Hasta La Gadget!

Another day, another lawsuit finally drawing to a close. This time, a judge has approved a settlement for a class-action lawsuit filed against Apple and AT&T, based on the unlimited data claims of the original iPad that were later withdrawn by AT&T. So, if you bought a 3G iPad before June 7th, 2010, you’ll get a $40 payout from Apple, even if you stand among AT&T’s grandfathered customers. Meanwhile, if you purchased the original 3G iPad but didn’t get a mobile plan, you’re also eligible for a $20 / month discount for up to a year under the carrier’s current $50 offering. The toddler-aged class action was born out of affected customers’ frustration over the change and the belief that they overpaid for their devices as a result. Unfortunately, the ruling won’t be finalized until February 2014, so don’t expect to hear from Apple about the payout — or plan a modest $40 dinner for two — until then.

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile, Apple, AT&T

Comments

Via: GigaOM

Source: Law360, Scribd

Google is no stranger to running afoul of privacy regulations, something that it is now facing in France as the nation hits the Internet giant with financial sanctions. According to the Commission Nationale de L’Informatique et des Libertes, Google has failed to follow through with mandated alterations on how it handles data to bring it […]

Yesterday, Lavabit — the email service used by Edward Snowden, catapulting it into unwanted fame — filed a request to have its case partially unsealed, allowing for third parties to file amicus briefs. Today, an appeal filing has surfaced revealing some details about what went down with the email service after attracting the government’s attention, […]

It’s not often that events of a patent tiff transcend the humdrum noise we’re all too used to, but the most recent judgement of a Munich court has declared an Apple patent invalid based on prior art from, well, Apple. As Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents explains, Cupertino has racked up a couple of decisions going against both Samsung and Motorola based on a patent for “portable electronic device[s] for photo management,” which describes a bounce-back aka rubber-banding effect specifically within the iOS photo gallery app. Now, Apple’s lawmen successfully argued the UI feature was different from previous concepts presented by AOL and Microsoft (which could benefit Cook & Co greatly in other cases, Mueller says). However, there was one piece of prior art they couldn’t dispute: the feature in question being shown off by Steve Jobs at the OG iPhone keynote back in January 2007. (We’ve embedded video of the keynote below, but you’ll need to jump to 32:40 to catch the gallery bounce-back bit.)

You see, even though the rubber-banding feature was demonstrated by Apple, on an Apple device, it still counts as prior art that invalidates its own patent — in Europe at least. That’s because documents describing the feature weren’t filed until June 2007, almost six months after Jobs took to the stage. A similar, first-to-file situation is now part of the US system, of course, ever since the America Invents Act was signed into law in 2011. As the first-generation iPhone keynote came years before that, however, it’s unlikely to hold any weight in future US court decisions. Well, you can’t win ’em all Apple, especially when you’re up against yourself.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Apple, Samsung, Google

Comments

Source: FOSS Patents

In the beginning of August, Ladar Levison shut down his Lavabit email service without warning, citing the reasons as being related to the government and a requirement that would make him “complicit in crimes against the American people.” The case has been sealed and Levison is under gag order, greatly limiting any details he can […]