Lawsuits question after-hour demands

Two recent lawsuits raise the question if hourly workers should be paid for time spent responding to work calls or e-mails while off the clock, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The federal suits highlight the legal issues sparked by the proliferation of personal technology as well as the blurring of work and free time.

Last month, three current and former employees sued T-Mobile, claiming they were required to use company-issued smartphones to respond to work messages after hours without pay.

A US federal court has found enough evidence to decide that RealDVD, the software that enables users to copy DVDs and store digital duplicates on a hard drive, violates US copyright law, according to CNET News.

US district court judge, Marilyn Patel, issued a preliminary injunction that will prevent RealNetworks, the software's maker, from selling the $30 software until a jury can decide the issue.

Her decision applies to Real's DVD player, code-named Facet, which also creates and stores copies of DVDs.

Alerting the public about a fire, hurricane or traffic accident on Twitter is an unlawful tweet, states Legal Technology.

This is a claim from TechRadium, which is suing Twitter for alleged patent infringement for allowing municipalities, companies, and government agencies to use its site as an emergency notification system.

TechRadium, an emergency alert provider, argues that it has patents covering the process for simultaneously notifying large numbers of people about emergencies through multiple communication gateways, such as cellphones, pagers and e-mail.