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Nokia gets nose bloodied in IPCom patent case, says it doesn't care anyway
Mannheim is gaining a reputation as the place where patent disputes go to die. The latest loser? Nokia, in a case against German firm IPCom. A saving grace for the Finnish firm, this time, seems to be that the patent in question was granted in February 2011 and all the handsets involved predate this, and are no longer on the market. That's according to the firm's spokesman at least, who also added that it would be seeking a ruling from a higher court to clarify whether current handsets are also affected by the ruling. Well, they do say things come in threes...
DJI multi-rotor aircraft with Ruling live video feed controller hands-on (video)
Well that's a mouthful. Shenzhen-based DJI Innovations was on hand at NAB today to demonstrate its new hex-rotor aircraft, designed to provide photographers (and videographers) with a low-cost tool for capturing aerial images. The vehicle we saw today, coined Spreading Wings S800 (its rotors retract for storage) is a fairly straightforward multi-rotor aircraft, save for a couple pretty slick enhancements. Even more impressive, however, was DJI's Ruling, a "ground control terminal" that enables you to adjust not only aircraft direction and elevation, but also the camera position, complete with a live video feed as captured by a Sony NEX-5N mounted on a multi-axis camera gimbal. The camera mount is designed to maintain a stable image regardless of the craft's position -- once it's fixed on a subject, it will adjust to retain the pre-selected angle. The Ruling controller is very much still a prototype, with a yet-unpolished military green plastic housing and a built-in LCD. There's also dual joysticks -- one on the left to adjust the camera platform, and a second on the right to control the aircraft itself, letting you climb, descend and turn in every which way with a flick. The duo was very responsive during a brief demonstration, making calculated movements with what looked to be precise accuracy. The video feed was interrupted slightly by the multitude of wireless connections littering the Las Vegas Convention Center airwaves, but reps were still able to verify framing and adjust position -- the aircraft itself never faltered, with a maximum range of 10 kilometers (5km for the video feed, in ideal conditions). The Spreading Wings S800 is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship next month for roughly $8,500. That clever live video controller will cost you another pretty penny, however, with an estimated $5,000 price tag and a TBD ship date. You'll want to take a closer look in the video after the break.
US Judge rejects Hasbro / ASUS sales ban, Transformer Prime prevails
Coming up with original gadget names is tough work, and, after all, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery -- right? So it was no surprise when ASUS happened upon an alias that more than slightly resembled that of a popular fictional mutant semi -- you know, Transformer Optimus Prime. However shockingly, Hasbro wasn't a fan, opting to battle ASUS to the death in the U.S. court system. And, after countless weeks and many bank holidays, we finally have a victor. It appears that the leader of the Autobots will continue to share its name with the Taiwanese company's tablet -- that's what you get for leaving the fate of the world to mere human bureaucrats. Just don't be surprised when it comes time to name the world's next Superhero, Ms. Zenbook UX31.
Final ITC ruling affirms Motorola Mobility didn't violate Apple's patents
The preliminary decision already determined that, in this case, Motorola Mobility hadn't violated any of Apple's patents with its Droid series, and now a final review has affirmed those initial findings. While this might not be a massive turn up for the books, it does close the doors on at least one big name patent dispute. That said, Apple can appeal to the Federal Circuit, and given that it has done before, it's likely the iPad maker will do so here. But, for now at least, it's cork popping time over in Libertyville.
German government proposes to charge search engines for excerpting news sites
A German government committee is proposing changes that could force search engines operating in the country to pay for using news excerpts. The plans involve setting up a department to charge royalties from sites that aggregate news feeds, and covers them for 12-months from date of publish. This isn't the first country to attempt to protect publishers' material, with the Newspaper Licensing Agency in the UK also performing a similar role. Before you hide your news blog from German eyes, the ruling will only affect commercial outfits.Germany's publishing executives have been pushing for such a move since a case in Belgium that saw Google News forced to stop excerpting articles. Unsurprisingly there is strong support from the industry, with 149 execs from the country already having petitioned the government with a "Hamburg Declaration on Intellectual Property Rights" proposal in 2009, and both the German Federation of Newspaper Publishers and Association of German Magazine Publishers also campaigning for change. Now that the committee has laid down clear plans, it remains to be seen if or how they will be implemented, but with the nation's track record for pulling no punches where technology is concerned, search engines might have to prepare for a rapid change in policy.
Court upholds Fifth Amendment, prevents forced decryption of data
When our forefathers were amending the constitution for the fifth time, they probably didn't have TrueCrypt-locked hard drives in mind. However, a ruling from the 11th Circuit Appeals Court has upheld the right of an anonymous testifier to not forcibly decrypt their data. The case relates to a Jon Doe giving evidence in exchange for immunity. The protection afforded to them under this case wouldn't extend to any other incriminating data that might be found, and as such Doe felt this could lead to violation of the fifth amendment. The validity of the prosecution's demands for the data decryption lies in what they already know, and how they knew it -- to prevent acting on hopeful hunches. The prosecutors were unable to demonstrate any knowledge of the data in question, leading the 11th Circuit to deem the request unlawful, adding that the immunity should have extended beyond just the current case. This isn't the first time we've seen this part of the constitution under the digital spotlight, and we're betting it won't be the last, either.
FCC rules VoIP providers must report outages in effort to improve 911 service
The FCC has many important things under its jurisdiction, and ensuring a functional 911 service is among the most critical. As such, telephony providers are required to report network outages, so the commission can monitor and maintain a resilient service. Until now, this hasn't included VoIP services, but a new ruling states that interconnected VoIP providers will have to declare outages that meet certain criteria. The move comes after the FCC's most recent Local Competition Report, which reveals that almost one-third of the 87 million residential telephone subscriptions are now provided as VoIP, and therefore carry emergency calls. While public safety is the main driver, the report also states it will "ensure critical communications infrastructure remains available in times of crisis." Check out the lengthy video after the break to see the meeting in its entirety.
Apple granted injunction in German patent suit, Motorola phones with slide-to-unlock at risk
Apple scored a huge victory today in Munich's Regional Court where Judge Dr. Peter Guntz found Motorola's implementation of slide-to-unlock on smartphones to be in breach of Cupertino's patent holdings. The ruling has resulted in a permanent injunction that Apple could execute at will, forcing Moto to alter the UX it employs across its device portfolio in Deutschland. The case originally focused on three separate applications of this gesture tech -- two for phones, alone -- but for now, the one used on the Xoom has been deemed outside of Apple's purview. Naturally, both parties are expected to appeal this decision, with Apple gunning for a total victory on every derivation of patent EP1964022 and Motorola seeking to overturn the win. Nonetheless, this particular legal triumph could help to set a precedent for the company as it continues to rage an IP war against fellow mobile industry rivals.
Australian government finally introduces R18+ bill, to go into effect next year
Australia's game rating woes are almost over. After years of debate and legal discussion about an R18+ rating for video games there (that would allow for the equivalent of the ESRB's M-rated games to be released without, you know, being illegal), the government has finally agreed to the new rating, aiming to enact it as early as next year. A bill setting up the extra rating was introduced to the Federal Parliament this week, and is expected to pass easily through the House and Senate.The bill would go into effect sooner, but the Federal Minister for Home Affairs says the government needs time to finish all of the paperwork on the new regulation, and to allow each state and territory to draft its own laws enforcing the rating. The bill wouldn't mandate a nationwide rating, but simply allow each territory to create its own.But that shouldn't be an issue, according to those in the know. Apparently, there's plenty of public support already. There were almost 60,000 submissions from the public responding to a discussion paper from 2010, and 98% of those were strongly in support of games rated R18+. As soon as the laws go into effect, retailers will be free to sell games as needed to anyone old enough to buy them.
Latest Kaleidescape tentative judgement could mean the end of untethered disc servers
The thing about the American civil court system is you can almost never stop looking over your shoulder, even when you thought you won. Things get appealed and what was a favorable ruling can become your worst nightmare five years later. That's what the folks at Kaleidescape are facing if the latest tentative judgement in its case vs the DVD Copy Control Association, which licenses DVD's defunct copy protection, CSS. Last time around Kaleidescape was on the other side of the ruling with the Judge agreeing that there was no violation of any terms of service. This time around? Not so much. It would mean a shift in legal DVD servers, but we'd imagine Blu-ray takes up most of the market by now anyway. Currently Kaleidescape's Blu-ray products authenticate the disc is in the vault before playing, and its CEO has testified modifications could be made to the DVD products within a few months. So with Managed Copy being DOA and UltraViolet being anything but disappointing to anyone, days without keeping track of discs to watch the movies you own seems like a fairy tale -- legally anyways.
Apple features 'communication to protect consumers' in Italy
Apple has apparently complied with a recent ruling by the Italian government that the company did not do enough, when selling its extended one-year warranties in stores, to let customers know that its products already came with a two-year warranty, as per consumer laws there. The company has posted an official message on its website in Italy, designated a "Communication to Protect Customers," that outlines exactly what rights customers have to that two-year warranty, and that the Apple Store pushed its paid warranty onto customers anyway. It's unknown, however, whether Apple will pay the around $1.2 million fine that Italian authorities have levied against the company for this behavior. This notice could be Apple trying to get out of paying the actual money. So far there's no indication that fines have been paid, or even that the company has changed its tactics in Italian stores. We'll have to see what actions the government takes after this. Of course, if the government does pursue fines against Apple, $1.2 million is about as "drop in the bucket" as it gets for a company with $98 billion in the bank. If Italian authorities do pursue this further, it might be easier for Apple to just write a check than worry about it for too long.
Dutch Supreme Court declares RuneScape theft a real-world crime
Is stealing a virtual good deserving of a real-world criminal sentence? According to a recent ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court, the answer is "yes." The court recently upheld a ruling of a criminal case in which teens attacked another youth and forced him at knifepoint to relinquish his possessions in RuneScape, including an in-game amulet and knife. The incident happened in 2007, and a lower court convicted the two thieves in 2009. One of the defendants then appealed to the country's supreme court on the grounds that the stolen goods "were neither tangible nor material and, unlike for example electricity, had no economic value." However, the judges declared that these virtual items had value because they represented "time and energy invested" to acquire. The thieves were sentenced to 144 hours of community service.
WTO ruling revives debate over China's rare earths trade
China suffered another setback at the WTO yesterday, thanks to a ruling that could spell trouble for its controversial rare earths industry. In a decision issued Monday, a WTO panel determined that the Chinese government has been acting in violation of international trade rules, due to export restrictions on a number of raw materials. These restrictions, the panel said, allowed Beijing to inflate global market prices, while giving an advantage to domestic producers. As a result, China will likely have to adjust its trade policies to comply with WTO regulations. In a statement, the country's Ministry of Commerce said it "deeply regrets" the decision, but confirmed that the People's Republic will adhere to it. This week's ruling applies to materials like bauxite, coke, magnesium, manganese and zinc, but, most notably, does not apply to rare earths -- a group of 17 elements critical to the production of tablets, smartphones and myriad other gadgets. China has maintained a rather tight grip over the world's rare earths market, thanks to a slew of export controls, quotas and government-erected barriers to entry. The country has come under intense international pressure in recent years, with the US, EU and Mexico filing complaints with the WTO, arguing that China's price-inflating restrictions violate international trade agreements. Beijing, for its part, has long maintained that its export controls are designed to minimize the environmental impact of rare earth mining, while meeting the country's surging domestic demand. It's an argument that's come up a lot during this debate but one that the WTO, on Monday, deemed illegitimate, stating that China has thus far been "unable to demonstrate" the environmental benefits of its policies. The decision won't have any immediate bearing on these policies, but some observers are hopeful that it may be a sign of things to come. Michael Silver, CEO of rare earth processor American Elements, told Reuters that the ruling "confirms the existence of the two-tiered price structure that has caused so much concern," with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht adding that the decision should force China to remove restrictions on both the aforementioned raw materials and rare earths, alike. Others, however, aren't so optimistic, pointing out that, with a full 95 percent of the rare earths market under its aegis, China could realistically afford to ignore any decisions handed down from the WTO in the future.
German court upholds ban on original Galaxy Tab 10.1
While Samsung was more than willing to redesign its flagship tablet in the face of the German court's ruling last year, the higher regional court in Dusseldorf maintains that the original still can't be sold within its borders. As Samsung and Apple continue their legal fisticuffs worldwide, the claim from Cupertino that the 10.1-inch Android tablet is too similar to its own iPad has seen more attention than most. Samsung returned the favor by counter-suing over mobile technology patents, although it's been just as unfortunate here, losing two out of the three infringement claims. The final case will be ruled on in early March. Today's decision will also encompass the Galaxy Tab 8.9, although given that this ruling is based on Germany's own unfair competition law, it's unlikely to be replicated elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N remains on shelves -- and very desperate tablet fans remain just a short drive away from neighboring countries still able to sell the original.
Dutch court rejects Apple appeal, says Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is legal
A court in the Hague has just cleared the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for sale in the Netherlands, rejecting Apple's requests for a nationwide ban. As NU.nl reports, a different Dutch court had already issued a similar ruling in October, which Cupertino promptly appealed, claiming that Sammy's slate was too similar to its own iPad 2. Today, though, the Court of the Hague shot down Apple's arguments, determining that there are enough differences between the two products to legally justify their coexistence. Granted, this is only one of many patent battles that the two companies are currently waging, but for today, at least, it looks like Samsung has come out on top. [Thanks, Rolfski]
ITC judge issues initial ruling that Motorola infringes Microsoft patent
Well, it's a busy holiday week for the International Trade Commission. The agency just announced an initial ruling that Motorola infringed on four claims of Microsoft patent number 6,370,566, which deals with "generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device," but not the six other patents that were part of last year's ITC complaint. This is an initial ruling by an administrative judge at this point, unlike yesterday's judgement issued by the ITC, which theoretically banned the sale and import of some HTC phones beginning in April 2012. There's certainly more to come in this particular intellectual property saga, however, so stay tuned. Update: The spin cycle is on full blast, as Motorola has just issued a downright bizarre press release celebrating the fact that it was cleared on six of the seven patents. Evidently, that's enough for a mega-corp to holler "victory!"
Apple wins partial victory in HTC suit
The International Trade Commission has finally made a ruling in the Apple vs. HTC case, and Apple has won ... mostly. The commission ruled that HTC did actually violate one part of an Apple patent in making its Android phones, and that those phones would not be allowed for sale in the US. But while that sounds like a win for Cupertino, it's not quite as widespread a ruling as Apple wanted: The decision only applies to phones that store their data in a certain way (so any phones that don't use that feature are not blocked for sale), and the ban isn't even scheduled to go into effect until April, which should likely be more than enough time for HTC and Google to make changes in the phones that would get them around the ruling. But analysts agree that if nothing else, this is at least a win for Apple that will make any further patent arguments easier for the company going forward, and even if the ban doesn't actually go into place until April, at least Apple is getting a ban on some Android products that it believes are infringing. So good news for Apple, and expect to see more rulings like this in the future.
ITC delays ruling in Apple suit against HTC until Dec. 19
The International Trade Commission has delayed its ruling on the pending patent case between HTC and Apple, according to HTC itself. This is the second delay on the ruling, originally set for December 6 and then moved back to this week, which is now set for release on December 19. Apple of course, is complaining that the HTC used some of its patented technology in making Android phones, and is trying to enforce a cease-and-desist on HTC selling those phones. There's good news and bad news for Apple with this one. The good news is that the case is almost certainly going to end up going their way -- Apple has already won this argument once, and while anything could happen, it seems likely that the company from Cupertino will win it again. But the bad news is that this is a temporary victory for HTC; they're trying to keep selling phones for as long as possible during the holiday season, and another week of sales is no small achievement. HTC didn't go into detail on why the case was delayed, but that company obviously benefits from being able to delay a decision (and the stock price has reflected that win). At any rate, we'll see. If the decision does come on December 19, it might have some consequences for HTC to deal with -- but at least they'll have had most of the holiday season this year to sell as many phones as they could. [via AppleInsider]
Australian High Court just says no to Apple appeal, Samsung breathes a sigh of relief
First, Apple got Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from Oz, then Sammy got the temporary injunction lifted. Undaunted, Apple vowed to appeal the Korean company's victory to the High Court of Australia, and today, The Register reports that the court has denied Apple's appeal. Details are sparse as to why Cupertino's arguments were unpersuasive, but one thing's for sure: Samsung's going to have a much more merry Christmas as a result of its latest legal victory. [Thanks, Jeremy]
CRTC rules against traffic-based internet billing, touts 'flexibility' for small ISPs
Chalk one up for the little guy, because Canada's telecom regulator has finally come down in favor of independent ISPs -- ostensibly, at least. Earlier this week, the CRTC ruled that major providers will not be able to bill smaller operators based on bandwidth usage, effectively reversing a controversial policy it implemented (and eventually rescinded) back in February. Under the ruling, heavyweights like BCE and Rogers will be able to sell their bandwidth to smaller ISPs on a monthly basis, with rates pre-determined according to the network capacity each independent operator requires. Large companies can continue to charge flat monthly fees, as well, but they won't be allowed to impose the same traffic-based billing that many apply to individual consumers. The regulator explained the decision thusly: "This wholesale billing model, which is based on capacity, will give independent ISPs added flexibility in offering competitive and innovative services to Canadians." For more details, surf past the break for a dose of PR. [Image courtesy of Jeff Myers/Flickr]
