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Apple sues Amazon over 'App Store'
On March 18, Apple filed a complaint against Amazon in California over Amazon's use of "App Store," a trademark owned by Apple. According to Bloomberg, Apple has asked the court to bar Amazon from using the "App Store" name in its Android software development program and upcoming Android application store, titled the Amazon Appstore. In related trademark bickering, Microsoft filed an objection in court earlier this year in hopes of denying Apple the trademark for "App Store," arguing that the term is generic enough to apply to any digital store that sells applications. Apple quickly struck back, pointing out Microsoft's trademark on the generic term "Windows." As for Apple's suit against Amazon, the claim stated that "Amazon has unlawfully used the App Store mark to solicit software developers throughout the United States." Apple reportedly tried contacting Amazon three times about the use of its trademark since the beginning of the year, but Amazon has yet to "provide a substantive response."
Monster sues Fanny Wang, purveyor of fine knockoff headphones
Monster Cable's reign of legal terror has resulted in several things over the years -- a tiff with the Chicago Bears over the "Monsters of the Midway" nickname, a lawsuit against a minigolf company, and eventually even a hard ban on the pages of Engadget -- but we can't say we ever expected the target of a Monster lawsuit to try and use the case for cheap free publicity. Well, surprises come in all forms: the delightfully-named Fanny Wang is now proudly proclaiming that it's being sued for copying Monster's Beats headphones and trying to score some free good press -- even though it appears that Fanny's headphones are indeed a fairly close copy of Beats. (Just check the image above.)To give you an idea of the ridiculousness at work, Fanny's presently hosting a copy of the Beats design patent and Monster's complaint on its own website, right next to a rebuttal of the charges. Fanny claims its headphones have different packaging and minor design differences such that "no reasonable consumer would likely confuse the two," which we suppose is arguably true -- but we'd also point out that Fanny's original press release proudly proclaims that "the same sound engineer who designed the Beats by Dr. Dre acoustics tackled the Fanny Wang collection." Copy, coincidence, or crafty PR strategy? You be the judge... for now.
HP hit with patent counterclaims from Acer
We had a hunch that this spat between HP and Acer wouldn't just fade away into the sunset, and sure enough, HP is on the receiving end of the latest scuffle. Most recently, Acer has filed patent counterclaims against HP in the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin and with the US International Trade Commission, alleging that HP "infringed on patents related to personal computers, servers and peripheral devices." Unfortunately, that's about the extent of it, but Acer did go on to state that it would "take all necessary steps to protect and enforce its patented technologies." If the gloves weren't already off, we'd say they are now.
Stubborn ex-customer takes Gateway to court for defective PC
"Me against the world" has taken on a whole new meaning for high school dropout Dennis Sheehan, who has taken Gateway to small claims court in a completely bizarre catch 22-laden case. Apparently, the now 46-year old Sheehan took his stubbornness out on the corporation who sent him a computer that "displayed scattered graphics" fresh out of the box. After the company purportedly refused to remedy the issue, the two have ended up in court where Gateway claimed that clicking through the EULA upon bootup eliminated his right to even sue; au contraire, claimed Sheehan, who explained that the malfunctioning PC wasn't even able to render the text and allow him the opportunity to read it. Interestingly enough, a tentative ruling on May 24th sided with the plantiff and maintained that the case would stay in small claims court, but it looks like finality is still a good ways off for the perturbed ex-customer.[Thanks, Mike]
Hitachi sues LG over plasma patent infringement, tries to halt US sales
Just when Hitachi had us all believing that it was planning on reaching new heights in the plasma market thanks to a ginormous PDP set and a thirsty overseas crowd, now we're seeing the fallback plan. Of course, we can't really suggest that Hitachi's latest lawsuit on LG's (surprise, surprise) plasma displays have anything to do with the firm's dreary numbers, but it has nevertheless filed a lawsuit in the ill famed "district court in Texas" (read: patent troll heaven) saying that "the South Korean company infringed its plasma display-related patents." The suit seeks the obligatory "monetary compensation for damages," but more interesting is the tidbit that requests a "permanent injunction prohibiting LG's plasma display panel product sales in the United States." According to a Hitachi spokesperson, the two outfits had "been in talks regarding the appropriate licenses for these seven patents," but apparently, neither side is backing down anytime soon.
Luxpro wins Apple copycat suit, proceeds to copy again by countersuing
The financial troubles for Apple just don't seem to end. Luxpro – the Taiwanese manufacturer known for its MP3 player that closely resembled the iPod shuffle – has emerged victorious in the lawsuit filed by Apple, and is planning a countersuit for lost sales. Originally hitting the scene with a supposed publicity stunt called the Super Shuffle, Luxpro then returned with a slightly modified version called the Super Tangent. With little variation between the two, Apple called foul and had an injunction placed on the Taiwanese company, banning the manufacturing and sale of its MP3 player. Well, after more than a year rumbling in the courtroom, Luxpro has come out on top, with the Shihlin District court claiming the two devices were "significantly dissimilar." With one win in the bag, Luxpro plans to countersue Jobs and Co. to the tune of $100M for the sales it lost due to the injunction. While this victory may send ripples through the copycat market, we doubt it will stop Apple from sending out the hounds lawyers again on other companies in the future. [Via iLounge, thanks Jose L.]
Apple files another patent suit against Creative
Not content to merely hit back at Creative with one patent suit in exchange for being dragged into court over possible interface patent infringements, Apple has thrown down another lawsuit to make 'em really sorry. Word on the playground says Creative won't even be invited to Apple's birthday party. But as much of a tantrum as it looks like, leveraging their considerable IP on interface design might be Apple's best shot at getting through their legal woes, and they sure seem to be taking it. The new suit refers to three patents regarding icon use, and displaying and editing data. Apple is also asking for cash damages, a court order to stop Creative from further infringement and a block on imports of Creative's current players. We're pretty sure the prior meaning of "Zen" got lost somewhere along the way.[Via iLounge]
