Hasta La Gadget!

The ongoing legal battle between Apple and Samsung is heating up yet again. This time around, Apple is turning to Google and has requested that they hand over various Android source code documents. Apple claims that Google is withholding information relating to Android, and says that Android is used in all of Samsung’s infringing products, which “provides much of the accused functionality.”

The report comes from Bloomberg, which notes that Apple attorney Mark Lyons says that all of this basically deals with “transparency,” and he argues that Google is beating around the bush with delivering evidence that is requested by either Apple or the court. However, Google lawyers argue that the company was to be kept off of the case in the initial court filing, so they don’t have the same legal rights as Apple or Samsung in this case.

Google is concerned that if they eventually do hand over the source code documents, Apple may discover other information that Google believes Apple isn’t entitled to, which could give the Cupertino-based company further “ideas about how to proceed that they wouldn’t have had” in the first place.

This second patent lawsuit comes after Apple was awarded $1.05 billion payable by Samsung after the court ruled that the Korean company infringed on Apple’s patents. However, that award has since been lowered to $639.4 million, and a new trial is set for November to re-evaluate some of the products involved in the downgraded award.

[via Android Community]

Apple demanding Android source code in Samsung lawsuit is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve never seen Keyboard Cat or Nyan Cat, welcome to your first day on the Internet. That aside, both videos, one lovable and the other maddening in a good way, are the source of a lawsuit against Warner Brothers due to its use of them without permission, credit, or compensation to their creators. Game developer 5th Cell was also tagged in the lawsuit.

If you’ve never seen Nyan Cat, prepare to have the 3-minute video stuck in your head for the next ten or so hours. As the lawsuit specifies, the video features a cat-faced character with “a body resembling a horizontal breakfast bar with pink frosting sprinkled with light red dots” (aka, a cat stuck in a Poptart) soaring through the air beyond a tail of rainbows colors. Without further ado, check it out in the video below.

Keyboard Cat, meanwhile, is cute in direct proportion to Nyan Cat’s annoyance factor, featuring a cat wearing a tiny suit jacket in front of a keyboard, jamming away at the keys with a half-asleep look on his face that says, “Charlie Schmidt has made me do this a million times.” You can check it out in its full 55-seconds of 480p awesomeness in the video below.

If you liked those two videos, you’re not the only one – Warner Bros. published a a video game called Scribblenauts that features them, which was developed by 5th Cell. Perhaps unbeknownst to the developer, both videos have been trademarked by their respective video creators. Adding insult to injury, the two characters were used to market the game, a transgression for which Warner Bros. has not yet made a comment. The case is being handled in California.

[via ars technica]

Warner Bros. hit with lawsuit over Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat use is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

CopyTele, or more specifically, its Secure Web Conference Corp. division has sued Microsoft’s Skype due to patent infringement. Copytele says that Skype infringed on 2 of its patents, one regarding a “method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments”, and the other for a “portable telecommunication security device.” However, CopyTele didn’t sue Skype because it was trying to protect its patent portfolio. It sued Skype because it saw an opportunity to generate more money off its patents. Yes, unfortunately, CopyTele is known as a patent troll.

Robert Berman, President and CEO of CopyTele, stated that for 30 years, the company focused on making products based on its technology, but now the company is geared towards making money off its patents. He calls this new business model “patent monetization”. Berman says that there are 100 other web-conference companies like Skype that also infringes on CopyTele’s patents, but the company decided to go after Skype because of its size.

CopyTele has used this patent monetization model in the past when it sued AU Optronics and E Ink Holdings back in January. It sued the two companies back in January because they were allegedly infringing on its electrophoretic display patents. It also plans on targeting more companies soon. CopyTele recently acquired two new patent portfolios related to loyalty programs, so in the future, we may see lawsuits against companies who have programs like frequent flyer miles, or an accumulative bonus points program for loyal customers.

Once CopyTele’s case with Skype is over, it may go after the other 100 web-conferencing companies that are allegedly infringing on its patents as well. According to TechCrunch, Berman says that the web-conference industry is a “$4 billion industry” and that this battle with Skype is just the “initiation of what will be a broader patent enforcement campaign.” He also states that the company will continue to acquire more patent portfolios so that it can go after more companies that provide “significant revenue opportunities”.

[via Forbes]

CopyTele sues Skype in its “patent monetization” scheme is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Lawsuits are nothing new the technology world, if you follow tech at all, you’ll know that fact. It’s even rather common for class-action lawsuits to crop up against technology companies for one reason or another. Consumers often turn to class-action when there’s a widespread issue with a particular product that the manufacturer doesn’t want to address.

It seems that was the case with a lawsuit filed against computer maker Acer. It’s unclear exactly how long ago this lawsuit was filed, but considering the core of the suit has to do with Acer notebooks running Windows Vista, this case has to have been in the courts for a long time. Microsoft already has two versions of Windows that were available after the launch of Vista, including Windows 7 and Windows 8.

The crux of the class-action suit against Acer had to do with allegations that Acer advertised and sold notebook computers that didn’t have enough RAM to support pre-installed versions of Windows Vista. Naturally, Acer denies the claims but has agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs and risks associated with a trial. Any US resident who purchased a new Acer notebook that came with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate and 1 GB or less of RAM are eligible for the proposed settlement.

Acer is specific that the machine had to have come with 1 GB of RAM or less that was shared with both the system and graphics. The computer also had to be purchased from an authorized retailer and can’t have been returned for refund. The proposed settlement will give people who purchased these machines a 16 GB flash drive with ReadyBoost technology.

Instead of that free flash drive, buyers could opt for a $10 check or a check for up to $100 for reimbursement of any repair costs incurred before April 25, 2013 that have to do with resolving performance issues related to insufficient RAM. Class members who still own the computer can also alternatively get a 1 GB or 2 GB RAM stick to allow the notebook to operate with up to 2 GB of RAM. The court presiding over the case plans to hold another hearing on October 4, 2013 to consider whether or not to approve the settlement.

[via Acerlawsuit.com]

Acer offers to settle Vista class-action suit with flash drive apology is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In an email to press, HTC took the opportunity to make a few clarifications about the injunction filed by Nokia this week regarding the dual-membrane microphone in the One. The preliminary injunction claims that the high-amplitude mic, which HTC uses in its flagship device, was supposed to be manufactured exclusively for the Finnish company (and currently used in the Lumia 720). If you’ve been wondering how this particular action would affect sales of the high-end HTC handset, spokespeople assure us that it’s business as usual for the company. According to its official statement, the One is not the actual target of any injunction in The Netherlands — in actuality, the legalities of the matter are apparently only between Nokia and STMicroelectronics, the supplier of the component in question.

HTC tells us that Nokia’s attempts to institute a recall of the One failed; since the products were purchased in good faith, the ruling states that HTC can continue to use microphones that are in its inventory. Despite having a history rich in manufacturing delays, we’re told that this legal ruling will have no effect on the One’s availability. The Taiwanese phone maker plans a transition to “improved microphone designs” as soon as its current stock of STM supplies has been exhausted, a move which HTC claims will be transparent to consumers. Head below to see the full statement.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Nokia

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