By DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ For a time, ”Harry Potter” superfan Steven Vander Ark seemed to be living a geeky dream.
His Web site _ an obsessive catalog of spells, characters and creatures in J.K. Rowling’s novels _ was a hit among fellow fanatics. He spoke at conventions. Journalists sought him [...]

[Read more →]

By: Todd Knode
Fan Fiction is the genre of literary works written by fans that add to a storyline or characters created by someone else.  Though fan fiction has exploded on the Internet it started decades ago and became popular in Star Trek centered science fiction magazines.  One of the more popular genres today is the [...]

[Read more →]

By MARK JEWELL AP Business Writer
BOSTON (AP) _ Leaving a copyrighted song where others can get at it with peer-to-peer software doesn’t constitute a copyright violation until someone downloads it, a federal judge said in a record industry lawsuit against college students.
The Boston judge’s comments in a Monday pretrial ruling conflict with statements, also made [...]

[Read more →]

NEW YORK (AP) _ Heirs of the late actor Steve McQueen have gone to court to stop an apparel manufacturer from using the King of Cool’s name and likeness to promote its products without their consent.
Chadwick McQueen and The Terry McQueen Testamentary Trust say in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that [...]

[Read more →]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Apple Inc. was sued Wednesday over allegations its iTunes online music store and iPod music players are illegally using a patented method for distributing digital media over the Internet.
Atlanta-based ZapMedia Services Inc. sued Apple in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, accusing the Cupertino-based company of violating two [...]

[Read more →]

NEW YORK (AP) _ Jerry Seinfeld was just joking when he compared a woman accusing his wife of plagiarism to the killers of John Lennon and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., his lawyers said.
In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, attorneys for the former sitcom star asked a judge to throw out [...]

[Read more →]

By PETER SVENSSON AP Technology Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) _ The Federal Communications Commission will investigate complaints that Comcast Corp. actively interferes with Internet traffic as its subscribers try to share files online, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday.
A coalition of consumer groups and legal scholars asked the agency in November to stop Comcast from discriminating [...]

[Read more →]

By KELLY OLSEN AP Business Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it filed a complaint with American authorities over alleged unfair trade practices by Japanese rival Sharp Corp., fueling an intensifying legal battle over flat panel technology.
Samsung said in a statement that it filed the complaint with the United States International [...]

[Read more →]

By JANET FRANKSTON LORIN Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Don’t expect ”Sopranos” creator David Chase to give any insight into the final episode of the mob drama that ended in June when he testifies in federal court Tuesday.
After three days of sitting quietly at the defense table, Chase will offer his version of his [...]

[Read more →]

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) _ Sharp Corp. sued Samsung of South Korea Wednesday for alleged patent violations on its liquid crystal displays, demanding damages and a halt to manufacturing and sales.
The lawsuit filed in Seoul Central District Court expands a patent battle unfolding in a U.S. court between two of the biggest [...]

[Read more →]