Tech Law: Oracle Sues for Payment, Facebook Hot Water, More

(MoneyWatch)  A look at highlights of the past week in the high tech legal world: courts, regulation, and lawsuits.

Oracle follows the bouncing check -- Oracle is suing music streaming start-up Qtrax for $1.8 million. According to Oracle's complaint, the company sold software to Qtrax, but allegedly the latter's check bounced. [Source: CNET]

The face of Facebook ads -- Facebook is in hot water over putting photos of online friends next to ads to improve the chance of someone clicking on them. The company is trying to say it was all the doing of third parties, and you can understand why when in a minute of reflection your realize that the practice is making commercial use of people's identities without necessary getting permission to do so. [Source: The Register]

Spansion looking toward existing bankruptcy -- Memory vendor Spansion says that it's hoping to exit bankruptcy by the fourth quarter of 2009. [Source: DigiTimes]

Apple can thumb nose at Google in UK -- Apple has won a victory in the U.K. and can continue to claim that its app store is better than Google's. Apparently its lawyers are, as well. [Source: The Guardian]

Student sues Amazon -- A high school student is suing Amazon for withdrawing the copy of 1984 from Kindles. Apparently his notes went with the copy, and they were to be the basis of some summer advanced placement English homework. Yes, now you can say, "My Kindle ate it." [Source: AP]

Skype faces legal tangle -- eBay wants to spin off Skype, but faces a problem because the company doesn't own all of its underlying technology, which is controlled by Skype's co-founders. Would the lawyer that cleared the original acquisition please stand up? Someone in the corner office wants to talk to you. [Source: All Things Digital]

Gavel image via Flickr user Thomas Roche, CC 2.0.