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Submission + - Microsoft Petitions US Attorney General For Permission To Disclose Data Requests (hothardware.com) 1

MojoKid writes: Microsoft is smarting in the wake of the Guardian's discussion of how chummy it's gotten with the NSA over the past few years, and the company wants permission to clarify its relationship with the federal government. To that end, the company has sent a follow-up letter to the Attorney General's office, asking it to please address the petition it filed in court back on June 19. Redmond is undoubtedly cringing at the accolades being heaped on Yahoo and its repeated court battles on behalf of its users, and wants an opportunity to clear the air. But Microsoft has gone farther than simply asking the government to hurry up and rule on its petition — it has also issued a series of clarifying remarks regarding its relationship with the NSA. Microsoft refutes some of the Guardian's claims strongly. It insists it does not provide encryption keys or access to Outlook's encryption mechanisms, and that the government must petition MS to provide information via the legal process.

Submission + - Patent trolls getting the attention of the Feds (nytimes.com) 1

crazyvas writes: The New York Times has published an article on the FTC which is planning to investigate the patent system, and likely patent trolls such as Intellectual Ventures. From the article: 'To its defenders, Intellectual Ventures is a revolutionary company unfairly viewed, in the words of its co-founder Peter N. Detkin, “as the poster child of everything that is wrong with the patent system.” To its critics, it is a protection racket otherwise known as a patent troll. This summer, the Federal Trade Commission is expected to begin a sweeping investigation of the patent system after the agency’s chairwoman, Edith Ramirez, urged a crackdown. She has singled out a particular kind of miscreant, one that engages in “a variety of aggressive litigation tactics,” including hiding behind shell companies when it sues.'

How does Intellectual Ventures describe itself? See for yourself here.

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