UkCourt
Latest
UK court sides with Volkswagen on security concerns over key pairing
Giovanni Ribisi had better hope he doesn't botch a job anytime soon. Flavio Garcia from the University of Birmingham cracked the security system that pairs an owner's key to their Porsche, Lamborghini or Audi, and Volkswagen's parent company wants that research to remain unpublished. The UK's high court sided with VW's owner and granted an injunction protecting the Megamos Crypto system. Afterward, Garcia was offered to print his findings, but without the all-important decryption codes. He refused, saying that the public has a right to see the holes in the systems it relies on and that this wasn't an attempt to give criminals a hand in boosting cars. While the court's logic is sound -- once revealed, all manner of "if this ever fell into the wrong hands" situations could arise -- it's unsettling to see government bend to corporate request. At least we know Eleanor can sit in the garage for just a little longer now.
Apple posts revised 'Samsung did not copy' statement, acknowledges first version was inaccurate
Apple has just reposted its statement acknowledging that Samsung did not copy its tablet design, after the initial wording was deemed unacceptable by the UK courts. The new version is a lot shorter, and simply repeats what it published in national newspapers this week, stating that the court did not find Samsung to be in breach of Apple's registered design No. 0000181607-0001, reminding us that it was also upheld by the Court of Appeal, providing links to the appropriate patent and judgement documents online. The mention of the same case going in Apple's favor in Germany has been removed completely. When first published, Apple included a short link at the bottom of its homepage. Now, to completely comply with the court's bidding, there is a short statement accompanying the link, confirming that its initial acknowledgement was inaccurate. The court also told Apple that it must keep the admission online until at least December 14th. Will this be enough to appease the UK courts? We'll just have to wait and see.
