As Richard Thomas prepares to step aside as the UK's Information Commissioner and his successor is named, we ask: how good a job did he do?

How Elton John's failed libel action has introduced a US-style defence of parody into UK law, and one Dutch firm's holey solution to an eco-problem

We find out where all that cardboard from your online Christmas shopping goes, and whether it stops some recipients even getting their gifts

We talk to the lawyer who wants ad and search giant Google to pay out one thousand dollars a time for typosquatting sites that display its ads

We talk to the lawyer who wants ad and search giant Google to pay out one thousand dollars a time for typosquatting sites that display its ads

We look at some of the technologies companies can use to avoid becoming one of the shocking 92% of British firms which do not encrypt their precious data

We talk to the Danish lawyer who won a key ruling against the music industry from a court which said record companies have to prove that Wi-Fi users shared files

We hear from a US law professor who thinks that ISPs are in a position of unprecedented privilege and yet are preparing to invade our privacy for profit

We talk to an anti-piracy pro who says that content producers should stop trying to stifle piracy and concentrate on competing with it better

We investigate the legality of a rash of new competitions in which £25 tickets buy the chance to win a house. Are they competitions or illegal lotteries in disguise?