Brian McWilliams

In a ruling with major implications for domain registrants, a federal court in Virginia has ruled that domain names are property and are subject to different legal protection than previously thought. The ruling stems from a trademark infringement suit filed against a Canadian corporation, 3263851 Canada, Inc., by Umbro International, a manufacturer of soccer equipment. […]

The Internet industry is still sorting through the impact of Monday’s proposed $48 billion megamerger of cable giants Comcast and MediaOne. One of the key questions is how the two firms will reconcile their different Internet allegiances. Comcast has endorsed @Home, the Internet access company that’s now controlled by AT&T Corp. But MediaOne is a […]

Blue Mountain Arts, the online greeting card company, says it’s the victim of a virus hoax that could hurt its reputation with Internet users. According to the Colorado-based firm, a message began circulating by e-mail in late February saying Blue Mountain’s systems had been infiltrated by an unnamed virus. The email warned recipients not to […]

The browser wars may be history, but the battle over the streaming media market is just warming up. Later this month, Microsoft will launch a renewed attack on Real Network’s commanding market share, which analysts put at 85 percent. Microsoft will strike first on March 18 by bundling the Windows Media Player into the final […]

Intel Corp. launched its Pentium III processor last month with the promise that it offers a better Internet experience. To back up that claim, the company is paying several prominent Web sites to develop content optimized for the Pentium III’s new instruction set. SportsLine USA, publisher of CBS SportsLine, said it will create a new […]

Network Solutions officials Wednesday confirmed the firm erroneously pulled the plug on 10 domains earlier this week as part of a broad effort to thwart domain speculators. “There have been a few mistakes where we deleted a legitimate domain holder,” said NSI spokesperson Cheryl Regan. “We’re working quickly case by case to fix that, and […]

Several holders of domain names are angry at Network Solutions after their domain names disappeared from root servers Monday night, making it impossible for Internet users to navigate to their sites or send them e-mail. Although some were able to resolve the problems Monday, others said their domains were still not functioning properly on Tuesday. […]

QPass Inc., a Seattle start-up, Tuesday became the latest to try build an Internet business as an electronic middleman. QPass says it provides “friction-free transactions” for both content providers and site visitors. Working with companies that want to sell news, documents, or other digital content online, QPass takes over the content provider’s billing and sells […]

L-Soft International Monday released LISTSERV version 1.8d which some are concerned could be used to send unsolicited commercial e-mail. The latest version of L-Soft’s popular e-mail list management software was unveiled at the Direct Marketing Association’s net.marketing Conference & Exhibition in Los Angeles. LISTSERV 1.8d adds a database integration capability and electronic mail-merge support. According […]

After more than five months of grueling court room action, the Microsoft antitrust trial enters a six-week recess. What better time, say legal experts, for the combatants to forge a settlement. “The trial has gone very poorly for Microsoft, and the sharks will start circling the longer this process goes on,” said Richard Gray, a […]

Two Pittsburgh-based Web design firms are locked in a bitter legal dispute over customer information. Citing federal wiretap law, a Pennsylvania district judge last week ordered Sladekutter Ltd. to stop hacking into the computer systems of its competitor Labwerks Inc. The judge’s temporary restraining order also ordered Sladekutter to return the e-mails and other files […]

A protest has been called against the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers, the non-profit corporation that will take over managing the Internet’s domain names and addresses. Organizers say they want to “bring ICANN out of the shadows” and to end its policy of conducting board meetings behind closed doors. They’re hoping to draw […]