Bob
Vila, home repair guru and alleged spammer
Bob Vila usually fixes clogs, not creates them, but one
Vila email recipient doesn’t see it that way. The operator and online
marketer of BobVila.com, a home improvement web site, have been sued for
allegedly violating a new federal anti-spam law. The suit was filed by
Hypertouch Inc., claiming BVWebTies LLC and BlueStream Media sent email
ads for Bob Vila’s “Home Again Newsletter” to recipients who asked
to be removed from the email list. The unsolicited email also allegedly
included inaccurate address information of the sender. These are tricks
that spammers often use to cover their tracks and were banned under the
federal anti-spam law that went into effect Jan. 1. The law details how
and to whom spam can be sent. BlueStream Media has denied the charges and
said they are in full compliance of the law. Some industry analysts have
labeled the law ineffective and say it may have assisted spammers in
finding methods to produce “legal spam.” The lawsuit seeks a court
order for compliance and unspecified damages.
Man
claims Streisand is ducking his bills
Diva Barbra Streisand is reportedly not playing by the
rules. A man sued by the notoriously private singer for posting images of
her Malibu mansion on the internet said she is refusing to pay his
$220,000 legal bill after he won the case. In December, a judge threw out
Streisand’s $10 million invasion of privacy suit against retired
entrepreneur Kenneth Adelman, his internet service provider and a photo
agency that distributes his work. Streisand was then ordered to foot the
bill for his legal fees and costs. Adelman filed papers last Thursday
requesting another court order that Streisand pay approximately $204,000
in original fees, as well as $15,000 in fees spent to enforce the first
order. The chanteuse sued Adelman in May for putting two aerial photos of
her estate on a web site dedicated to the California coastline. Streisand
claimed he potentially contributed to a stalker problem.
AT&T
and Microsoft broker patent suit deal
Microsoft is handing over the dough to AT&T. The
companies had quarreled over patent infringement, which was made public
last Friday. The argument dates back to May 2001, when AT&T Corp. sued
Microsoft for infringing on a patent for a compression technology used to
downsize its digital speech files. AT&T employees acquired the patent
in 1984, according to a copy of the company’s complaint. Microsoft
employed the technology in its NetMeeting online conferencing software, in
addition to select versions of Windows and other products, AT&T
alleged. The company made an offer to license the technology to Microsoft,
but the software powerhouse refused, according to the complaint. Microsoft
will pay AT&T an undisclosed amount of money as part of the
settlement. There are few details available, but there is one unresolved
issue between the companies that will be appealed to a U.S. federal court.
Finnish
webbies love reporting crime online
Finns dig internet-enabled
police reporting. Last year Finnish police introduced a site allowing
internet-literate Finns to report crimes, and some 23,000 reports were
filed in 12 months. The Interior Ministry opened the site on March 1,
2003, to improve customer service, and continued to keep it up due to its
success. Many of the reports were for stolen property; 5,600 bicycles and
2,000 mobile phones were included. There were 6,700 reports of property
damage. The site offers forms that resemble those found at police stations
where people normally go to report offenses. The police warn against false
reports on the web site and list them as a punishable crime to steer clear
of pranks. The ministry said that in 2003 the total number of reported
crimes reached 760,000 in a population of 6.2 million.
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