Month in review: December 2005.

In December 2005, European legislators finally agreed rules governing the length of time European telecom and Internet services will have to store customer data.

The Data Retention directive was approved by a 65% majority of MEPs. Under the directive, telecoms and Internet service providers (ISPs) will be obliged to record details of all their customers' IP addresses, unanswered calls, their Internet connection times and their personal details. Emails, however, do not have to be retained in full.

It is now expected that European countries will begin to incorporate the directive into national laws in 2006.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that China has become the world's largest exporter of information and communication technology, usurping the dominant position held by the US for the first time ever.

In 2005, China's exports of technology topped $180 billion, compared to the US's $149 billion. The growth in the Chinese technology trade is mirrored in overall export growth, and represents further evidence of China's burgeoning economic strength.

"The data shows a shift towards more trade between China and other Asian countries, with a corresponding decline in ICT imports to this region from the European Union and the US," the OECD reported.

Businesses were advised to stop deploying BlackBerrys until the maker of the mobile email devices, Research-in-Motion (RIM), settles ongoing patent infringement disputes.

The advice, from analyst group Gartner, followed a US federal court's decision to refuse Ontario-based RIM a 'stay of proceedings' in its legal battle with patent holding company NTP, warning that unless the two companies reach a private settlement, the court could issue an injunction "effectively ending RIM's operations". Such a ruling could also endanger BlackBerry distribution and services through out the rest of the world; should NTP's claim be upheld in the US, it could try to enforce its patent claim in European courts.

Database giant Oracle revised its software licensing policy on multi-core processors to fall in line with competitors. Oracle decided that customers will not be charged more for running its software on servers that use multi-core processors. Previously, the company had argued that because multi-core chips provide a performance boost, the licences should be subject to a premium. Oracle has been under significant pressure to revise its stance after rivals, such as Microsoft, opted against charging premium rates for multi-core processor licences.

Businesses were warned that software vendors are using underhand tricks to force additional licence fees from unwary buyers. A report from analyst group Ovum highlighted how aggressive and sometimes underhand sales techniques are being employed by software companies. "Many software companies claim that they have become customer-centric and have left the world of questionable sales tactics behind them.

However, these often return when vendors are under sales pressure," said David Mitchell, software practice leader at Ovum.