A generic picture of the number keypad on a computer keyboard. OFFPO

NEW YORK | Wed Dec 26, 2012 2:53pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a decision that could make it easier for businesses to police cybertheft in the workplace, a U.S. appeals court revived a chemical company's lawsuit accusing a former Toronto-area employee of using her home computer to steal trade secrets from its Connecticut server.

Reversing a lower court ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said U.S.-based MacDermid Inc may pursue civil damages claims against a former account manager under Connecticut state law, even though she conducted her alleged improper activity from her home in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Wednesday's decision may make it easier for U.S. companies to crack down on alleged computer theft that occurs in remote locations, including outside the country. In recent years, U.S. courts increasingly have dealt with cases involving downloads of corporate information by employees, both in criminal cases brought by prosecutors and civil cases filed by companies.

Jackie Deiter, the MacDermid account manager, had worked for the Waterbury, Connecticut-based company's MacDermid Chemicals unit in Mississauga, Ontario, from May 2008 until her termination in April 2011 for reasons unrelated to the lawsuit.

The company accused her of violating Connecticut laws on unauthorized computer access and misappropriating trade secrets by emailing customer data, laboratory reports, and pricing lists drawn from its Waterbury server. It said this occurred soon after Deiter had learned she was about to be fired.

Deiter admitted to emailing materials, but said in court papers that she did so for her job, and because she could not print at home from her employer-issued laptop.

U.S. District Judge Warren Eginton in New Haven, Connecticut said in November 2011 that he had no jurisdiction over MacDermid's lawsuit because Deiter had merely emailed information "from one computer in Canada to another computer in Canada."

But a unanimous three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit said MacDermid's server was a computer under Connecticut law, and that it did not matter that Deiter had accessed it from outside the state, which she had never visited.

"Most Internet users, perhaps, have no idea of the location of the servers through which they send their emails," Circuit Judge Barrington Parker wrote for the panel.

"Here, however, MacDermid has alleged that Deiter knew that the email servers she used and the confidential files she misappropriated were both located in Connecticut," he added.

Parker also said "efficiency and social policies against computer-based theft are generally best served" by handling lawsuits in the states where computer files are misappropriated.

William Charamut, a lawyer for Deiter, declined to comment. Lawyers for MacDermid did not immediately respond to requests for comment. No criminal charges have been filed against Deiter.

In February, the 2nd Circuit threw out a federal criminal case against a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer, saying his alleged theft of high-frequency trading code was not a crime under federal law.

Six months later, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance brought New York state criminal charges against the programmer, Sergey Aleynikov, over the same activity. Aleynikov has pleaded not guilty.

The 2nd Circuit has jurisdiction in Connecticut, New York and Vermont. It is among the more influential federal appeals courts, and other circuits often follow its reasoning.

The case is MacDermid Inc v. Deiter, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-5388.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Martha Graybow and Leslie Gevirtz)

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1 of 2. A policeman uses a baton to disperse a demonstrator during a protest in front of India Gate in New Delhi December 23, 2012.

NEW DELHI | Mon Dec 24, 2012 2:24am EST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian authorities throttled movement in the heart of the capital on Monday, shutting roads and railway stations in a bid to restore law and order after police fought pitched battles with protesters enraged by the gang rape of a young woman.

In an unusual televised address, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm after the weekend clashes in New Delhi and vowed to punish the rapists for their "monstrous" crime.

Singh's government, often accused by critics of being out of touch with the aspirations of many Indians, has been caught off-guard by the depth of the popular outrage as protests have snowballed and spread to other cities. India is seen as one of the most unsafe places in the world to be a woman.

Instead of channeling the outrage, the government has found itself on the defensive over the use of force against the mostly student protesters in New Delhi and complaints that it has done little to create a safer environment for women.

The protests have been the biggest in the capital since 2011 demonstrations against corruption that rocked the government.

"As in much else, this government is clueless as to what India aspires to and demands," Mint newspaper said in an editorial.

Police barricaded roads leading to India Gate, an imposing Arc de Triomphe-style war memorial in the center of the city, that has become a hub of the protests by mostly college students. Many metro rail stations in fog-shrouded Delhi were also closed, crippling movement around the city of 16 million.

The 23-year-old victim of the December 16 attack, who was beaten, raped for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was still in a critical condition on respiratory support, doctors said.

In the weekend spasm of violent protests, police use batons, teargas and water cannon against demonstrators around the capital. Protests have also taken place in other Indian cities but they have been more peaceful.

"I appeal to all concerned citizens to maintain peace and calm. I assure you we will make all possible efforts to ensure security and safety of women in this country," Singh said in his televised address to the nation.

Singh has been under fire for remaining largely silent since the rape. He issued a statement for the first time on Sunday, a week after the crime. Sonia Gandhi, chief of the ruling Congress Party, has met some of the protesters to hear their demands.

Comments by political commentators, sociologists and protesters suggest the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians have over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues.

"There is a huge amount of anger. People are deeply upset that despite so many incidents there has not been much response from the state and the government," said social activist Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research in Delhi.

SOCIAL MEDIA SITES DRIVE PROTESTS

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. A global poll by Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place in the world to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

Since last week's rape, the authorities have promised better police patrolling to ensure safety for women returning from work and entertainment districts, the installation of global positioning system devices on public transport vehicles, more buses at night, and fast-track courts for swift verdicts on cases of rape and sexual assaults.

But protesters view those measures as inadequate and are looking for the government to take a firmer stand on sexual assaults, most of which go unreported.

Opposition political parties, normally quick to exploit the government's vulnerabilities, have largely been sidelined in the protests, which have mostly been organized through social media networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The protesters come from all walks of life but many are young and middle class with growing aspirations after a decade of rapid economic growth.

Noting the youth of the protesters, Mint newspaper said "the protests against the brutal assault is only a metaphor of their general dissatisfaction.

"The new India promises much but delivers little. There are no jobs to absorb the 12 million joining the workforce every year."

The protesters' focus has been on the rape case rather than on other grievances. They are demanding more steps from the authorities to ensure safety for women - particularly better policing - and some want the death penalty for those convicted.

(Additional reporting By Arup Roychoudhury and Satarupa Bhattacharjya, writing by Ross Colvin,; Editing by John Chalmers and Robert Birsel)

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The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 goes on sale tomorrow.

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:04pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tech giant Apple Inc, battling Samsung Electronics Co over patents in several countries, argued on Thursday that a U.S. appeals court should reconsider its decision to overturn a pretrial sales ban on Samsung for infringement.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in October overturned a pretrial sales ban ordered by a lower court in California. The order was to stop sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Apple argued that this was inappropriate and asked for an "en banc review," which means that a larger panel of judges would reconsider the decision made by the three-judge panel in October.

The fight is over a single patent - one that allows the smartphone to search multiple data storage locations at once. For example, the smartphone could search the device's memory as well as the Internet with a single query.

Apple argued that the sales ban should be reinstated because it uses the patent in question and competes with Samsung. The three-judge panel had said that consumers did not buy Samsung phones primarily because of the patent, and thus, a sales ban was inappropriate.

It has become increasingly difficult for companies to win sales bans related to patent infringement in recent years. Such sales injunctions have been a key for companies trying to increase their leverage in courtroom patent fights.

Apple, in a different patent lawsuit, scored a sweeping legal victory over Samsung in August when a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the hugely popular iPhone and iPad and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

The Nexus phone was not included in that trial, but is part of a tandem case Apple filed against Samsung earlier this year.

The case in the Federal Circuit is Apple Inc vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al., 12-1507.

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple's request for a permanent sales ban against 26 mostly older Samsung phones, though any injunction could potentially have been extended to Samsung's newer Galaxy products. Koh cited the Federal Circuit's Nexus ruling as binding legal precedent in her order.

In a separate court filing on Thursday, Apple said it intended to appeal Koh's ruling.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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