A lawsuit filed by St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants has targeted Apple for allegedly using camera technology protected by several patents. The four patents, each relating to digital camera systems, were originally issued to a company named Personal Computer Cameras, although St. Clair purchased the technology between 1995 and 2001.
Apple and several other computer makers have been targeted in a patent infringement lawsuit involving Ethernet technology. The plaintiff, US Ethernet Innovations, claims the companies have been using intellectual property contained in at least one four patents originally issued to 3Com between 1994 and 1998.
Comcast has achieved a legal victory in its battle against the FCC's limits on the number of subscribers. The commission's regulations aimed to prevent a cable operator from unfairly blocking smaller competitors trying to reach consumers, although the 30 percent cap has been the focus of of numerous lawsuits and criticism.
TiVo on Wednesday announced that it has filed lawsuit against Verizon and AT&T for allegedly infringing several patents. The fresh legal battle is similar to the company's fight against Dish Network and EchoStar, a case which lead to a $190 million ruling and an injunction to stop the companies from enabling the patented technology in set-top boxes already owned by customers.
As part of the final order in a patent infringement suit, Judge Leonard Davis in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Texas has issued a permanent injunction against Microsoft. The company has been effectively banned from selling Word 2003, Word 2007 and similar products.
John Lech Johansen, known to many as DVD Jon, has been served a subpoena in the ongoing Apple iTunes antitrust case. The plaintiff's attorney, Thomas Merrick, requested the subpoena to gather relevant documents that Johansen might have in his possession.
United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Mark has granted Psystar's request for voluntary dismissal of its Chapter 11 proceedings, although the clone maker is restricted from submitting a similar filing for the next year. The judge also explicitly blocked the company from receiving an automatic stay if it chooses to pursue a Chapter 7 filing.
Apple has become involved in yet another lawsuit, as a former employee, Kenyon Zahner, claims to have been forced to work over 40 hours a week without additional compensation, according to InformationWeek. The worker has filed a class action lawsuit with other Apple employees in Florida, although details of his role at the company remain unclear.
The Apple vs. Psystar case has taken yet another turn, as the clone maker on Tuesday announced that it has changed lawyers. The company will now be represented by Camara & Sibley LLP of Houston, Texas, the team that is also currently defending Jammie Thomas-Russet against a $2 million RIAA ruling. Psystar also hosts a new "community" page and a wiki that will disclose its methods and tips for running OS X on non-Apple hardware.
A bizarre lawsuit filed by Gregory McKenna in a U.S. District Court in Missouri accuses Apple, the St. Louis Police Department, the FBI, and an auto mechanic, of conspiring to stalk, extort and torture the plaintiff. McKenna, representing himself, explains the conspiracy and Italian Mafia connections throughout a 124-page document.
Apple's licensing infringement lawsuit against Psystar is progressing again, with the trial now scheduled for January 11, 2010. The proceedings had been delayed due to Psystar's bankruptcy filing, which the company recently moved to drop after the Florida court decided the Apple suit would still be allowed to continue.
A new lawsuit has targeted Apple, Sony and Nintendo, for allegedly infringing on patents involving technology used in the iPhone, Wii and PS2, among others. The plaintiff, Shared Memory Graphics LLC, holds U.S. Patent No. 5,712,664 that describes a "shared memory graphics accelerator system."
A number of Sharp LCD TVs have been banned from unlicensed import to the US, as part of a ruling resulting from a patent dispute with Samsung, according to Bloomberg. The two electronics manufacturers have been battling over technology used in the displays, specifically "apertures formed in the conductive layer comprising the electrode." The technology is utilized in LCD panels with wide viewing angles.
Cartier, a high-end watch manufacturer and jeweler, has filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of trademark infringement, according to the Wall Street Journal. The dispute involves several iPhone apps, Fake Watch and Fake Watch Gold Edition, that show the current time on several virtual watches which replicate famous designs. Users can choose a Cartier Tank timepiece presented with the company's trademarks.
A Texas federal jury has ordered Microsoft Corp to pay out $200 million in damages to Toronto-based software maker i4i Limited for allegedly infringing a patent, the software giant announced on Wednesday. Microsoft, which is regularly at the receiving end of such lawsuits, went on to say it is planning on appealing the verdict, as it believes the award is unsupported by the evidence.
Apple is in the middle of a new lawsuit that could test the limits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The lawsuit was filed jointly by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and attorneys representing OdioWorks, the company that runs Bluwiki, a technology forum website that hosted iPodhash, which discussed use of open-source iPod technology. The lawsuit comes in response to Apple's demands that the iPodhash forum be closed because it violated the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions.
A Swiss company, MONEC Holding AG, has targeted Apple in yet another lawsuit involving the iPhone. The company claims the handset violates a patent entitled "Electronic device, preferably an electronic book." MONEC seeks triple compensatory damages, including lost profits, interest, attorneys fees and costs. The company also aims to receive royalties, along with the assessed value of Apple's gains, profits or benefits resulting from the patent infringement.
Apple has been targeted in yet another lawsuit, as a Cincinnati mother seeks damages from the company over an incident where an iPod touch allegedly exploded in her son's pocket, according to Ars Technica. The filings refer to the device as an "iTouch," which was reportedly left in the student's pocket during class. The iPod was turned off and unexpectedly popped, caused a burning sensation and igniting the child's pants.
A California court has dismissed Gibson Guitar's lawsuit against Activision over the input devices used in the Guitar Hero game. The gaming company was sued for violating the "'405 Patent" which covers a system for generating and controlling a simulated musical concert experience, although the claims are geared for using real guitars as input for applications such as in-store demos. The court's strongly worded filing claims that Gibson's arguments "border on the frivolous."
Psion has reacted to Intel's lawsuit over the term 'netbook' by filing its own countersuit, arguing that the chip-maker's claims are "barred by reason of Plaintiff's own unclean hands," as the legal battle between the companies continues to develop, according to Ars Technica. The allegations further accuse Intel of "unjustly benefiting from Psion's goodwill and reputation" and "willfully and maliciously" encouraging other companies to participate in the trademark infringement.
Following Psystar's recent amendment of its counterclaims against Apple, both parties have submitted a joint filing for protective order that aims to prevent the public release of any proprietary information during the discovery process that will lead into the trial. "The parties and their counsel have agreed to certain procedures and restrictions that they consider mutually acceptable for protecting personal, proprietary and confidential information that may be disclosed during prosecution and defense of this litigation," the filing read.
Microsoft on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against TomTom, accusing the navigation company of infringing on a number of patents. The dispute involves eight individual patents, with three relating to the use of a Linux kernel. Microsoft claims to have engaged the Dutch company for more than a year, attempting to negotiate a licensing agreement for the technology that has "been licensed by many others."
Apple has come to a resolution with lawyers and plaintiffs in a lawsuit regarding disabled access at its San Francisco retail location, according to ifoAppleStore. Jana Overbo and Nicole Brown-Booker initiated the suit in 2007 after experiencing problems navigating the store in wheelchairs. Issues included the width of the aisles, merchandise located too high, pressure required to open the front door, theater seating and Genius Bar staff that did not offer assistance.
Apple has become involved in yet another lawsuit, adding to its lengthy list of ongoing legal battles, with a patent infringement case filed by Information Protection and Authentication of Texas (IPAT) and Global Innovation Technology Holdings (GITH) that accuses several different computer-makers of using protected technology for determining software permissions. The patent holder and exclusive licensee demand a jury trial and hope to achieve monetary compensation, legal fees and an injunction.
Apple has allegedly threatened Wired for posting a video tutorial that provided instructions for configuring a Mac-clone netbook, according to a tweet by Gadget Lab writer Brian X. Chen. Although his first message suggested the publication was facing a lawsuit, an update revealed that Apple likely sent a cease and desist order. Despite the lack of a formal lawsuit, Wired apparently conceded and removed the videos from its website.
AT&T and Apple are pushing to have a New York court dismiss a number of charges in a class-action suit alleging that the iPhone's 3G performance falls short of advertising claims. The plaintiff in the case, Avi Koshitzki, also added additional accusations regarding cracks in the phone case. In the event that the dismissal is rejected, the companies have also filed a motion to compel arbitration, claiming that the arguments would be better suited for an alternative dispute resolution process outside of the court.
Apple this week has won a trademark infringement lawsuit against a Chinese electronics company. New Apple Concept Digital Technology Co. was ordered to pay 400,000 yuan (~$58,000 USD), completing a battle between the two companies that began in 2006 when the Shenzhen-based manufacturer was ordered to stop using its trademark, according to China Central Television. New Apple Concept had used a logo that featured an apple with the characteristic missing bite.
Apple has stepped-up its lawsuit against Psystar, adding claims of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations, according to Computerworld. The clone-maker is accused of reverse engineering the piracy protection methods employed in Mac OS X. "Defendant has illegally circumvented Apple's technological copyright-protection measures," the amended complaint states. The change comes five months after the initial filings, as the company has "discovered new information."
The latest development in the Apple-Psystar case may potentially see Apple stumbling over potential fines, as a recent filing shows that the company does not practice common document and email archiving etiquette. The Industry Standard reports that Apple maintains no company standard for email and document retention, a practice that can lead to millions of dollars in fines when adequate documentation is not found, when called upon in support of courtroom proceedings.
Memory chip maker Spansion has taken legal action that could result in import bans that would block shipments of iPods and Blackberry handsets, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company filed a lawsuit in a Delaware federal court and submitted a complaint to the US International Trade Commission. Although the memory company is not directly attacking Apple or RIM, it has accused Samsung of violating its flash chip patents. The components in question are contained in Apple, RIM, Lenovo, Sony Ericsson, and Telefon Ericsson products.
Another lawsuit has been stacked onto Apple's list of current legal battles, with another filing in Arkansas from a Taiwanese media player manufacturer, Luxpro, that accuses the company of monopolizing the player market, according to documents posted on Justia. The suit alleges that Apple controls 80 percent of the music downloads through iTunes, selling songs that can only be played on its own product, while at the same time closing the iPod platform from playing music purchased from other online sources.
Apple has filed for the dismissal of an August lawsuit regarding the iPhone 3G network performance, according to Computerworld. The company has asked a federal judge to support the motion because the customers did not ask for refunds or device repairs. Jessica Smith, an Alabama resident, filed the original suit after her iPhone only connected to the 3G networks 25 percent of the time, and dropped calls excessively. Shortly after the product launch, Apple released software updates for the device that were designed to alleviate some of the connectivity issues.
Another lawsuit against Apple and AT&T is hitting the courts, with New York resident Jai Sen crying foul over both companies' advertising of the iPhone 3G, software problems, and cracks in the device's chassis. The lawsuit comes through the US District Court for the Eastern district of New York, and encompasses a class-action perspective, with other plaintiffs simply referred to as "others similarly situated."
Hillcrest Laboratories recently filed a lawsuit and patent infringement against Nintendo Co Ltd. over its use of the motion controller technology and a Wednesday report indicates the US International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate the matter. If the ITC finds Nintendo used infringed technology, it could bar the sale of the Wii gaming console from the US market. Nintendo, meanwhile, has said it did not infringe on Hillcrest’s intellectual property and intends to “vigorously defend” itself.
A lawsuit filed against NVIDIA on Tuesday alleges the graphics card maker not only knew about a serious flaw that caused some of its graphics chips products to overheat but also kept it hidden from the public for at least eight months, says a Wednesday report. When the company did acknowledge issues with its products back in July, its shares fell by nearly a third and the company pledged to put away $200 million to cover warranty costs. The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, claims NVIDIA violated US securities laws by making false and misleading statements to the investing public.
It was announced today that Immersion Corp. will pay $20.8 million to Microsoft to settle a lawsuit regarding vibration technology used in the latter's gaming system controllers. As part of the settlement, Immersion will join Microsoft's Certified Partner Program. The now-discarded lawsuit stems from a previous settlement Sony and Immersion reached that saw Sony pay Immersion $121 million for use of its patented technology, with Microsoft claiming its sublicense agreement gives it a claim to a portion of the Sony/Immersion settlement that Immersion initially refused to pay.
The long-standing legal disagreement between LG Electronics and Quanta Computer Inc. has been settled, with Quanta agreeing to pay LG royalties for use of its patented computer technology, LG announced on Tuesday. The two companies entered into a settlement and license agreement, putting an end to two pending lawsuits over Taiwan-based Quanta using four of LG’s US patents without permission pertaining to DVD readers in notebook computers.
Apple is facing the first of what could be many lawsuits over the iPhone 3G's performance and reliability. According to Ars Technica, Jessica Alena Smith filed a complaint against Apple Tuesday, seeking class-action status. The complaint reads that the Birmingham woman's text messages, data and e-mail were slower than she had expected since Apple had been advertising the 3G as "twice as fast for half the price." She said her iPhone would only connect to AT&T's 3G network less than 25 percent of the time.
Facing a lawsuit from Apple, Mac clone maker Psystar is showing signs it may be gearing up for a fight. The company has hired a California law firm that has beaten Apple in the past, according to a report in Computerworld. In court papers filed Monday, Psystar was represented by lawyers from Carr and Ferrell, LLP, who filed a request for an extension on a deadline to respond to Apple's lawsuit. Both sides agreed to the extension, which gives Psystar until August 18 to file a response. Apple claims Psystar violated copyright, contract, trademark and unfair competition laws when it installed and marketed Mac OS X10.5 on its OpenComputer and OpenServ machines.
Italian broadcaster Mediaset on Wednesday announced it is seeking at least 500 million euros ($779 million) in damages from Google-owned YouTube, according to a report in Variety. The lawsuit, filed in a Rome court, accuses YouTube of "illegal distribution and commercial use of audio and video files." Mediaset alleges that an audit it performed on June 10 came up with 4,643 clips amounting to 325 hours of copyrighted Mediaset content.
RSOL says its new Jive Series Desktops will run Mac OS X, although the company is not offering any official support for the OS. RSOL joins Open Tech and Psystar in the Mac clone market, with the latter now facing a lawsuit from Apple. RSOL says the Jive desktop will run "just about any operating system" including Fedora and Ubuntu and, of course, Windows.
Motorola is suing former executive Michael Fenger – currently vice president of Apple's global iPhone sales – for allegedly divulging corporate secrets to further the success of Apple's relatively new cellular platform, such as margins, operating strategies, marketing information, and customer initiatives, among other things. According to Bloomberg, Fenger formerly oversaw Motorola's mobile business as vice president in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Apple was not named in the suit.
Google is reportedly placing a percentage of its AdWords ads on parked and error sites, which carries no benefit for paying consumers. This practice has landed the search engine giant in hot water, with a federal class action lawsuit filed on Thursday in a US District Court in San Jose, California. Lawyer and Google advertiser Hal Levitte noticed the practice back in 2007, then filed a complaint late last week claiming Google is unjustly enriching its promises. The lawsuit was filed by Kabateck Brown Kellner, and, if approved by the judge, could involve a large numbers of litigants who advertised with Google in the last four years.
As if NVIDIA wasn't in enough hot water already, reports have high-speed memory interface maker Rambus Inc. suing the graphics chip maker over patent infringements. The lawsuit, filed in a Nothern District of California court, implies NVIDIA's memory controllers for SDR, DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR and GDDR3 SDRAM infringe upon 17 Rambus patents.
A lawsuit was brought against several key Apple executives on Friday, accusing CEO Steve Jobs and several others of fraud, in relation to the stock option backdating scandal in recent years. According to a filing with the US District Court in San Jose, Jobs stands with former financial officer Fred Anderson, as well as Nancy Heinen, William Campbel, Millard Drexler, Arthur Levinson, and Jerome York, in addition to the company itself.
After filing documents trademark documents concerning the use of "Pod" and "iPod" in products and advertising, Apple is pursuing a lawsuit against a Michigan iPod repair business, the iPod Mechanic. AppleInsider reveals that in 2006, Apple had warned business owner Nicholas Woodhams over the use of the terms, asking him to stop. Woodhams allegedly agreed, but did not follow through, and has now supposedly tipped the scales by committing fraud against Apple.
A federal judge has reinstated one of two dismissed patent disputes against Microsoft and Dell from French-American telecommunications partnership Alcatel-Lucent. CNN Money writes that the San Diego district court made an error when deciding the definition of a "terminal device", so the case is being presented again to the federal court system. The dispute is situated over a communication protocol that allows a computer and a device to exchange information.
Apple has been sued by yet another company claiming that it infringed on a patent through components found in the immensely popular iPod media player. Filed last week in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of inventor Henry Milan by Detroit-based law firm Butzel Long, it claims that Apple violated a hardware-based patent in its connecting mechanism in the two different media players. The firm argues a violation of U.S. patent No. 6,991,483, which was filed on Nov, 12, 2004, and issued on Jan. 31, 2006, almost five months after launched the iPod nano and six weeks after Apple was contacted about alleged infringement. The patent describes a connector that combines a Flash memory drive and a connection port in a single unit that be made to a variety devices using various adapters.
Apple Japan and Sony have agreed to jointly pay about 1.3 million Yen (about $13,000) in damages to settle a lawsuit filed by a Japanese couple who argued that the husband had suffered burns after their Mac caught, according to Dow Jones. The couple sued and successfully recovered damages because the fire was caused by the Sony-made battery, according to judicial sources quoted by Japan-based Kyodo News Agency. According to the report, the three parties reached the settlement on April 2, but both Sony and the Japan unit of Apple declined to comment on the settlement.
Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP, a law firm out of Los Angeles, California, has filed suit against Apple on behalf of a class of users claiming that the computer maker "deceptively marketed" the 20-inch iMac by purporting improved display performance, though the device's monitor is allegedly of "inferior" quality. The suit claims that the monitors are incapable of displaying “millions of colors,” despite Apple's marketing claims. "Apple is duping its customers into thinking they’re buying 'new and improved' when in fact they're getting stuck with 'new and inferior,'”"said Brian Kabateck, Managing Partner of Kabateck Brown Kellner. "Beneath Apple’s 'good guy' image is a corporation that takes advantage of its customers. Our goal is to help those customers who were deceived and make sure Apple tells the truth in the future."
