San Jose Mercury
News, 1/21/95, 1D.)
A suburban Philadelphia plumber, Michael Lasch, was charged with
ordering call-forwarding service for competitors' telephones, allowing
him to siphon off customer calls. Bail for Lasch was set at $50,000.
(New York Times, 1/29/95, p.13.)
A case believed to be the first involving repetitive stress injuries
and IBM and Apple Computer is on trial in Minnesota, where the companies
are charged with knowingly making a dangerous product -- their computer
keyboards. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/20/95, 1F.)
Software Engineering Carmel, an Austrian-based software designer,
filed suit seeking $6.75 damages over exclusive distribution rights it
negotiated with Central Point Software. At the time, Central Point
allegedly concealed its upcoming sale to Symantec Inc.,
Software Engineering's main rival. Symantec has allegedly discouraged
sales of Software Engineering's Central Point Antivirus program and will
discontinue it in March 1995. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/14/95, 13D.)
Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. settled their
long-standing legal disputes. AMD will have a license to the microcode
for Intel's 386 and 486 microprocessors. AMD will also pay $58 million
for violating an Intel patent. Intel, on the other hand, will pay AMD
$18 million for breach of contract. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/12/95, 1A;
New York Times, 1/12/95, C1.)
The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals removed an obstacle to Pacific
Telesis Group offering video programming. Pacific Telesis had raised a
First Amendment challenge to 47 U.S.C. section 533(b), the telephone
company-cable television cross-ownership prohibition.
In a separate decision involving US West, the 9th Circuit held that
section 533(b) violates the First Amendment. In a separate case, U.S.
District Court Judge Gladys Kessler, in Washington, also declared the
law unconstitutional. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/14/95, 4G;
1/28/95, 1D.)
The United States threatened to impose steep tariffs against $2.8
billion of Chinese-made goods if China does not act to curtail rampant
piracy of intellectual property, including tapes, computer software,
chemicals, brand names and books. (San Jose Mercury
News, 1/5/95, 4A.)
Apple Computer, Inc. asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review its
unsuccessful "look and feel" suit against Microsoft Corp. and
Hewlett-Packard Co. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/21/95, 2D.)
A federal appeals court ordered Judge David N. Edelstein removed, on
grounds he does not appear impartial, from the IBM case involving IBM's
settlement with the Justice Department. The case was originally filed in
1952. In 1956, Edelstein signed a consent order to
which both the Justice Department and IBM agreed. (San Jose Mercury
News, 1/18/95, 3F.)
The Internal Revenue Service is reconsidering plans to greatly enlarge
a computer database of personal information on Americans, so that it can
match and compare tax returns with consumer information. (New York
Times, 1/21/95, 16A.)
Under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade passed by Congress in
December 1994, patent applications filed June 8, 1995, or after will be
valid for 20 years from the date the application is filed. Applications
filed prior to June 8 will be valid for 17 years from the
date of issue or 20 years from the date of first filing, whichever is
longer. Design patents will remain valid for 14 years from the date of
issue. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/24/95, 2E.)
The French-government owned company Cie. des Machines Bull settled its
lawsuit against Texas Instruments over a computer chip Bull alleged it
had invented an patented. Documents filed in court reveal a French
espionage scheme in which an alleged spy passed
Texas Instruments secrets to French agents for nearly 13 years. (San
Jose Mercury News, 1/29/95, 1E.)
CyberLex (tm) is published solely as an educational service. The author,
a California attorney, is Executive Editor of LEXIS COUNSEL CONNECT
CALIFORNIA. He may be contacted at jrosen03@counsel.com or
cyberlaw@cyberlaw.com. Questions and comments
may be posted on America Online (go to keyword "CYBERLAW") or CyberLaw
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trademark of Jonathan Rosenoer. Copyright
(c) 1995 Jonathan Rosenoer; All Rights Reserved.