Roy Mark

WASHINGTON—For China to truly become a nation built on innovation, Beijing must improve its intellectual property rights protections, the National Chamber of Commerce said Sept. 24. While software piracy rates have declined by 12 percent over the last two years, the theft rate is still 80 percent. “China must take steps to protect foreign investors. […]

Lawmakers are accusing government contractor Unisys of incompetence and possible illegal activity related to its handling of Department of Homeland Security network security and hacks originating in China. Unisys, based in Blue Bell, Pa., won a $1.7 billion contract with the DHS in 2002 to build, manage and protect the networks at the Transportation Security […]

A special agent for the Department of Commerce is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for using a Department of Homeland Security database to cyber-stalk his former girlfriend. Benjamin Robinson, 40, was indicted Sept. 19 by an Oakland, Calif., jury for unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer and making […]

Google emphatically denied on Sept. 20 that it is interested in bidding on 3G spectrum that the U.K. may put up for sale. Ofcom, the British telecom regulator, announced on Sept.19 it was considering a spectrum auction as early next year and press reports immediately circulated citing Googles interest. “I can tell you definitively its […]

Based on a new round of field trials, Microsoft and Philips are asking the Federal Communications Commission to renew testing on devices that can access the Internet using empty buffer spectrums—known as white spaces—between television channels. Microsoft and other members of a powerhouse group of technology companies called the White Spaces Coalition covet the spectrum […]

A European courts ruling against Microsoft not only once again fueled the debate over the software makers business practices but also raised concerns about how U.S. technology companies doing business on the continent will be treated. The European Court of First Instance Sept. 17 upheld the findings of the European Commission in 2004 that Microsoft […]

The Bush administration may be running out the clock in its efforts to resist a congressional inquiry and two lawsuits seeking the whereabouts and contents of more than 5 million missing White House e-mails, according to one of the organizations that has filed a suit. “The White House has known for a number of years […]

Interest in cell phones that can switch from traditional mobile networks to broadband-based calls continues to grow with Nokias Sept. 20 announcement of a new phone with WiFi capabilities. The 6301 uses UMA (unlicensed mobile access) technology to allow users to take advantage of either a GSM network or a broadband Internet-connected WLAN (wireless LAN) […]

Qualcomms tangled patent war with Nokia and Broadcom got more complicated Sept. 18 when the International Trade Commission announced an investigation into whether the San Diego chipmaker is violating patents held by Nokia of Finland. The investigation follows a June 7 order by the ITC in a separate case banning the import of certain 3G […]

U.S. Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) want wireless carriers to change the way they do business, including offering consumers prorated early termination fees for switching carriers. In legislation introduced Sept. 7, the two lawmakers called for a wide range of new policies calling for wireless carriers to provide “simple, clear information” on […]