Hasta La Gadget!

Patent reform’s been bandied about on Capitol Hill for years now, and last week we finally got both houses of Congress to agree on the language to make it happen. Today, in what was a foregone conclusion, President Obama has finally made the thing official by signing the America Invents Act into law. In doing so, he made the dream of a first-to-file patent system in the US a reality. Of course, it won’t go into effect for another 18 months, so we’ll have to wait awhile before we find out if it can curb all those companies’ litigious inclinations. Video recap of the patent reform process after the break.

Continue reading Obama signs America Invents Act into law, makes patent reform a reality

Obama signs America Invents Act into law, makes patent reform a reality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The White House Blog  | Email this | Comments

The National Labor Relations Board has weighed in on the role of social networking at the office, determining that employees can’t be fired for what they post on Facebook — as long as they use the platform to talk about improving their workplace. The NLRB’s ruling, announced on Wednesday, stems from an incident last year, when an employee at the Hispanics United of Buffalo non-profit organization went on Facebook to complain about a co-worker who accused her of slacking off at the office. Other colleagues soon chimed in on the woman’s wall post with a slew of profanity-laced comments, before the targeted employee noticed the thread and reported it to a supervisor. Citing the agency’s zero-tolerance policy on cyber harassment, the boss fired the five employees who participated in the online discussion — including one who went on to file a complaint with the NLRB.

Last week, administrative law Judge Arthur Amchan finally issued a verdict in the case, determining that the employees retained the right to talk about “their terms and conditions of employment,” as stipulated under the National Labor Relations Act. Because this particular Facebook thread involved discussion of “job performance and staffing levels,” Amchan ordered Hispanics United to reinstate the employees. The decision marks the first time that an administrative judge has ruled on a Facebook-related workplace case, though the NLRB says it’s received “an increasing number of charges related to social media in the past year” — so it likely won’t be the last. You can read the Board’s statement in full, after the break.

Continue reading Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work

Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Forbes, CNET  |   | Email this | Comments

When the DOJ blocked AT&T’s deal to snatch up T-Mobile, did you think Ma Bell would end up shelling out some ridiculous sum to lock things up? Well, the opposite may be the case — according to Bloomberg, the company can get a reduced rate if regulator’s requests become too pricey. A discount of sorts would be available to AT&T if the remedy to-do list surpasses 20 percent of the deal’s original $39 billion price tag (about $7.8 billion). Also of note here: the company could leave the proverbial table altogether if the concessions top the 40 percent mark, only owing a break-up penalty… and shelling out the $3 billion contingency fund to Deutsche Telekom AG.

AT&T may get a discount if T-Mobile bid concessions prove too expensive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Bloomberg  | Email this | Comments

Apple wins German injunction against Samsung, Galaxy Tab 7.7 pulled from IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Bloomberg, FOSS Patents  | Email this | Comments

AT&T willing to make concessions to save T-Mobile merger, sources say originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 02:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments