Legal

Microsoft files 2nd suit against Motorola in weeks

Microsoft on Tuesday filed a new patent-related lawsuit against Motorola, its second against the company in the past six weeks.

The new lawsuit, which was filed earlier today with the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle, accuses Motorola of charging too much for royalties on its patent licenses, which Microsoft uses in both the wireless networking and video decoders found in the Xbox.

News of the lawsuit was first reported by Reuters.

A Microsoft spokesperson told CNET:

Microsoft filed an action today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington … Read more

Apple sued for iOS 4 problems on iPhone 3G, 3GS

Since iOS 4 was released in mid-June, iPhone 3G and 3GS owners have complained that the software has their phones seemingly grinding to a halt: slow keyboard response time, frozen unlock screens, and a battery that drains faster than with previous versions of the software.

Now a deeply unsatisfied customer is taking her iOS 4 complaints to court.

On Friday, San Diego resident Bianca Wofford sued Apple for violating the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, unfair business practices, and false and deceptive advertising. In the suit she claims that iOS 4 rendered her iPhone 3GS completely unusable and that Apple support … Read more

High Court's violent-game sales ruling: Why now?

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Larry Downes' bio below.

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard arguments in Schwarzenegger v. EMA, a case that challenges California's 2005 law banning the sale of "violent" video games to minors. The law has yet to take effect, as rulings by lower federal courts have held it to be an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.

There's little doubt that banning the sale of nearly any content to adults violates the protections of free speech, including, as decided last year, video depictions of cruelty to animals.

In … Read more

Did Apple pay big bucks in iAds settlement?

A trademark lawsuit filed against Apple by a Web advertising firm over the term "iAds" was quietly settled in July.

No one has disclosed exactly how the case was resolved but Apple now owns the "iAds" trademark, and last week a company peripherally involved in the suit posted a note to the Web that said Apple paid a "seven-figure settlement."

At Apple's iOS 4 event on April 8, CEO Steve Jobs announced Apple's iAds program. A month later, Innovate Media, an online ad agency headquartered near Los Angeles, filed a trademark suit … Read more

Apple sues Motorola: A look at the complaints

Apple has sued Motorola over multitouch patents in two separate lawsuits.

The complaints, first reported by Patently Apple, were filed Oct. 29 and cover six patents. In the first complaint, the main document is only 9 pages, but one exhibit--patent 7,479,949--is broken into two parts and weighs in at a whopping 362 pages. Motorola on Oct. 6 sued Apple for patent infringement.

Read more of "Apple sues Motorola: A look at the complaints" at ZD Net.

Report: Apple in trademark dispute over iPad name

A company that claims it owns the trademark on the name "IPAD" in China says it will sue Apple for infringing on its ownership in that market, according to the Financial Times.

The report, published today, weaves a complicated international legal tale surrounding Apple's efforts to secure the trademark name on its popular touch-screen tablet. Here's the gist: Taiwanese contract manufacturer Proview makes displays, but formerly sold a tablet PC named I-Pad, a trademark it registered in China and other markets like the EU, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and Mexico between 2000 and 2004.

The sales … Read more

HyperMac seller Sanho bows to Apple pressure

Sanho, which sells HyperMac external batteries for several Apple products, announced today it will stop selling cables that connect those components to some Apple hardware.

According to the company, which cited "ongoing comprehensive licensing negotiations with Apple," it will halt sales of its "MacBook charging cables and car charger on November 2." Although it will continue to sell its batteries, the lack of cables basically renders them useless, since people won't be able to connect those products to Apple's computers.

Sanho's decision to stop selling cables with its batteries was a response to … Read more

Apple complaint halts sales of iPhone lookalike

Remember the M8? It's a smartphone made by Chinese manufacturer Meizu that looks suspiciously like an iPhone. And it's about to become a rare commodity.

Meizu CEO Jack Wong posted on a Meizu forum that Apple's lawyers have convinced China's intellectual property office to shut down production of the M8 and ban the sale of existing devices because they bear too much similarity to Apple's phone.

Wong's quote (translated), according to Engadget:

Apple requested that we cease manufacturing the M8 this month, we agreed but then [Apple] came back and asked for a sales … Read more

Bungie nabs 15,000 Halo: Reach cheaters

In late August, Microsoft permanently banned a number of people who procured illegitimate copies of Halo: Reach and ill-advisedly played them on Xbox Live. Now, the Washington developer has slammed 15,000 players for exploiting the game's credit system.

According to a Bungie employee post on Bungie.net, the developer has reset credit tallies for 15,000 players who have "egregiously" exploited a credit rip-off. The post reads, "Specifically, we targeted an exploit that allowed players to complete a Challenge 20+ times via itentional [sic] network manipulation (i.e., disconnects)."

Bungie did not specify any … Read more