Tag archive: lawsuits

Conan the Barbarian may soon be facing a different type of battle than he is used. While the character is best known for crushing his enemies, seeing them driven before him and hearing the lamentation of their women, the character’s most deadly adventure yet may soon find him at the mercy of the dreaded scourge known as lawyers. And while these lawyers may not be able to turn into snakes (insert your own joke here) or lead hordes down upon… Read More

Oh Google, we hope you know what you've gotten yourself into. Owning Motorola's 17,000 issued patents and 7,500 pending patents was one of the major reasons Google announced its acquisition plans for the company. Owning Motorola doesn't come without its fair share of baggage, however. Not only does Motorola have a troubled financial history, it also has a troubling number of patent lawsuits on its books.  CNET has created a… Read More

Google has held preliminary discussions with InterDigital Inc., a Pennsylvania-based wireless patent firm, about a possible acquisition. The move by Google is seen as an attempt by the company to add some meat to their thin wireless patent portfolio. InterDigital owns about 8,800 patents that, according to the Wall Street Journal, focus mostly on wireless data transmission, in-call noise cancellation and handset technology. With Google's… Read More

In one of the odder stories of the weekend, a misunderstanding between a Belgian newspaper and Google has, once again, turned into a public spat. The AP reports that “La Capitale” claimed on its Website on Friday that Google had begun “boycotting” it and other members of Copiepresse in what it claimed was retaliation over a copyright infringement lawsuit. In 2006, the newspapers sued Google for including their search… Read More

Apple has locked up the patent rights on a key piece of technology that makes the iPhone and iPad so irresistible to consumers. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Apple the patent on Tuesday. The patent is concerned primarily with the way in which Apple's software responds to user input on the touchscreen — not simply the touchscreen itself. Here's the official abstract that leads the document: “A… Read More

The drama between Apple and Samsung has continued, with Apple winning the latest round. Reuters reports that a U.S. judge has rejected Samsung's request to see Apple's unreleased iPhone and iPad, which the Korean company claimed would be “highly relevant” to its defense. “Common sense suggests that allegations of copying are necessarily directed at Apple's existing products, to which Samsung has access and… Read More

America. The land of hot coffee and frivolous lawsuits. Yesterday, two Oakland County, Michigan residents filed a lawsuit against Google for allegedly tracking their whereabouts “just as if by a tracking device for which a court-ordered warrant would ordinarily be required.” The two plaintiffs own HTC Inspire 4G phones, which run on Google's Android operating system. They want $50 million in damages and a court order requiring… Read More

Dawnmarie Souza, a former employee of the American Medical Response of Connecticut, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agreed to settle a lawsuit over Souza's firing, which occurred after Souza used Facebook to criticize her boss. The NLRB took up the lawsuit last year, arguing that Souza's Facebook comments were protected by federal labor laws. The Connecticut ambulance company said that it fired Souza after receiving… Read More

Call of Duty: Black Ops has eclipsed $1 billion in sales. That isn't enough for Activision, however. The video game publisher is suing the co-founders of Infinity Ward, the developer of last year's hit Modern Warfare 2, and now want to add EA to the mix for an additional $400 million in damages, reports WSJ. Activision accuses EA of 'interfering' with the contracts of its employees, engaging in unfair activity, and… Read More

Technology patent lawsuits feel more irrelevant all the time. In an attempt to retain market dominance, Apple has filed a counter-lawsuit against Motorola, claiming that several of its mobile devices violate Apple patents, specifically where it relates to smartphones using multitouch touchscreen displays. The Motorola Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BakFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1, and Charm were specifically mentioned in the filing.… Read More

Apple's lawyers certainly earn their retainer fees. It seems hardly a week goes by without someone somewhere in the world threatening legal action over some perceived injustice perpetrated by the Cupertino-based company. The latest threatened lawsuit is over the Apple's iPad tablet computer, and it doesn't mention the multitouch display, issues with Wi-Fi reception or anything of that nature. Rather, its about naming rights.… Read More

If the iPhone charger you bought on eBay for 37 cents doesn’t wear Apple’s shiny “Made for iPhone” logo, Steve Jobs and Co. didn’t get their cut of the profit. And they’re none too happy about it. According to Bloomberg, Apple has turned its legal guns on the manufacturers of unlicensed third-party accessories. The majority of Apple accessories, including the menagerie of white plastic add-ons you might pick up at your local Apple store, are… Read More

Just when it looked like the battle between Apple and Adobe was over (and that Apple had won), it appears that the earlier skirmishes may have just been the opening rounds. According to Bloomberg, the antitrust inquiry of Apple that questions the legality of Apple forcing developers to use its proprietary tools – a move that effectively banned Adobe’s Flash and seemed to end the battle between Adobe and Apple – may have been… Read More

Four Google executives should not be held responsible for a video posted online that showed teenagers abusing an autistic youth in Turin, their lawyers argued Wednesday in an Italian court. The executives are being tried in absentia in Milan — a case that has been painted as a battle for privacy rights by the prosecution and a threat to freedom of expression by Google. Prosecutors have asked for sentences ranging from six months to one year in… Read More

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman said Monday she was unaware of any attempt by the Internet marketplace to misuse confidential data from Craigslist to help eBay develop a competing online classifieds business. Whitman, a Republican candidate for California governor, was the first witness in a trial that began Monday in Delaware, pitting eBay Inc. and Craigslist. EBay claims that Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster improperly acted… Read More