INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

CISPA sponsors are realizing the bill is a major threat to Internet privacy akin to SOPA, apparently in response to a groundswell of opposition from across the world.

Microsoft and Facebook announced a definitive agreement on Monday, under which Microsoft will assign to Facebook the right to purchase a portion of the patent portfolio it recently agreed to acquire from AOL Inc.Facebook has agreed to purchase this portion for $550 million in cash.

Facebook, the No. 1 social network, said it will pay Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), the world's biggest software company as well as Facebook investor, $550 million for part of a 990-patent trove acquired from AOL (NYSE: AOL).

Federal agents raided the Patapsco Flea Market in Baltimore Sunday as part of an investigation into counterfeit goods and pirated music at one of the largest flea markets on the East Coast.

Shares of troubled BlackBerry developer Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), jumped more than 4 percent late Monday amid unconfirmed reports the company has hired a banker for an auction.

Facebook has signed on in support of the Cyber Intelligence sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), a controversial new Internet privacy bill would make it easier for government intelligence agencies and private firms to exchange information regarding potential and emerging cyber-security threats.

This article teaches you how to fight against CISPA, the online spying bill currently before Congress.

Chris Dodd, a former U.S. senator who heads the Motion Picture Association of America, said there will be another push for some kind of anti-piracy legislation after the 2012 elections.

Bethesda Softworks and parent company ZeniMax, who are behind the sensational RPG franchise “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” have some new surprises in store for fans. Six new trademark applications have just been filed for the iconic dragon shout “Fus Ro Dah.”

The top after-market NASDAQ losers Tuesday were: X-Rite, OPNET Technologies, Premier Exhibitions, Applied Micro Circuits Corp, Shuffle Master, Central European Distribution, JDA Software Group, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Zix Corp and Gencor Industries Inc.

Earlier this week, the online streaming media company, Netflix, filed a statement with the federal government to create it's very own political action committee: FLIXPAC. The new PAC will allow Netflix to directly contribute to federal campaigns, thus boosting the media company's Washington profile. More specifically, A PAC can give $5,000 to a candidate per election (primary, general or special) and up to $15,000 annually to a national political party.

Shares of AOL (NYSE: AOL), the seventh-most-visited website, jumped nearly 50 percent in Monday trading after announcing a $1.1 billion patent deal with Microsoft.

Facebook, the No. 1 social network site, sued Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) for alleged patent infringement only two weeks after being sued for the same charges.

Despite the collapse of Eastman Kodak (Pink: EKDKQ) because it couldn’t sell its valuable patents last year, the market for intellectual property remains red hot and growing, a leading IP banker said.

Friday's surge may have been a reaction to RIM's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, who said he's conducting a strategic review of the company, indicating a sale of some or all of its assets is possible.

Apple is facing increasingly more criticism regarding poor working conditions at its supplier Foxconn's Chinese factories. In an effort to improve working conditions, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Foxconn Technology Group's new manufacturing facility for the iPhone in Zhengzhou, China.

Apple Inc's Tim Cook, on his first trip to China as the chief executive officer, has visited an iPhone production plant run by the Foxconn Technology Group, which is being accused of improper labor practices.

Shares of AOL (NYSE: AOL), the seventh most-visited website, have gained nearly 7 percent this week after the company said a patent sale is an option to increase shareholder value.

Facebook (NYSE: FB) pledged to “vigorously defend” itself against claims it infringed upon 10 critical patents held by Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), the No. 2 search engine.

Tyler and Cameron Winkelvoss weren’t the only Harvard classmates of Mark Zuckerberg to dispute ownership rights to what became Facebook (NYSE: FB).

The Affordable Care Act arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this week will pit two of Washington's seasoned legal minds against each other in a bout akin to Ali vs. Frazier for the legal set. Here's a look at the lawyers who will lead the historic arguments on the constitutionality of the health care measure.