Hasta La Gadget!

As you’re no doubt aware, this week’s launch of the Kindle 2 came complete with copyright controversy — the Authors Guild says that Amazon’s text-to-speech features will damage the lucrative audiobook market. To be perfectly frank, we’re of two minds on on this debate: on one hand, we’re obviously all for the relentless progression of technology, and on the other, we sussed out the fundamental reasons for the Guild’s objections almost immediately. It’s pretty easy to find the first set of arguments online, but we wanted to make sure we weren’t missing anything, so we sat down with Authors Guild executive director Paul Aiken and asked him some burning questions. Read on!

Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Authors Guild

Filed under: Handhelds

The Engadget Interview: Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Authors Guild originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel has finally broken its silence regarding Psion’s attempt to bludgeon the industry into submission with its trademark on the term “Netbook.” Important stuff seeing as how Intel is credited with (re)introducing the term in its modern meaning back in March 08. Granted, it took awhile for the name to catch on (we asked you to name the emerging laptop category in May) but ultimately stuck with the deluge of Atom-based ultra-portables launched at the Computex show in June of 2008. Unsurprisingly, Intel’s position essentially mirrors that of Dell although it was Intel that actually filed its lawsuit first: 1) the public already uses the term in a generic manner, and (2) Psion’s Netbook has been out of production since 2003 with no intent of being reintroduced into the market. Stupid is as stupid does, right Psion?

[Via Electronista]

Read — Intel sues Psion
Read — Intel’s “Thoughts on Netbooks” (March 03, 2008)

Filed under: Laptops

Intel also sues Psion over ‘netbook’ trademark, general stupidity originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve gotten some rough chuckles over the internal Microsoft documents produced in the “Vista Capable” lawsuit — remember when we learned the MS lowered the system requirements for Intel, resulting in management infighting? Such good times! — but it looks like it’s all over: Judge Marsha Pechman stripped the case of its class-action status yesterday, which basically takes the teeth out of it. Microsoft managed to convince the judge that people’s confusion over the meaning of the Vista Capable stickers didn’t “predominate over individual considerations,” which is pretty remarkable, considering that even a VP of Windows product development was “personally burnt” by a bad purchase influenced by the program. Consumers who feel similarly duped can still sue individually and the case goes on, but we’re guessing this means a quick settlement is coming and we’re never to hear about this again. Everyone involved learned a valuable lesson, though, right?

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

“Vista Capable” lawsuit loses class action status, relevance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aw, snap! Just months after Funai took the reins from Philips in North America, along comes a lawsuit for its lawyers to deal with. VIZIO, still feeling proud after its all-business Super Bowl ad, has thrown a potent antitrust and unfair competition lawsuit in Funai’s direction. The outfit alleges that Funai, “acting alone and in concert with others, unlawfully restrained trade and monopolized the market for the licensing of technology used to interpret and retrieve information from a digital television broadcast signal, as well as the market for digital television sets and receivers.” Specifically, VIZIO seems perturbed that Funai inappropriately acquired the rights to one single US patent, and ever since it has “unfairly discriminated against VIZIO in the licensing and enforcement” of said patent to the “detriment of trade and commerce.” There’s no mention of how many bills VIZIO thinks will fix the problem, but Funai better not try filling stacks of hundies with Washingtons in between.

[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

VIZIO files antitrust and unfair competition lawsuit against Funai originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh oh, Ashton, it looks like Apple might have a thing or two to say about that jailbroken iPhone of yours. Every three years the Copyright Office asks for proposed exemptions to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act’s rules against breaking access protections, and this time around the lovable scamps at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have asked that jailbreaking phones — like, yes, the iPhone — be classified as one of those exceptions. As you might have guessed, Apple’s response to the EFF isn’t exactly supportive of the idea: it says the proposed rule will “destroy the technological protection of Apple’s key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone device itself and of copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone.” Both sides have filed long briefs supporting their positions with extremely detailed legal arguments, but the main takeaways are that the EFF thinks that allowing jailbreaking will result in more apps and innovation, and Apple points out that the App Store is already hugely successful and that jailbroken phones are technically running unauthorized modifications of Apple’s copyrighted iPhone code that allows them to run pirated applications. Interestingly, Apple’s convoluted App Store approval process is the center of a lot of discussion, and Apple is totally disengeniuous about it, saying there’s no “duplication of functionality” rule and as proof claims to have allowed “multiple general web browsers… and multiple mail programs.” Note to the Copyright Office: if you believe this we have a very nice bridge to sell you.

Now, let’s be clear: while we’re definitely hoping the EFF pulls this one out, the worst thing that can result of all this is the status quo — Apple isn’t asking for jailbreaking to specifically be ruled illegal, it’s just asking that it not be specifically ruled legal. If that sounds like a fuzzy distinction, well, it is, but that’s the sort of gray area that keeps everyone else out of court for the time being. We’ll find out more in the spring, when the Copyright Office holds hearings — final rulings are due in October.

Read – EFF page on the jailbreaking debate
Read – EFF’s brief (PDF)
Read – Apple’s reply (PDF)
Read – EFF’s second brief (PDF)

Filed under: Cellphones

Apple and EFF spar over iPhone jailbreaking and the DMCA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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