News written by James Delahunty (February, 2012)

ECJ to examine whether ACTA conflicts with fundamental rights in the European Union.

European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, announced on Wednesday that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The European Commission has already passed ACTA and the European Council adopted ACTA unanimously in December. The trade agreement has also been passed to the European Parliament for a debate and vote to be held later. However, the trade commissioner is looking to the ECJ to independently clarify the legality of this agreement.

The court will assess whether ACTA is incompatible with the EU's fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression and information or data protection and the right to property in case of intellectual property.

The ratification process for ACTA has sparked debate in EU nations about the freedom of the Internet, and the importance of protecting Europe's Intellectual Property for member states' economies.

"I share people's concern for these fundamental freedoms. I welcome that people have voiced their concerns so actively ? especially over the freedom of the internet. And I also understand that there is uncertainty on what ACTA will really mean for these key issues at the end of the day. Read more...

Microsoft calls on Google to refrain from killing video on the web.

Microsoft has announced the filing of a complaint with the European Commission over Motorola Mobility's royalty demands, relating to H.264 video. It said that Motorola Mobility is trying to block the sale of Windows PCs and laptops, as well as the firm's Xbox 360 console because they, "enable people to view videos on the Web and to connect wirelessly to the Internet using industry standards."

At the core of its complaint, Microsoft accuses Motorola Mobility of breaking promises made to other firms in the industry when it comes to patents essential to common technical standards. These standards are developed by the industry for a very important reason, so that the greatest amount of interoperability and compatibility can be achieved between products developed by different firms.

Microsoft says that the industry came together years ago to define common technical standards that every firm can use to build compatible products for video and Wi-Fi, and that each firm involved (including Motorola) committed to making patents essential to the standards available on fair and reasonable terms.

"Ubuntu is the killer app for multi-core phones in 2012."

That's according to Canonical Ltd., the commercial entity backing Ubuntu linux and related products. Ubuntu for Android brings the free Desktop experience to multi-core Android smartphones which are docked with a keyboard and monitor, essentially turning the phone into a PC on demand.

According to Canonical, the phone experience is pure Android; it's a normal Android phone. When the device is connected to a computer screen, however, it launches a full Ubuntu desktop on the computer display, the same Desktop experience used by millions of home and business users on their Ubuntu PCs.

Android applications such as contacts, telephony and SMS/MMS messaging are accessible from the Ubuntu interface, as all data and services are shared between the Ubuntu and Android environments, which run simultaneously on the device.

"The desktop is the killer-app for quad-core phones in 2012" said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical. "Ubuntu for Android transforms your high-end phone into your productive desktop, whenever you need it."

Canonical points out that today's IT departments often provide both a PC and a smartphone for every employee. Ubuntu for Android then presents an alternative solution, whereby IT departments can cut the burden per employee to just one smartphone.