Google and Rosetta Stone have settled a long-running dispute about trademark infringement on AdWords, the companies said today in court papers. They didn't disclose any settlement terms in their court papers. But they reportedly said in a joint statement that they will "meaningfully collaborate to combat online ads for counterfeit goods and prevent the misuse and abuse of trademarks on the Internet."

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a copyright case that could put a considerable crimp in eBay, Craigslist and other online marketplaces. The case deals with people's rights to resell copyrighted products, including books, DVDs and CDs, as well as merchandise that people don't typically associate with copyright -- like watches with a copyrighted design, or cars with a copyrighted GPS system.

When VCRs came on the market more than 30 years ago, the devices gave consumers unprecedented power to watch television shows on their schedules and not the timetable selected by network executives. Ever since, the entertainment industry has been trying to wrest back control. This year TV studios sued Barry Diller's Aereo, which recently unveiled a $12 monthly service that allows people to watch over-the-air TV shows on iPhones, iPads, Roku and other devices.

Several weeks ago, the self-regulatory group Digital Advertising Alliance said that members wouldn't be required to honor do-not-track signals coming from users who surf the Web with Internet Explorer 10. Today, Microsoft's search partner, Yahoo, took the DAA up on its offer. The company announced on its blog that it has no intention of honoring do-not-track signals from IE10 browsers.

People who want to tinker with their DVDs in order to view the contents on tablets are out of luck, at least for now, thanks to a decision today by the U.S. Copyright Office. The Librarian of Congress and Register of Copyrights today rejected a proposal to allow people to "space shift" by ripping DVDs. Technically, the officials didn't rule on copying, but on whether people should be able to circumvent digital rights management software in order to view movies without a DVD player. But given that virtually all DVDs have such software, the ruling prohibits people from legally reformatting …

Microsoft's new terms of service, which went into effect on Friday, have received a good deal of attention because they appear to allow the company to send ads to people based on their email messages. The company isn't actually doing so, but the new terms of service didn't make that clear. But another change to Microsoft's terms of service -- one that hasn't received as much attention -- could have a more profound impact on privacy: The company now prohibits any U.S. residents who use any of its products or services from filing class-action lawsuits against the company. Instead, dissatisfied …

Microsoft this week found itself facing criticism over privacy issues, thanks to some poorly explained changes to its terms of service. The new terms, which took effect on Friday, say they allow the software giant to combine data about users across platforms.

Companies that intend to use "facial recognition technology" to identify people based on their images should consider the privacy implications before moving forward. That's according to the Federal Trade Commission's new staff report, "Facing Facts: Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial Recognition Technologies."

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, currently fighting extradition to the U.S. for alleged criminal copyright infringement, reportedly is gearing up to launch a new cyberlocker, Mega. Unlike Megaupload, the files on Mega are encrypted in such a way that only users and apps can access them. Dotcom's business partner, Mathias Ortmann -- also under indictment -- tells Wired that he believes the new venture won't result in the same kinds of legal headaches as Megaupload. Ortmann might be optimistic that he's hit on a surefire strategy but, on first glance, the service seems anything but lawsuit-proof. Even if the service is …

Internet service providers will roll out their "six strikes" program for piracy over the next two months, the umbrella group Center for Copyright Information said today. The six strikes program, announced last year, calls for AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon and other ISPs to send a series of warnings to users who allegedly share copyrighted files via peer-to-peer networks. If users persist, ISPs will institute "mitigation measures."