Stacy Cowley

A newly formed lobbying group instigated by one of VeriSign Inc.'s rivals filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the settlement agreement VeriSign struck last month with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the regulatory group that oversees the Internet's technical infrastructure.

What do you get when you hand 320,000 employees the tools and corporate podcasting guidelines to internally publish their audio creations? In IBM Corp.'s experience, lower phone bills and better, more informal internal communication.

CA Inc. is introducing a new integration platform in its latest Unicenter release, following the software industry trend in placing standards and services at the heart of its systems management suite.

As vendors jockey for position in the crowded midmarket enterprise applications field, their customers reap the benefits in rapid product enhancements. A half-dozen ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) software makers are in the midst of major software releases right now, bringing deeper integration options and added customization features to their applications.

Chip-making underdog Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) edged past Intel Corp. last month in supplying processors for the U.S. retail PC market, according to a study by research firm Current Analysis Inc.

The U.S. government said Wednesday that it has launched an investigative process through the World Trade Organization to obtain information on China's intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement practices, a move aimed at pressuring Chinese officials to step up efforts to fight piracy. The U.S. Trade Representative's office stopped short of filing a formal complaint against China. Instead, the office is seeking information on China's enforcement efforts.

Oracle Corp. has signed an US$88.5 million, multiyear contract with the U.S. Air Force, which includes a closely watched deal to build a new logistics system for the organization.

Last month IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp. picked up impressive new hardware to stick in their corporate trophy cases: the companies took home their first Emmy awards for technical innovations.