From ZDNet:

Oracle has found itself on the losing side of a judgement by Europe’s top court, which ruled on Tuesday that software licences can be sold on a second-hand basis, even when the software in question is downloaded rather than sold on physical media.

The best part from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) statement:

Therefore, even if the licence agreement prohibits a further transfer, the rightholder can no longer oppose the resale of that copy.

This makes sense to me. I wonder how online download services like Steam will react to this judgement.

If there is one thing I have learned from Facebook, it’s that it shoots first and ask questions later. Okay, maybe they aren’t the ones asking the questions, but they definitely are on the receiving end.

Facebook’s recent stint has to do with changing their users’ default email address to their own @facebook.com service. Surprise, surprise, now they are putting engineers on the case to investigate what went wrong.

But this isn’t the first time Facebook has quietly rolled out something huge, only to be met with outrage. Who could forget their surprise privacy changes back in May 2010? This, of course, wasn’t the only time they made sweeping changes to their privacy policy; they also did so in 2009.

When dealing with Facebook, it is best to be prepared for random changes to disrupt your online life. From making once private atrributes public to changing your preferred email address, Facebook’s aim is to keep you on your toes. As I have said before, you are the product and anything they can do to better monetize you the better.

In my post Another Angle to Google’s Motorola Acquisition last year, I detailed why I believed Google was acquiring Motorola Mobility; patents:

With Motorola Mobility’s existing patent portfolio, it only seems logical that Google’s reason for the acquisition was to help protect Android licensees from further patent lawsuits.

While Google has helped out HTC in its legal battles with Apple—even if via proxy—they are being more direct in helping Samsung . From The Korean Times:

A U.S. court recently ruled to block the sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphones, which were designed in collaboration with Google. Since the decision, the two firms have been working closely to create a united front against Apple’s legal offensive, said Samsung.

I don’t believe this “united front” is solely because of the Galaxy Nexus ban. One thing both Google and Samsung are being investigated for are abusing FRAND patents, with Apple labeled a victim:

Samsung is demanding Apple to pay 2.4 percent of the retail price of iPhones and iPads, while Apple claims the rate is excessive considering the companies’ commitment to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing (FRAND).

The European Union is investigating whether Samsung abused FRAND-related patents, while Google is being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as to whether it is illegally using FRAND patents acquired in a takeover of Motorola Mobility to block smartphone rivals.

My thanks to AppleInsider for The Korean Times link.

$60 million is pennies compared to the $1.6 billion Proview originally sued for in China. Accepting 5% of your original demand clearly shows you had no expectation of actually winning. Now Proview can pay back its debt and close up shop.

Ina Fried wrote an interesting piece for AllThingsD titled “ Mobile Technology Frees Workers to Work Any 20 Hours a Day They Choose .” Quick snippet:

A new survey from Good Technology finds that the typical American is working more than a month and a half of overtime per year just in the amount of time spent answering work phone calls and responding to email.

The amount of total work done outside of the confines of the office adds up to 30 hours per month for the average worker.

This is exactly why I do not tie my work e-mail to my mobile. Even though I am lucky enough to work from home, I make sure my work laptop is powered down and put away after each workday to ensure it does not interfere with my personal life. I work so that I can provide for my family. I logout so I can spend time with them.