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The Daily Roundup for 06.07.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Washington Post: NSA, FBI tapping directly into servers of 9 leading internet companies (update)
On the heels of yesterday's revelation that the NSA is bulk collecting call logs from Verizon Business customers, the Washington Post is reporting tonight on another initiative, code named PRISM. According to the report, it gives the FBI and NSA access to "audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection logs" from the central servers of Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL (parent company of Engadget), Skype, YouTube and Apple. Another program called BLARNEY sniffs up metadata as it streams past "choke points" on the internet, continuing the theme of bulk scooping of data most would think is private. The Post's knowledge of these programs comes from PowerPoint slides (like the one shown above) provided by a "career intelligence officer" driven to expose how deep it goes. So what can the project allegedly see? Analysts based at Fort Meade use search terms to determine at least 51 percent confidence in a subject's "foreignness" before pulling data, which can include that of people found in a suspect's inbox. On Facebook, they can utilize the service's built in search and surveillance capabilities, monitor audio, video, chat and file transfers or access activity on Google's mail, storage, photo and search services. So... are you still logged in? Update 4: Now we've come full circle, as the original Washington Post article has been expanded to include the various company's responses and denials (listed after the break). Another element that has changed is the mention of another classified report that suggests these companies may not be knowingly participating, and the NSA's access may not be as direct as originally claimed. Claiming the difference may be the result of "imprecision" by the NSA author, the arrangement is now described as "collection managers [to send] content tasking instructions directly to equipment installed at company-controlled locations." Update (June 7th): Google has now issued a longer statement, signed by CEO Larry Page and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, which reiterates its earlier comments and also calls for a "more transparent approach" from both other companies and governments alike. Update 2 (June 7th): Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has denied involvement on his personal page, stating "Facebook is not and has never been part of any program to give the US or any other government direct access to our servers...We hadn't even heard of PRISM before yesterday." Like the others, he claimed Facebook only provides information "if it is required by law" and mirrored Page's call for more transparency regarding government programs.
Jagex Games Studio wins patent infringement case
Jagex Games Studio, renowned as the maker of RuneScape, has announced its success in securing a non-infringement judgment in a case brought against it by PalTalk Holdings. PalTalk initiated patent infringement legal proceedings against Jagex (as well as Activision-Blizzard, Sony, Turbine, and NCsoft) after being awarded a settlement in a similar claim against Microsoft in 2009. PalTalk claimed that Jagex had infringed on U.S. patents relating to server group messaging systems and further alleged that it had suffered "in excess of tens of millions of dollars" in damages. Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard didn't pull any punches when expressing his displeasure at the perceived frivolity of the claim. "It is exceedingly unfortunate that the U.S. legal system can force a company with a sole presence in Cambridge, UK to incur a seven digit expense and waste over a year of management time on a case with absolutely no merit," he said. "This anomaly, which could easily break smaller studios, doesn't happen in the UK since you can pursue frivolous litigants for the costs of such claims," Gerhard stated.
PalTalk takes patent infringement suit on the road, sues MMO devs
PalTalk Holdings is feeling pretty zesty following its legal victory over Microsoft this past March, so it's decided to take its patent infringement suit against a few major players in the MMO market. Turbine, Sony, Activision Blizzard, Jagex and NCSoft are all staring down the barrel of PalTalk's litigation cannon -- which, after forcing Microsoft to come to a settlement earlier this year, now has a substantial amount of precedent supporting it. PalTalk purchased two patents from a company called HearMe in 2002 for technology which shares data between networked computers, allowing users to see the same virtual space as they interact with one another in real time. One could construe that to mean PalTalk owns the patent on online multiplayer altogether -- but we're sure Activision's beefy legal team will have a few arguments to the contrary up its sleeve.
Sony, Turbine, Jagex, Blizzard, and NCsoft named in patent infringement lawsuit
It seems to be a World of Lawsuits (TM) recently in our industry. Bloggers are being sued for libel, NCsoft is being sued for patent infringement, Linden Labs is being sued for trademark violations, Turbine is suing Atari, and now five companies are all being sued over a patent dispute.The Boston Globe has reported that Paltalk Holdings Inc. has filed a complaint in Texas against Sony Corp., Activision Blizzard Inc., Turbine Inc., NCsoft Corp., and Jagex Ltd. all for games that violate their patent on computers sharing data so that all users can see the same virtual environment. The games in question are EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars, and RuneScape (in order of the companies as named above.)What makes this lawsuit different from the standard patent shakedowns that we've been reporting on is that the patent has already been successfully used in court. Paltalk has already sued, and won against, Microsoft.
Microsoft settles Paltalk copyright infringement suit
While we were gearing up for an epic, The Firm-esque judicial showdown, it seems Microsoft has settled the lawsuit filed against it by PalTalk Holdings, who claimed certain components of Xbox Live infringe upon two of their patents. Neither company announced how much Microsoft forked over in the settlement -- we assume it was significantly less than the exorbitant $90 million in damages PalTalk was seeking. While we don't know the particulars of how money changed hands in the settlement, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed it was an "amicable agreement," so it's pretty safe to assume that hugs were exchanged.[Via CVG] [image]
PalTalk suing Microsoft for $90 million for copyright infringement
Two-and-a-half years ago, online communications company PalTalk announced it would be suing Microsoft for infringing on two of its online gaming patents. PalTalk claimed that Halo's online component and the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles themselves clearly infringe on technology relating to "controlling interactive applications over multiple computers" which was developed by MPath Interactive, then acquired by PalTalk Holdings for a sum of $200,000.Recently, PalTalk decided to move foward with the case, and is attempting to seek $90 million in damages from Microsoft for the "tens of millions of dollars" the company lost as a result of Xbox Live's online offerings. PalTalk lawyer Max Tribble claimed Microsoft met with MPath to look at their online gaming technology, and "found the technology to be very valuable." Afterwards, they supposedly yoinked it.Microsoft's lawyer, David Pritkin, confirmed the company met with MPath, but decided to "go in a different direction and work with a different company," which he says upset PalTalk, and could be one of the main reasons for the suit. He added that the patents aren't incredibly valuable, and that the $90 million in damages sought by PalTalk is a fairly exorbitant sum. The trial is set to take place in a U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, with a verdict likely to surface in the coming weeks.
MS sued for Xbox Live patent infringement
It's a proven fact. Create successful technology and someone will sue you for patent infringement. It happened with the iPod, it happened with the Dual Shock, and now it's happening with Xbox Live. A New York company named Paltalk has sued Microsoft because Xbox Live apparently infringes upon two of its patents. At this juncture, Paltalk hasn't actually submitted any, you know, evidence of this, but asserts that is has suffered "tens of millions of dollars" in damages. One has to question the credibility of such a claim, considering Xbox Live is already four years old. Then again, if all you're looking to do is squeeze money out an already entrenched service, it makes perfect sense. Microsoft wants Xbox Live to keep humming along, and will likely pay whatever amount is necessary to keep it so -- if they lose the case that is. On an interesting note, Paltalk chose to sue Microsoft in eastern Texas, based on the fact that "Microsoft has subscribers who reside in the Eastern District of Texas, and Microsoft provides infringing online services to its subscribers in this district." Yeah, that might be the reason. Then again, I wonder what the ratio of guilty/not guilty verdicts is in a Texas court.Whatever happens, don't worry your pretty little head about it. Xbox Live isn't going anywhere. It's not like Live is some little extra feature that Microsoft could live without like, say, rumble functionality.[Thanks, Pixelantes Anonymous]
Paltalk sues Microsoft on patents for tens of millions
Those Redmond Rough Riders have been busy as of late, what with the launch of the Zune and all today. But while Allard and his gang are celebrating the launch of his latest brainchild, his old baby, Xbox Live, is getting sued for patent infringement in the wilds of East Texas. Paltalk, a video chat and community site, sued Microsoft on September 12th for infringing its 1998 patent on "Server-group messaging system for interactive applications" -- but really, doesn't that sound like every other program that talks to a server? The video chat company claims that Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming system stole the idea of in-game chats from Paltalk and wants "tens of millions of dollars" in damages. Now, again, when it comes to cases like this, we invoke the "WANL" (we are not lawyers) clause and postulate that the reason Paltalk isn't targeting a different company (such as Blizzard) is because Microsoft has a market cap of over a quarter trillion dollars, and Paltalk wants some of that pie. We remind the court of public opinion that Blizzard's mid-1990s titles like "Warcraft II" and "Starcraft" came out well before the Xbox and had game-based chat -- we know because a few of us spent many a'night typing things like: "4v4 No n00bs." [Via Ars Technica]
