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Time Warner gets fussy with DirecTV over NFL Network coverage
There's nothing like a warm, heartfelt lawsuit to really spread that holiday cheer, and we've got yet another battle in the courtroom about to get cranked up, and this time it's between rivals DirecTV and Time Warner. While TWC still can't claim the ability to offer the fledgling NFL Network on its cable systems, DirecTV felt the need to boast not only about its "superior coverage," but to also rub a little salt in Time Warner's wound by informing folks in NFL towns that games shown on the NFL Network "couldn't be seen" on Time Warner. Although the claims seem somewhat legitimate, Time Warner insists that "all eight games featured on the NFL Network will also be available to local fans over broadcast networks," which apparently wasn't the message being conveyed to pigskin-loving consumers. Regardless, DirecTV dug its hole a tad deeper by hiring Jessica Simpson to state that the firm's HD quality "beats cable," which is quite the laughable statement to anyone familiar with "HD Lite." In the end, however, we're sure the ads will be removed (or at least reworded), and the two firms will continue to bicker in future bouts, but what fun would it be if these two actually decided to get along, right?[Via MultiChannel]
Disgruntled Dell customer finds crafty path to lawsuit settlement
Pat Dori, a disgruntled Dell customer who found no resolution to the issue of a broken laptop after five long months and 19 wasted phone calls, decided to go legal and sue the company for failing to adequately address the problem. The method by which Mr. Dori initiated the claim is the juicy core of this story: instead of going through the normal process of sending the court papers to Dell's headquarters in Texas, Dori thought to have the papers delivered to a Dell shopping mall kiosk instead. Quite unsurprisingly, no-one from Dell turned up in court on the stipulated date, resulting in Dori winning a $3,000 default judgment and a ruling to allow bailiffs to close the kiosk and seize items if the judgment was not paid. Dell has now settled the case out of court for undisclosed terms, although the company would have appealed the decision -- had it actually turned up to court, that is. Mr. Dori, our latest hero for sticking it to the man in such a crafty manner, says that he thinks "any regular person can do this," as long as you "have the law on your side." Apparently the key is to "get their money" first, which will inevitably be followed by "[getting] their attention." It's gotta beat screaming down the phone, that's for sure.[Thanks, Mike]
RIAA petitions to lower artist royalties, weakens piracy arguments
Sure, the RIAA hasn't exactly been on the good side of the general public since, oh, this century began, but it sure isn't doing itself any favors with this latest hint of persuasion. While the agency has fought grandmothers, children, and cash-strapped citizens quite vigorously to "ensure artists are getting due payment," it has seemingly opened up a chink in its own armor by pleading with judges to "lower artist royalties." While we fully understand the need to keep pirates at bay, leading us on to believe that the RIAA was actually acting in the (gasp) artist's best interest was dodgy to say the least, as its currently petitioning the panel of federal government Copyright Royalty Judges to "lower the rates paid to publishers and songwriters for the use of lyrics and melodies in applications like cellphone ringtones and other digital recordings." The RIAA's executive VP and General Counsel Steven Marks even went so far as to proclaim his hopes that rates would be reevaluated so "record companies can continue to create the sound recordings that drive revenues for music publishers." We're surely not ones to judge a man's character (nor an album by its jacket), but it doesn't seem that the dear ole musicians are really the ones atop the RIAA's list of concerns, now does it?[Thanks, Nimro]
Nintendo finally hit with Wiimote lawsuit
C'mon, was there really any doubt about this one? We've seen everything from TVs to PDAs to windows to humans (and their scams) get jacked up thanks to Nintendo's Wiimote downright neglect, and without further ado, we present the first associated lawsuit. California-based Interlink, a company that manufacturers remote controls and other devices for business presentations, is hitting Nintendo up with a lawsuit claiming that the Wiimote violates its own "Trigger Operated Electronic Device" patent filed back in 2005. While the patent doesn't appear to focus on any kind of snazzy "full motion sensitivity" features like those enjoyed on the big N's controller, it does point out its uses as a pressure-sensitive mouse replacement, which really only relates to the Wiimote via a sweet hack job (or two). Nevertheless, the zany sounding suit may actually have more ground to stand on than we onlookers give it credit for, as we've already seen Sony's battle with Immersion head south. Sure, these filings are a dime a dozen these days, but if the signature piece of Nintendo's latest console gets tagged for royalties, who knows how much those classic title downloads could end up costing.[Via ArsTechnica, thanks Connor]
"Obvious" patent laws could become relaxed, tech firms rejoice
Lawsuits in the technology biz certainly aren't uncommon, and it looks like we may have one more significant ruling about to hit just shortly after CSIRO won its own landmark case. The US Supreme Court justices seem to be viewing earlier, lower cases with a hint of skepticism in regard to decisions that have previously worked to safeguard patented products. While the trial at hand concerns two brake manufacturers -- KSR International and rival Teleflex -- the stipulations could be far reaching; the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit previously ruled that KSR failed to prove that Teleflex (the accuser) "did not encounter teaching, suggestion, or motivation in developing the product." The generally ambiguous test is a thorn in the side of major technology companies getting slapped around by frivolous lawsuits, and Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco Systems have all made time to "submit briefs supporting KSR's stand." Still, the final decision isn't expected for quite some time, so sue-happy firms still have time to submit their counter-briefs, but folks like Vonage and TomTom (just to name a couple) would obviously (ahem) love a victory here.[Via Slashdot]
Today's hottest game video
Yes, we know, it's more Jack Thompson than you care to stomach. But it's also a hidden camera view inside the contempt of court hearings. If you can get past the terrible first three minutes of the video, which concern the cameraman being late to the hearing, and the godawful audio, then you'll finally be rewarded with a few shots of Thompson looking like he has an Xbox 360 power brick up his ass, a bailiff who looks like he could be taken out by a strong cough, and one of the squeakiest chairs in the world. Things finally get interesting around 9:20 when Thompson starts holding up his stupid sign (how long until someone Photoshops this?), and the judge gets very pissed off. Thompson does look like the surliest mofo on the planet, and the only game he's probably ever played must have been checkers. We have no doubt he was around when they invented it. On second thought, he probably decried it as the devil's tool, since it mixes colors, and he went on a campaign around his neighborhood on the back of a horseless carriage telling people to stop playing it.At 14:20, the genius cameraman (or the guy next him) has his cell phone goes off, and he has to bolt from the room. That's about as action packed as this video gets. Please, invest in a microphone so we don't all go deaf. Then again, that's about the last Thompson video we'll be watching unless he's a playable character in an upcoming fighting game.Video is after the jump, enjoy the new legal hotness.
Florida court OKs Bully
Destructoid has the scoop straight from the Florida courthouse where Judge Ronald Friedman has just declared that he will not honor Jack Thompson's request to restrict sales of Bully in advance of the game's shipment next Tuesday. The ruling comes after the judge viewed a demonstration of various parts of the game by a Take Two employee for two hours and determined "there's nothing in the game that you wouldn't see on TV every night." He added that he would not approve of the game for his children, but that fact alone "shouldn't mean that the game won't ship."While the case could still be appealed, Destructoid notes that Thompson expressed no interest in doing so because any appellate ruling would come after the game was already in stores. So while this doesn't necessarily mean that our favorite lawyer will "drop the whole thing," as he put it, it does mean that the path is clear for the game to reach stores.
Sadly, iPod girls will not get publicly berated by Judge Judy
In what is slowly snowballing into the Trial of the Century (and being only 2006, we can safely say the Trial of the Millennium), the dispute between the families of Shannon Derrick and Stephanie Eick over a stolen iPod will not, unfortunately, be resolved in the hallowed halls of Judge Judy's tough-but-fair courtroom. Amusingly, the plaintiff's mother originally saw the show as a quick way to resolve the matter on a level playing field, even though this whole incident could have been put to bed weeks ago had said mother not rejected a free iPod and associated swag donated by an anonymous do-gooder. As much as we'd love to hear JJ's take on this silly matter, since Eick's parents have been dropped from the suit and now only the piggybank of 14-year-old Stephanie is being pursued, it's up to her to approve a change of venue from Illinois to California. According to dad Steve, young Stephanie -- now a high school freshman -- doesn't want to go the Judy route because -- get this -- she'd have to miss two days of school and diving practice. (Who says kids these days lack ambition? When we were on the swim team, we would have given up our favorite pair of goggles to miss class and those grueling after-school torture sessions). Anyway, the next chapter in this saga will be played out on October 18th, when a DuPage County judge will attempt a last ditch effort at ending the debacle amicably through a settlement hearing. And after that? The high-profile case will most likely end up going to trial, and regardless of the final resolution, there's a good chance that Apple's legal team will swoop in and sue both families for besmirching the good name of their precious little cash cow.[Via The Beacon News, thanks Ricardo]
Court rules in favor of Midwestern Nextel spinoff
The endless barrage of legal fallout resulting from Sprint Nextel's merger continues, the latest onslaught coming from iPCS, a Sprint affiliate operating throughout much of the Midwest. According to Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, the merger violated Sprint's agreement with iPCS to not infringe on their territory (a common theme in affiliates' lawsuits) and is demanding that Sprint file a plan for divesting itself of its Nextel operations in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska by September 6. Naturally, Sprint intends to appeal "vigorously," though as in so many other cases, an acquisition ultimately seems possible -- if not probable.
Bankrupt VK Mobile: down but not out
Would-be Kickflip owners, Helio employees, rejoice: VK's back in the ring for another round. After a July 7 scare that had the Korean manufacturer facing liquidation, a bankruptcy court has ruled that they can conveniently forget their debts and obligations, freeing up cash for things like -- oh, you know -- manufacturing of phones. It'll apparently take the court a couple months yet to decide exactly if and how VK will be allowed to continue its turnaround, a decision that will be based largely on how the defunct company fares in the interim. If they agree to cut it out with the SLVR knockoffs, we're all for a complete recovery.
PS2 is not a computer, says Lord Justice [Update 1]
After a lengthy journey through legal loopholes and import tax laws, an English court has come to the conclusion that the PS2 is not, in fact, an "automatic data processing machine". This doesn't come as a revelation to Sony but rather, a crushing disappointment in a campaign that might have netted them a hefty 63 million dollars (or 50 million Euro). Had Sony's lawyerbots managed to fool convince the powers that be of the PS2's true computer lineage, the corporation would have received a huge tax refund on import duties, as computers (real ones) didn't fall under that particular tax umbrella between 2001 and 2003. The Court of Appeal's heroically labeled Lord Justice Chadwick wasn't best pleased by Sony's "skeleton" arguments, noting that they went "beyond what can be regarded as acceptable written advocacy" and exceeded "the bounds of propriety." If there's anything we've learned over the years, it's that one should never cross a man who wields a tiny hammer. It simply isn't a VAIOble strategy. (Sorry.)All of this comes on the heels of Ken Kutaragi's insistence that the PS3 is "clearly a computer." It's okay, Ken. You can drop the act now. European import tax on video game consoles dropped to zero percent in 2004.[Update 1: Clarified our amusement at the "Lord Justice" label. Surely, he must be a superhero of some sorts.]
Norway takes iTMS ToS gripes to court
A consumer advocacy group in Norway is apparently not too happy with the iTMS ToS (Terms of Service) and has won a preliminary ruling in an attempt to force Apple to make some edits. Specifically, the Norwegian group is attacking Apple's liability for any security breaches their software might allow (think: "Sony rootkits"), as well as the company's 'we can edit these ToS anytime we want' policy that is outlined in said ToS. Also on the table, yet again, is the use of DRM and whether it violates fundamental consumer rights in Norway, and the proposition of a 'cooling off' period for iTMS purchases.First France, now Norway. The iTMS and its practices are taking quite the beating lately. We should take bets as to how long it will take Norwegian pro-music industry lobbyists to get these rulings fixed this time around.[via MacNN]
PS3 pad loses DualShock name and vibration but picks up Wii-esque motion detection and wireless connectivity
In a shocking turn of events, the PS3 controller has gone from banamerang to wireless DualShock 3, except without the DualShock name and vibration.If you take a good look at the back of the new control pad (see the close-up above), you'll notice that the DualShock 2 brand name imprinted on the old controller has now been supplanted by a row of LED lights to show which input has been set, either wirelessly or via the wired USB recharge port. Sony's now the only name in-line for PS3 controllers either on the pad or in the press releases (see "the new PS3 controller").
Prisoner gets 40 more years for cellphone possession
In a decision being touted by prosecutors as a major victory in the war on inmate cellphone usage, jurors slapped Texan Michael Manor with a surprising 40-year sentence for what they considered the very serious crime of possessing a cellphone in prison. Manor, who was already serving 32 years on auto theft charges, was not even charged with using the phone for criminal purposes; rather, the long sentence comes as a result of a new zero-tolerance cellphone policy in the Texas prison system, where the offense was recently given third-degree felony status. Corrections offers are also a target of the crackdown, with prosecutors promising to bring offenders in front of juries instead of offering them probation, although there are concerns that the stricter penalties may actually make smuggling appear more lucrative.[Via textually]
TUAW Podcast the 8th
It's that time again! We've put together our eighth podcast, and in this edition Jan Kabili, Damien Barrett and Dave Caolo bring you some of our best posts from last week, in-depth details on Apple Computer vs. Apple Corps, a couple April fools jokes, new Apple stores and some interesting iPod accessories. It's all hosted by me, David Chartier, and is available in a variety of formats and channels: enhanced AAC MP3 our iTMS podcast and vidcast link our own RSS feed of podcasts Please let us know what you think of the new format in the comments.Enjoy!
Shocking DualShock case still not going Sony's way
Sony's attempt to overturn the 2004 ruling on Immersion's haptic technology patents and receive a new trial was denied in court recently.The Wall Street Journal tells quite a tale concerning another force-feedback inventor, originally a paid consultant of Immersion, who allegedly received advance royalties from Sony in exchange for testimony against his former client. There's enough drama in this case to fill a television soap opera--or, better yet, a police or crime-scene procedural.For the full contents of the article, you'll need to log in as a subscriber to the Journal through the picture above or the Read link below. We don't know to what extent this courtroom drama will affect the "boomerang" PS3 prototype controller design, future DualShock 2 availability and compatibility, or any possible delays to the new system itself, but Sony's separate appeal in federal court has yet to be ruled on, leaving the company one more crucial legal avenue to pursue in this matter.[Via Joystiq]
