Executives dispute usefulness of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act

[c]ompliance costs for [Section 404 of] the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-governance law fell in 2006 for the third year, with most of the reduction coming from managers who spent less time and money on reviews.”  However, "[d]espite the fall, of the 200 executives surveyed, 78% said the cost to comply with Section 404 still outweighed any benefits. That was down from 88% of those surveyed last year.”

Slashdot points out that while Ubuntu’s upcoming release on Dell computers has generated excitement among some computer users, there are lots of unresolved issues and causes for concern.  Specifically, “there are questions concerning support, logistics, pricing, and a number of other areas that are affected.”

According to the Register, “[a] mandolin player who once recorded with The Grateful Dead has joined the growing queue looking to give YouTube a legal shoeing.” David ‘Dawg’ Grisman “and business partner Craig Miller, who together run the Acoustic Disc studio in San Rafael, say the action is aimed at ‘helping independent musicians whose music is distributed without authorisation by YouTube’s owner, Google Inc.’”

In a different article, the Register writes that “MySpace has refused to act on demands from eight US states that it hand over user data which they say will help catch predatory paedophiles.  Citing federal privacy laws, MySpace said the attorneys general who made the demand had not followed proper legal process.” According to the My Space legal team, “a letter won’t cut it, and under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act the attorney generals need to pony up with subpoenas, court orders, or search warrants if they want data.”

The Register also reports that “Symantec is seeking $55m in damages against eight US and Canadian firms for selling illegal copies of its software. It has filed civil lawsuits for trademark and copyright infringement, fraud, unfair competition, counterfeit documentation, trafficking, and false advertising.”