The Motion Picture Association of America has helped convict an administrator for EliteTorrents.org, a peer-to-peer site, of felony copyright infringement and conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday.

Daniel Dove, 26, of Clintwood, Va., was the first criminal conviction after jury trial for peer-to-peer copyright infringement and the eighth overall resulting from a federal crackdown called Operation D-Elite that targeted administrators and people who provided content that was distributed through the BitTorrents hub.

The case began in 2005, when federal agents raided and shut down the popular Web site that had distributed copyrighted music and movies, including Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. At that time, Homeland Security agents from several divisions served search warrants on 10 people around the country suspected of being involved with the Elite Torrents site, and took over the group's main server.

According to prosecutors, EliteTorrents attracted more than 125,000 members and assisted in the illegal distribution of about 700 movies, which were downloaded more than 1.1 million times. According to the Justice Department, Dove led a group of "uploaders" that supplied pirated content to the group, as well as recruiting members with ultra-fast broadband connections to become uploaders. Prosecutors also said Dove operated a high-speed server himself.

The MPAA "provided substantial assistance" to the investigation, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Dove faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in September, the Justice Department said.

Scott McCausland, who used to be an administrator of the EliteTorrents server before the raid, pleaded guilty in 2006 to two copyright-related charges over the uploading of Star Wars: Episode III to the Internet. As a result, he was sentenced to five months in jail and five months' home confinement.

An investor lawsuit against Yahoo Inc's board over its rebuff of Microsoft Corp's $47.5 billion buyout bid was made public by a judge on Monday who said that Yahoo had not shown good reason to keep it confidential.

A copy of the unsealed complaint, and a letter from Delaware Chancery Court Judge William Chandler explaining his decision, were posted on the Web site of law firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, which represents investors in the case.

"I conclude that defendants have not satisfied their burden to show good cause for the continued filing of the portions of the complaint under seal," the judge wrote.

Yahoo shares plummeted Monday as the Internet giant's future became clouded after Microsoft walked away from a bid rather than pursue a hostile takeover.

Shares in the Silicon Valley group sank more than 16 percent in late morning trade, while Microsoft saw a rally of more than two percent.

On Saturday, Microsoft yanked its proposal, saying the struggling Internet pioneer refused to budge despite the software giant upping its offer to nearly 50 billion dollars.

Talks aimed at resolving corporate dueling that began with Microsoft's offer on February 1 to buy Yahoo for 31 dollars per share ended with the two firms unable to close a multibillion-dollar gap in price expectations.

Jeffrey Ham, analyst at Briefing.com, said Yahoo shares were under pressure "as confounded investors try to assess the company's muddled future."

Ham added: "Without a merger or distinct strategic alternatives, Yahoo will most likely continue to lag a more innovative and faster growing Google."

Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang said the company can move forward without the distraction of a takeover bid.

"With Microsoft's withdrawal, we'll be better able to focus our energy on growing our industry leadership and maximizing value for stockholders," Yang said in a blog on Yahoo's website.

In an unusual act of contrition, a state court judge has publicly apologized and agreed to pay $100,000 to Silicon Valley billionaire Tom Siebel for besmirching him in a lawsuit she filed as an attorney more than a decade ago.

"I write to express my sincere regret for pursuing claims against you that were determined to be without merit," San Mateo Superior Court Judge Carol Mittlesteadt wrote in an apology to Siebel that was released Thursday.

Mittlesteadt, who was appointed to the bench in 1998, also acknowledged her actions "may have caused substantial expense and inconvenience, and damage to (Siebel's) reputation and good name."

The apology was part of a settlement that ends a 12-year legal odyssey that began after business software maker Siebel Systems Inc. fired its top sales representative, Debra Christoffers.

Representing Christoffers, Mittlesteadt filed a wrongful termination and sex discrimination lawsuit against Siebel as well as the company. A court ruled the charges against Siebel were unfounded.

Siebel, who is worth an estimated $1.9 billion, hopes the judge's public penitence teaches lawyers not to fabricate claims against wealthy individuals or large companies in hopes of extracting a large settlement.

He said in an interview that he's surprised Mittlesteadt is a judge.

EBay Inc, the world's largest online auctioneer, sued Craigslist, a competitor in which it holds an ownership stake, in a dispute over whether the Internet bulletin board tried to blunt eBay's control.

EBay alleged in the lawsuit that the board of directors of Craigslist, the Web's dominant classifieds listing service, took "unilateral actions" to dilute eBay's 28.4 percent stake by more than 10 percent, eBay said in a statement.

The suit, filed on Tuesday under seal, asked a Delaware Chancery Court to rescind the unspecified actions to protect eBay's stockholders and preserve its stake in Craigslist.

The suit names as defendants Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark, who runs the company in a famously open-minded style, and Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster. Newmark and Buckmaster are the only members of Craigslist's board of directors.

In a blog posting late on Tuesday, Craigslist said it was "surprised and disappointed" by eBay's allegations, which "came to us out of the blue, without any attempt to engage in dialogue with us."

The lawsuit by "a company that views Craigslist as a prime competitor ... seems unethical, and suggests ulterior motives" such as a "hostile takeover" of Craigslist or the sale of eBay's stake to an "unfriendly party," the posting said.

Craigslist said it has always treated eBay "very fairly" and plans to continue doing so, despite this "unfortunate development."

EBay bought a minority ownership stake in 2004, and launched its own free online classifieds site, called Kijiji, three years later in the United States.

Microsoft cut the prices of its Xbox 360 video game console in Europe by up to 28 percent on Monday in a bid to promote sales in a key battleground in the fast-growing industry.

The cut brought the cheapest Arcade version to 200 euros ($307 U.S. dollars) and the high-end Elite to 370 euros ($568 dollars).

"Xbox 360 is now mass market in Europe," Chris Lewis, vice president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business in Europe, said in a statement.

History has shown that the reduced price point "is where a console's audience begins to expand, and with these new ERP's in place, we're ready to bring more consumers in the Xbox 360 world," Lewis added.

The reductions were made as Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 appears set to capitalize on the company's recent victory in the high-definition DVD battle.

It was the second time in less than a year that Microsoft had attempted to gain market share for the Xbox 360. It shaved 7 percent off the euro price of its low-end model and 13 percent off the main Premium model in last August.

The company claims that the Xbox 360 is now the number one next generation console in Europe as well as the Middle East and Africa, where it holds 42 percent of the market.

The PlayStation brand has long dominated the European console market. Meanwhile, Nintendo is winning customers with its Wii machine that sports unique motion-sensing controls and games that are easier to learn.

Microsoft's attempt to get a judge to throw out the Vista "junk PC" suit shows off every aspect of the lawyer's art: It's misleading, factually incorrect, and stresses legalisms over common sense. It also flatly contradicts emails from Microsoft officials. Here are the details, including excerpts from Microsoft's filing.

The latest filing is part of the lawsuit against Microsoft for a marketing scheme in which people claim that Microsoft misled consumers into buying the Windows Vista Capable PCs, even though the PCs couldn't run the most important features of Vista.

As Computerworld reports, Microsoft asked on Friday that the judge suspend the suit while Microsoft appeals the decision to allow the class-action suit to go forward. Microsoft filed a variety of legal papers backing up its requests.

One of the more outrageous and amusing claims from Microsoft in these papers is that everyone at the time of the release of Windows Vista knew that Vista Capable PCs couldn't run most of the important features of Vista, including Aero.