suit
Latest
A mind-controlled exoskeleton helped a paralyzed man walk again
A paralyzed man regained the ability to walk with the help of a robotic exoskeleton that he controlled with his mind. Unlike other, more invasive mind-controlled robotics, this one used electrodes implanted above the brain's outer membrane, not in the brain itself. That could reduce the risk of infection and other obstacles that have limited the success of mind-controlled robotics.
Apple faces two lawsuits over intentional iPhone slowdowns
Well that was quick. Just two days after Apple admitted that it intentionally slowed down older iPhones with older batteries (to prevent sudden unexpected shutdowns), the company is being sued. Both suits claim that Apple does this to force customers into a shortened upgrade cycle.
Qualcomm files new suit against Apple for breach of contract
Just a couple of days after a report that Apple is designing its mobile devices without Qualcomm technology, the chipmaker has filed another suit against Apple. According to a report at Bloomberg, the chipmaker is suing Apple for breach of contract around a reported failure to comply with the terms of a software license and allegedly sharing proprietary information with a competitor.
Trump sued for blocking users on Twitter
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University warned President Trump to stop blocking Twitter users. The freedom of speech organization sent the president a letter last month arguing that when Twitter is used by a President, it operates as a "designated public forum" like a city council or school board meeting. When blocking users for mocking or critical tweets, it argues, the president is violating their First Amendment rights. While the letter did not explicitly promise legal action, the implication was clear. Now, the same institute has filed suit, asserting that President Trump and "his communications team are violating the First Amendment by blocking individuals from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account because they criticized the president or his policies."
bHaptics' TactSuit is VR haptic feedback done right
Every now and then, we come across a new attempt to bring haptic feedback to VR, but we've yet to see one that's fully convincing; those that are still around tend to be both pricey and far from ready for the market. Well, this is apparently no longer the case thanks to bHaptics. At HTC Vive X demo day in Shanghai, I got some hands-on time with this Korean startup's TactSuit, a wireless kit consisting of a haptic mask (which is a rarity), two haptic sleeves and a haptic vest. The fascinating part here is that it comes with a total of 87 feedback points, which is a lot more generous than what the other suits offer. It'll also cost less than its direct competitor, Nullspace VR's $549 Hardlight suit which only has 16 feedback points.
Qualcomm pays BlackBerry $940 million in royalty spat
Qualcomm hasn't been very successful with its licensing practices. It's gotten into trouble in South Korea for charging phone makers over an "unnecessarily broad set of patents" It has also been dealing with lawsuits from the FTC and Apple for similar tactics. Qualcomm was ordered to pay BlackBerry $815 million in an arbitration settlement last April. BlackBerry announced today that the two companies have reached a final agreement amount of $940 miillion, which includes the original arbitration amount along with interst and attorneys' fees. The release says that Qualcomm will pay the full amount before the end of May.
Lawsuit alleges EA infringed on sports stadium update patent
White Knuckle IP filed a lawsuit late last week against EA, alleging that the publisher infringed on a patent that focuses on methods for updating sports games based on real-life changes. The suit referred to U.S. Pat. No. 8,529,350, which described methods that record real-world parameters, then store those elements on a server so players can download them to update their games. The patent dates back to October 2002. While the patent is related to another one that deals with updating an athlete's statistics and skills based on real-life performance, the lawsuit focuses on changes to the appearance and attributes of stadiums and venues. The lawsuit specifically targets games in EA Sports' NCAA Football and Tiger Woods PGA Tour series, from NCAA Football 10 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 through the last respective entries, NCAA Football 14 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. According to Patent Arcade, White Knuckle "did not identify any specific feature in its complaint." [Image: EA Sports]
Nintendo sued after actor suffers heart condition in Donkey Kong suit
An actor hired by Nintendo to wear a Donkey Kong suit at a Los Angeles Zoo event last year is suing the publisher over a heart condition he claims was caused while working in the southern California heat. Attorneys for the actor tell the LA Times that he was denied breaks and not provided with a required ice pack, which led to a tearing of his aortic wall, which required surgery and implantation of a heart defibrillator. The actor was hired to wear the suit on May 24, 2013, for the launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. Attorneys for the actor also say a company ambassador hired to escort him and control activities did not provide proper oversight. On a lighter note, both the Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3D remake were pretty good.
Blizzard wins lawsuit and shuts down Hearthstone clone
Back in January we reported that Blizzard levied a lawsuit against Unico Interactive for its game, Legend of Crouching Dragon, which Blizzard claimed was a reskinned clone of Hearthstone. It looks as though the courts agreed, awarding Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase $1.6 million due to copyright infringement. Legend of Crouching Dragon has been removed from app stores, and Unico said that it will be reimbursing players for money spent on it to date. Even with the ruling, Unico remains defiant against "false stories" in the press and claims that it hasn't seen any official order to pay compensation to Blizzard.
FedEx charged with transporting drugs for illegal online pharmacies
Live animals. Hazardous waste. Used tires. Cash. These are all items that you can't ship via FedEx. Medication is accepted, however, as it poses no risk to the carrier -- or so it seemed. Today, FedEx was indicted in a US District Court, facing criminal charges for its role in providing logistics for illegal online pharmacies. Various US agencies have reportedly been warning FedEx to stop accepting such shipments for years, so as shocking as the charges may seem, they should come as no surprise to executives. If guilty, FedEx would have to hand over the $820 million or so it's earned by transporting drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone for black market distributers.
The US is getting Hollywood's help building a real 'Iron Man' battle suit
The US hasn't had much success building mechanized battle suits that move quickly and stop bullets, but Hollywood has been dreaming up these concepts for years. Don't they already know a thing or two about designing high-tech armor? Apparently, the US military thinks so -- it's enlisting the help of Legacy Effects, which has built suits for Iron Man and RoboCop, to shape its TALOS (Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit) project. The company is both designing and 3D printing prototype pieces that will give a feel for what the armor is like in the real world.
The Big Picture: Exploring the deep blue in a wearable submarine
Developed and built by Nuytco Research, this exosuit is made from hard metal and allows divers to operate safely down to a depth of 1000 feet. The suit has four 1.6 horsepower propulsion thrusters, fiber optic gigabit ethernet, and a host of telemetry devices. The "Exosuit atmospheric diving system" (ADS) will allow wearers to work in deep water without facing problems with decompression. While still in testing right now, diver Michael Lombardi will be taking it out for its first full exploration mission later this summer, at a location called Canyons, approximately 100 miles off the coast of Rhode Island.
38 Studios knew $75M loan wasn't enough to finish Project Copernicus
Emails surfacing from the legal fracas concerning 38 Studios and its loan from Rhode Island indicate that the studio knew the loan was not nearly enough to fully fund the game but decided to hide that from outsiders. 38 Studios Vice Chairman Thomas Zaccagnino allegedly sent one the damning emails, urging a few studio execs to remain mum on the financial situation: "I really do not think we should highlight the fact that we might be under-capitalized... [it] won't go over well with the staff or board." The email was in response to CEO Jen MacLean, who wrote that she was concerned that the state wasn't delivering the full $75 million from the agreement and that the project would fall short of funding because of this. One lawyer involved in both the deal and the lawsuit said that the state knew that the deal wasn't enough to fully fund: "The [EDC] Board was acutely aware that the capital needs of 38 Studios where [sic] in excess of $125MM as acknowledged in the 2010 EDC Inducement Resolution[.] The Board also knew that the net proceeds of the EDC Loan would be less than $75MM."
Rhode Island Governor signs 38 Studios settlement bill
Following successful votes in the Rhode Island Senate and House of Representatives, a bill designed to help settle the 38 Studios fiasco was signed into law by Governor Lincoln Chafee yesterday. Lawmakers hope that the bill will encourage settlements by shielding defendants from further litigation. Involved parties say that this bill will pave the way to recover as much as possible of the $90 million that Rhode Island is responsible for paying following the defaulted loan to 38 Studios.
Rhode Island House to vote on out-of-court settlements for 38 Studios fiasco
After a successful vote yesterday from the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee, the full state House of Representatives is set to consider legislation next week that encourages out-of-court settlements in Rhode Island Commerce Corp.'s lawsuit against 38 Studios and its founder, Curt Schilling. The bill, which won unanimous support in the House Judiciary Committee and has already been passed by the Senate, is designed to protect defendants who settle in this case from lawsuits levied by co-defendants found liable for damages. Fallout from the collapse of the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning studio has left Rhode Island stiffed on a bill that totals out to roughly $90 million; The attorney for the RICC believes this bill will provide for an increase in potentially recovered funds. In related but sad news, Schilling has revealed to ESPN that he was recently diagnosed with cancer. His statement expressed hope, with Schilling saying, "My father left me with a saying that I've carried my entire life and tried to pass on to our kids: 'Tough times don't last. Tough people do."
Rhode Island senate passes 38 Studios legislation
A major hurdle in paving over the bad feelings, poor decisions, and millions of dollars in unpaid loans that 38 Studios caused when it defaulted two years ago has been crossed, as Rhode Island's Senate has approved legislation to settle the affair out of court. The Senate unanimously passed a bill to shield from future lawsuits any party that settles with Rhode Island Commerce Corp. The RICC, formerly the Economic Development Corp., has been trying to figure out a way to recoup as much of the $90 million lost through former 38 Studios deals as possible, and the attorney for the state says that this legislation will increase any future recovery of those funds. The Rhode Island House of Representatives has to consider and vote on a similar bill for this to proceed. Lawyers say that the longer this case goes without a settlement, the larger the legal bills will be, which will diminish those funds the state does recover.
Legislation may pave a path for 38 Studios case settlement
Amazingly enough, the 38 Studios saga could be wrapped up soon if lawyers and the Rhode Island government agree on a path out of the legal swamp. The Associated Press is reporting that efforts are being made to settle the 38 Studios lawsuit out of the courts. Rhode Island's lawyer is encouraging the state senate to pass legislation allowing both sides to come to a settlement, as the remaining 38 Studios assets and resources are "being eaten up very rapidly." The state is suing Curt Schilling and 13 others over the $75 million loan that 38 Studios defaulted on back in 2012, looking for repayment plus additional compensation for damages. If the legislation passes and a settlement is reached, then the defendants would be protected from any further claims for compensation.
Blizzard sues Hearthstone copycat
Blizzard isn't taking kindly to a Chinese ripoff of its Hearthstone and is suing to protect its upcoming online card game. Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase filed a suit against mobile game Legend of Crouching Dragon and its developer Unico to the tune of $1.65 million and possible closure of the game for an infringement of intellectual rights. Legend of Crouching Dragon uses characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and bears a striking similarity to the design and function of Hearthstone. The mobile game has been in beta for both Android and iOS platforms.
ACLU sues over NSA's surveillance program, challenging its constitutionality
If you're already overwhelmed by the sheer amount of activity surrounding the ongoing NSA fallout, we're guessing that now would be an excellent time to go on vacation. Predictably, lawsuits are already being filed against the National Security Agency, the second of which is coming from the American Civil Liberties Union. Essentially, it's challenging the constitutionality of the surveillance program in a New York federal court, deeming the initiative "one of the largest surveillance efforts ever launched by a democratic government." The suit claims that the program infringes upon (at least) the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment of the United States constitution. As The Verge points out, the ACLU's prior NSA lawsuit (in 2008) was dismissed in a 5-4 outcome "on the grounds that it did not have legal standing to sue, since there was no way to prove it had been targeted." Given the leaked documents involved now, however, the outcome could be much different this go 'round. Of course, one has to wonder: if all of this leads to the public shutdown of the program, are we capable of trusting the same government that started it to not actually operate it in secret?
Report: Patrice Desilets suing Ubisoft for $400,000, option to buy 1666 rights
Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed 2 creative director Patrice Desilets, formerly of Ubisoft, THQ and then Ubisoft again, has filed suit against Ubisoft seeking back pay, damages and the opportunity to buy the rights to 1666, according to a report by Canadian outlet La Presse. Desilets is looking for a grand total of $400,000 from Ubisoft, which breaks down into $250,000 worth of salary, $100,000 worth of damages, $35,000 in expense reimbursement and $25,000 in severance. Desilets is also attempting to make use of a clause in his contract with THQ (which Ubisoft subsumed upon their purchase of its assets) that allows him the option of acquiring the rights to 1666, as well as the materials and assets created during development. Desilets' termination from Ubisoft last May was reportedly the result of Ubisoft enacting a non-compliance clause in his contract, which mandated that Desilets deliver an "acceptable prototype" before July 30, 2012. Desilets maintains that, not only was the prototype delivered on time, but that continued development on the project leading up to his departure is evidence enough of its acceptableness, according to La Presse.
