It seems like the bluster and bravado have calmed down. Possibly because of the current news…
eBay denied stay in LVMH case
The French Court of Appeals today denied eBay’s petition to stay an injunction issued June 30 by a Parisian court that requires eBay to halt all sales of four LVMH perfumes over any site worldwide that is accessible from France, according to an eBay spokesperson.
An eBay spokesman says the company “will comply as technically and humanly possible” with the injunction while it continues to pursue its appeal of the ruling.
In a statement, LVMH says that today’s denial of the stay …read more

Now even encrypted traffic isn’t safe and the right’s delusion deepens…
Net Neutrality Debate Is Secretly All About Internet Television Net Pioneers Say
By MacRonin
David Clark, a senior MIT computer scientist who spent eight years as the internet’s chief protocol architect, argued that the focus on neutrality is misplaced, because the net hasn’t ever been pristine. The current debate, he says, is really a reaction to a coming tectonic collision between the cable industry’s traditional business model, and the movement of television onto the internet.
Sandvine calls net neutrality “laughable,” defends filtering
Ars Technica – Boston,MA,USA
As Sandvine puts in it a white paper on …read more

Ina Steiner again;
eBay Cancels Plans to Go PayPal-Only in Australia
“eBay has cancelled plans to go to a PayPal-only marketplace in Australia. It had intended to limit buyers and sellers to using its own payment service exclusively, but withdrew its notification to government regulators after the agency indicated its intention to prohibit eBay from doing so.”
In a refreshing comment by one of Auctionbytes readers;
“How refreshing it is to actually see a government in action whose primary interest is protecting its constituents rather than acting as a rubber stamp for the interests of big business.”

Dee makes an excellent point in her comment at eBay Ink…
Referencing the current results (subject to change) of the attempt to impose a PayPal only payment process on eBay Australia which eBay has been told by the Australian government it could not implement and the latest $63 Million fine by a French court for not properly policing the eBay site for counterfeits Dee reminded us;
eBay: In France – “today’s ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers everyday.”
The ACCC in Australia …read more

Or did Hachette simply piss off the “boss” by preparing to offer books in the right format for the Sony Reader? This might be a long one – resources aplenty on this topic :)
Doreen Carvahal wrote in The NY Times recently;
Small Publishers Feel Power of Amazon’s ‘Buy’ Button
In the latest in a series of disputes over the division of revenue from online sales, Amazon has disabled the “buy now with 1 click” icon on its British Web site for hundreds of books published by the British unit of Hachette Livre, from back-list Stephen King novels to, naturally, “The Hachette Guide …read more

Rogers Admits to Violating Net Neutrality
By Holiday Shapiro
In a meeting held yesterday, that was restricted to only select members of the media, Rogers Communications admitted that it violated the principle of net neutrality by arbitrarily interfering with customers’ internet communications.
The restricted press event conducted by Rogers yesterday appears to be in response to an increasingly vocal uproar by internet users, 3rd party internet service providers and advocacy groups to outlaw the practice of traffic shaping and deep packet inspection.
Google preps net neut dowser
Register – London, England, UK
In an effort to identify traffic discrimination by American ISPs, Google is prepping a …read more

Even though the Australian government told eBay they could not implement their PayPal only plan this month, that the ACCC would make a final determination whether this would be approved or not, eBay insists;
Developments In eBay Plan To Go PayPal Only
“The Australian IT website reported that eBay Australia sent a “strongly worded” letter this week to users warning that failure to comply with the new policy would result in an immediate removal of product listings and repeatedly emphasizing the deadline.”
After they told everyone that the date for implementation of the new policy would be pushed back to July. So, eBay …read more

Is expected to become Google’s biggest source of profits in the future, according to Eric Schmidt;
“During a question-and-answer session at an event hosted in San Francisco by Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, Schmidt reiterated his belief that advertising on mobile devices eventually will emerge as Google’s biggest source of profits. The company hopes to be in a better position to deliver ads to people on the go during the second half of this year when it’s scheduled to unveil its new mobile software package, ‘‘Android.”
Google’s plans to make Android available to wide variety of mobile handsets have caused …read more

Canada is certainly in the fray…
The Angus Net Neutrality Bill
By Michael Geist
NDP MP Charlie Angus introduced his private member’s net neutrality bill in the House of Commons this afternoon. The short bill seeks to add transparency, neutral network management, and open devices to the Canadian telecom law …
Jon comments at Michael Geist’s : “I’m not opposed to paying by the MB since that would force transparency upon the ISPs with regard to their pricing practices. I am opposed to data caps and steep penalties for exceeding them because these will probably interfere with and possibly even stymie creative use of …read more

For eBay sellers unhappy with the current state of affairs regarding feedback…
Another h/t to Ina at Auctionbytes for this news;
eBay Feedback Extortion Alerting Service
Which introduces AfterTheGavel.com. Dr. Ben Bishop, the founder, describes his site as
“A way for sellers to leave feedback about buyers to prevent problems. ‘Perhaps the buyer is trying to threaten the seller with negative feedback to try to extort a lower price,’ he said. ‘This is a mechanism for sellers to report that to other sellers so this buyer can’t go on doing this indefinitely, hopefully.’”
From the FAQ’s at the site itself;
“AfterTheGavel is for sellers to be …read more