Skype settlement in sight

The bitter battle over the future of the Internet calling service, Skype, appears to be nearing an end, reports The New York Times.

A resolution of the litigation surrounding the service, which is owned by eBay, could be announced as soon as this week, according to several people who have been briefed on the situation.

The proposed settlement is between a consortium of private equity investors, who successfully bid for Skype in September, and the original founders of Skype, who have filed several lawsuits in an effort to scuttle the consortium's $1.9 billion deal to buy a majority of Skype from eBay.

New workplace legislation in Australia has made social media communications between employers and employees more dangerous for employers, states The New Lawyer.

Adam Lunn, partner and head of Allens Arthur Robinson's workplace relations group, says an adverse action clause in the new Fair Work Act meant interaction on Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter between employers and employees could have wider implications.

What may be meant as an innocent comment via social media by an employer to an employee may lead to bosses facing lawsuits for unlimited damages for harassment, bullying or discrimination.

A jury ruled in favour of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) in a long-running legal battle against rival Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), which TSMC accused of stealing trade secrets and violating a prior settlement between the companies, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A jury must still rule on what damages SMIC might have to pay in the case, but they could be hefty.

An attorney for TSMC said it hasn't asked for a particular figure, but noted its expert witness on damages put the amount in the range of "ten figures," or $1 billion.