Legal Notes from All Over

Isn't technology wonderful? If there's one thing the Internet has done for us, it's create a brave new legal frontier. Mix high expectations, intellectual property, untested technologies, about 500 million people and lots and lots of money, and you're going to get some very interesting lawsuits. Here's a quick roundup of what's pending in the Internet's legal docket.

Let's leave aside for a moment the five lawsuits (and counting) that have been filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery protesting the purchase of Time Warner (TIME Digital's parent company) by AOL. One company that's famously litigious in the protection of its assets is Apple, and with the impending debut of its all-new operating system, code-named Aqua, Apple is cracking down on anyone who might infringe on its "look and feel." Its latest target is skinz.org, a site that offers software designed to make Microsoft's Windows operating system look and feel just like Aqua. A note posted at skinz.org reads, "Apple has contacted us and wants all the Mac skins removed it's a sad situation but there's nothing we can do but comply." So far, the offending skin, which is called WinAqua, is still available. MORE >>