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PayPal swiftly slaps Google with mobile payment suit
Just this morning we reported on the rather jovial atmosphere at Google's big mobile payment announcement -- well, it looks like PayPal's prepared to bring an end to the celebration. According to Bloomberg, PayPal filed a suit against Google today in a California Superior Court, alleging that former PayPal executive, and one of this morning's MCs, Osama Bedier misappropriated the company's trade secrets. The suit further fingered Stephanie Tilenius, also formerly with PayPal, of violating the terms of her contract in recruiting Bedier. Though we've yet to get our hands on any clear details about which trade secrets PayPal's pointing to, we'd say the timing speaks volumes.
New York City Apple Store sued over alleged racial profiling incident
An Apple Store in New York City's Upper West Side has been sued by two customers after an alleged case of racial profiling. AppleInsider reports that two African-American men were told, in no uncertain terms, that they were not welcome in the store. The pair believes that their race was the deciding factor. According to the plaintiffs, 34-year-old Brian Johnston and 25-year-old Nile Charles, an Apple Store employee told them, "You know the deal. And before you say I'm racially discriminating against you, let me stop you. I am discriminating against you. I don't want 'your kind' hanging out in the store." Johnston and Charles allegedly began recording the incident on their cell phones, prompting another employee to tell them to leave and to "consider me God." The men also claim that when they addressed the store manager, he had store security call 911. The incident allegedly took place on December 9 of last year at 3:20 PM, and the suit was filed last February. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary compensation for "emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life and other non-pecuniary losses." [hat tip Gothamist]
Judge rules for Kodak in Apple lawsuit
An ITC judge has ruled that Apple's allegations of patent infringement against Kodak are unfounded. You'll remember that Apple claims Kodak is using two of its technologies illegally in several products, including the Z-series, M-series and C-series cameras. One of the technologies in question allows a camera to process two images simultaneously, while the other lets users adjust an image's color, balance and resolution at the same time. ITC Judge Robert Rogers did not agree with Apple's complaints, but his ruling is still subject to full ITC review. Also, the ITC is yet to rule on a separate filing raised against both Apple and RIM by Kodak.
Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims
This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: in the latest chapter of the Apple-Samsung dispute over their smartphones' resemblance, the latter company has just retaliated by filing lawsuits against Apple in three countries. Sammy's load of ammo includes five patent infringements in South Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany, though we've yet to hear more details about these claims. Now we just sit back and enjoy the show -- popcorn, anyone?[Thanks, Jake L.]Update: Reuters has shed some light on the actual patents Samsung is alleging are being infringed. The news organization reports they relate to "power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and wireless data communication technology."
Google ordered to pay $5 million in Linux patent infringement suit (updated)
An East Texas jury recently awarded a relatively small computer firm patent troll a pretty hefty settlement (in you and me dollars) in a patent infringement suit that named Google, Yahoo, Amazon, AOL, and Myspace as defendants. The jury awarded Bedrock Computer Technologies LLC $5 million for a patent concerning the Linux kernel found in the software behind Google's servers. The patent in question is described as a "method and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing technique with external chaining and on-the-fly removal of expired data." It appears Google is the first of the defendants to face a judgement, but we have a feeling this decision might have set a precedent. Of course, no infringement suit would be complete without a healthy helping of appeals -- and considering the decision came from a district court, we can almost guarantee this case is no exception. You didn't expect the big guys to stay down for the count, did you? Update: As it turns out, the plaintiff in question here, Bedrock Computer Technologies, is actually owned by David Garrod, a lawyer and patent reform activist. Ars Technica profiled Garrod following the initial suit, pointing to the clear contradiction between his trolling and reform efforts. What's more, Bedrock sued Google and the rest of the defendants in June 2009. Just six months later, Bedrock was back in the courtroom, but this time it was on the receiving end. Red Hat, the company supplying the OS behind Google's search engine services, was suing Bedrock for patent invalidity.
Patent spar between ZTE, Ericsson escalates to courtroom showdown
Like nostrils, tensions are flaring between two powerhouses in the wireless industry. Ericsson and ZTE have chosen to trade off the role of both plaintiff and defendant, since each company is suing the other for several patent infringements. It's hard to say who the guilty party really is -- with the number of accusations flying around, it's possible everyone is at fault somehow. All we know is that Ericsson challenged its rival company to a throwdown once attempts to reach a licensing agreement failed two weeks ago. ZTE accepted the challenge and raised the stakes by filing a lawsuit of its own. It's not exactly clear what got the quarelling pair's feathers all ruffled, though it reportedly involves 4G / WCDMA / GSM network technology employed in each other's handsets. That sure narrows it down, doesn't it? At least we have a good idea of what's up for grabs: as is oftentimes the case in these types of tumultuous proceedings, the loser has to stop selling the products and services in question and fork over some cash for damages caused to the winner. Why oh why can't we all just get along? [Thanks, Alex]
Google hires Java founder James Gosling amid Oracle infringement suit - ah, snap!
And the war wages on... We've been reporting on the showdown between Oracle and Google over Java-related patent infringement since its inception, and now El Goog's throwing a little extra excitement into the fray by hiring Java founder, and former VP of Sun Microsystems, James Gosling. When Oracle acquired Sun last year, Gosling, who refused to take part, wasn't shy about expressing his views, calling Oracle's Larry Ellison "Larry, Prince of Darkness." On a post to his blog, which has since crashed, Gosling was vague about his new duties saying simply, "I don't know what I'll be working on. I expect it'll be a bit of everything, seasoned with a large dose of grumpy curmudgeon." That's just the kind of smack talking this scuffle needed to keep things interesting. Long live James Gosling!
Cyberdyne demos lower-body HAL exoskeleton for helping the disabled, not eradicating mankind (video)
Cyberdyne's HAL (Hybrid Assistive limb) robotic suit has been kicking (stumbling?) around for years now, and at this year's Cybernics International Forum, the company demoed a couple of new iterations of the technology. We've seen the heavy-duty version of the technology scale a Swiss peak, but the new demo showcased a lighter and leaner lower-body suit (not unlike Lockheed's HULC system) meant for helping those with muscle diseases remain ambulatory. The differences between the new rig and previously seen full-body exoskeleton -- meant for use by health care professionals and factory workers to aid in heavy lifting -- are less robust servos and a slimmer profile allowing wearers to worry less over their looks and more over living their lives. Peep the bipedal bionics in action after the break.
LG files ITC complaint against Sony, goes blow for blow
Late last year, Sony smacked LG with claims of patent infringement, and now the Korean company is swinging back with complaints of its own. LG reportedly filed two claims with the ITC on February 4th, accusing Sony devices -- including Bravia and PlayStation 3 -- of stepping on eight separate LG patents. We knew something like this couldn't be far behind Sony's ITC filing and accompanying federal court case, and we're equally unmoved to hear LG is firing back with its very own civil suit, recently filed in California. Last year we saw patent infringement suits spread like meningitis in a college dorm, and if this dispute is any sign, we can expect to see more of the same in 2011. Let the litigation begin!
Kodak loses critical part of ITC case against Apple and RIM
The International Trade Commission has ruled against Kodak in its patent infringement complaint against Research in Motion and Apple, Bloomberg reports. In an initial determination recommendation, ITC Judge Paul Luckern ruled that Kodak's patents are invalid and not infringed upon by Apple's iPhone or RIM's BlackBerry handsets. This ruling is subject to review by the full six-member ITC commission, which can decided to overrule the judge or let his decision stand. If the commission overturns this decision, they could block the import of camera-enabled handsets from Apple and RIM. This final determination will be made by May 23. The patents in this case involve an image preview feature used by devices with a digital camera, including smartphones (which are the target of this complaint). Kodak has already settled similar patent infringement lawsuits with Samsung and LG. Samsung settled with Kodak in 2010 and paid the imaging company a lump sum of US$500 million. LG settled in 2009 for $400 million. In a press release, Kodak remains optimistic that the Apple and RIM case will conclude in Kodak's favor, but this initial negative ruling casts doubt on a positive outcome for Kodak. Kodak has a lot on the line as a loss in this Apple and RIM case may hurt future patent infringement cases. [Via 9to5Mac]
Apple sues Nokia in London over touch-screen scroll patent
Apple has sued Finland's Nokia over claims that one of Nokia's European patents for scrolling on a touch screen is not valid. The suit was filed in London's High Court earlier this week, and is the latest in the legal back-and-forth between Nokia and Apple. In December of 2010, Nokia filed claims in three European countries, alleging that Apple infringed on 13 additional patents, in addition to 24 patents already descried in the existing US and International Trade Commission filings. To date, Nokia has opened file claims on four patents in the UK High Court, seven patents in district court in Dusseldorf, five in Mannheim and two in the Hague. This latest suit from Apple challenges a filing made by Nokia against Apple in Dusseldorf in September of 2010. Nokia spokesman Mark Durrant sounded confident in an email sent to Bloomberg. "Nokia is confident that all of the 37 patents it has asserted against Apple" [are valid], he said. "We are examining the filing and will take whatever actions are needed to protect our rights." Meanwhile, Apple declined to comment. We suspect this won't be over for a long time.
Prototype Pleo motion capture exoskeleton up for grabs: $2,400 OBO
Still haven't nailed down the perfect Christmas gift for that special someone in your life? Shame on you. Just kidding. But on the real, if you've got $2,397.99 and a lust for robotics, there's hardly a better buy available right now than this. The concoction you're peering at above isn't apt to go on sale to the general public again anytime soon, as it's a rare prototype motion capture exoskeleton that was used by (the now-defunct) Ugobe in the creation of Pleo. Word has it that this suit was vital to the R&D efforts surrounding the first edition of the outfit's robotic dinosaur, with one Caleb Chung fitting in and hulking about as computers analyzed and recorded movements. So far as we can tell, all of the circuits and wires are still here, meaning that you actually could use this for R&D of your own provided you had the right equipment to read it. Unfortunately, it'll cost a small fortune to ship a 350 pound crate anywhere outside of the continental US, but for those of you currently living overseas... well, here's your excuse to relocate. [Thanks, Colin]
Judge throws out Paul Allen's massive patent suit, Allen plans to continue
Remember the massive patent lawsuit leveled at Apple, Google, AOL, Facebook, ebay, Netflix, and a number of other companies by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen? Well, it's now hit something of a snag -- a federal judge dismissed the case on Friday, stating that Allen's suit "failed to identify the infringing products or devices with any specificity," and that the court and defendants were basically "left to guess what devices infringe on the four patents." For his part, Allen apparently plans to persevere with the patent fight, and said through a spokesman that the dismissal was merely a "procedural issue," and that "the case is staying on track" -- Allen now has until December 28th to file an amended complaint.
Street View Shocker! Google pays Boring couple $1 for trespassing
It's hardly a surprise that there's a cadre of individuals who aren't too fond of Google's seemingly omnipresent Street View fleet, but the ending of this dispute is downright absurd. Back in 2008, Aaron and Christine Boring were looking for a little excitement, and decided to find it in a courtroom; the duo sued Google for trespassing on their property while collecting photographs for Street View. According to them, Google's Street View car ignored the "No Trespassing" sign planted out front, and while they noted that they would've accepted a simple apology letter, they had no qualms pushing for damages when that wish fell upon deaf ears. The payout? A single dollar. Let's repeat that: 100 pennies. A buck. Barely enough to buy a Whopper Jr. in Portland, and definitely not enough to do so across the way in Vancouver. We suspect both parties are eager to put the whole mess behind 'em, but if you've been looking for a story to prove that America actually isn't as aimlessly litigious as the world thinks they are... well, this one ain't it.
Accused Xbox 360 modder finds case pleasantly dismissed
The case of 28-year old CSU student Matthew Crippen has come and gone. Arrested last year on Digital Millennium Copyright Act violations -- specifically, for modding Xbox 360s to enable them to play pirated games -- federal prosecutor Allen Chiu announced on the third day of trial that the government was dropping its case against him "based on fairness and justice." It's not a complete surprise: according to Wired, on the previous day (Wednesday), an undercover agent testifying against Crippen claimed the defendant used a pirated game to test a modded console in his presence. That detail, required for the prosecution's case (the use of pirated software), was never mentioned in any of the previous reports or sworn declarations, so once the judge dismissed it as evidence, the case against Crippen hit a snag. Source link's got the full, very interesting tale, but if you're patient, there's always a chance one of the Law and Orders will pick up the story in the years to come.
Shocker! WiLAN drums up another lawsuit, this time against big cable
As the saying goes, every time an iPhone is dropped, another wide sweeping patent lawsuit in the tech world sprouts up in the plaintiff-friendly US District courts of east Texas. Okay, so perhaps there's no factual basis for that, but who knows if the latest case filed by suit-happy Canadian wireless company WiLAN against Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter Communications is any more legitimate. The dispute is over US patent No. 5,661,602, which is one of the company's 970 issued or pending patents, and was awarded in 1998. It covers "hybrid multichannel data transmission systems utilizing a broadcast medium" -- a.k.a. the broadcasting of data to remote networks and computers. WiLAN has tapped their ole' favorite US law firm, McKool Smith for the case, and asserts that the big cable triumvirate is in violation of the patent, though a spokesperson for Comcast did note they had not been served with a complaint just yet. Sadly (or not-so-sadly, depending on perspective) we can't take part in the gavel swinging, but considering that WiLAN filed suit against Alcatel-Lucent, Sony Ericsson and LG last month, and sued Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, and Lenovo in April, there's plenty of evidence that this outfit's lawyers are the hardest working employees on the payroll.
Apple joins Facebook, Google, others to combat Paul Allen's charges
Back in August, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen formally sued 11 tech companies, including Apple, over the use of technologies for which he holds the patents. Now, Apple has joined Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and others in opposing the suit. Google initially filed a motion to dismiss the claims on October 18th, stating that Allen's company, Interval Research (which ceased operation in 2000), had failed to explain exactly how Google had supposedly violated its patents. Additionally, Google claims that Interval is lumping all 11 defendants together without demonstrating any "coordinated action." Apple joined Google and others on October 21st with its own filing, stating, "Interval has sued eleven major corporations and made the same bald assertions that each defendant infringes 197 claims in four patents. As the U.S. Supreme Court noted in Twombly, it is in this type of situation in which courts should use their 'power to insist upon some specificity in pleading before allowing a potentially massive factual controversy to proceed." In other words, spill the goods or move on. Allen's suit identifies four specific patents, including one that determines how websites suggest products based upon customers' recent searches, and another that lets users reading a news story quickly find related stores. We'll have more on this story as it develops.
Apple loses, challenges patent verdict surrounding Cover Flow and Time Machine
Remember that one random company who sued Apple back in March of 2008 for ripping off its display interface patents? Turns out it was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, a hotbed for patent trolls who know that they stand a better-than-average chance of winning simply because of where their issues are being taken up. Sure enough, Cupertino's stock of lawyers is today being forced to challenge a loss after a jury verdict led to Apple being ordered to pay "as much as $625.5 million to Mirror Worlds for infringing patents related to how documents are displayed digitally." Ouch. Naturally, Apple has asked U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis for an emergency stay, noting that there are issues on two of the three; furthermore, Apple has claimed that Mirror Worlds would be "triple dipping" if it were to collect $208.5 million on each patent. In related news, the Judge is also considering a separate Apple request (one filed prior to the verdict) to "rule the company doesn't infringe two of the patents" -- if granted, that would "strike the amount of damages attributed to those two patents." In other words, this whole ordeal is far from over. We can't say we're thrilled at the thought of following the play-by-play here, but this could definitely put a mild dent in Apple's monstrous $45.8 billion pile of cash and securities. Or as some would say, "a drop in the bucket."
iPhone-controlled LED suit is actually not going to Burning Man
Usually when we see apparel of this caliber completed around this time of year we can be sure it's headed to the Nevada desert, but no -- this exhilarating piece of wearable rave architecture is headed to DragonCon in Atlanta. Either way, dang! Video of the insanely-customizable blinkage after the break.
Paul Allen's company sues Apple, Google
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has formally sued Apple, Google and several others over the use of technologies for which he holds the patents. The Wall Street Journal was unable to reach any of the parties involved for comment, but notes that Allen has been going after companies, many of them high-profile, that he believes are using software that was developed in his Silicon Valley laboratory several years ago. The suit identifies four specific patents. Each appears to be a huge part of how contemporary e-commerce and Internet search tools work. For example, one addresses how websites suggest products based upon customers' recent searches. Another lets those reading a news story quickly find related stores, while the two others let ads and news items, among other things, flash on a computer screen adjacent to what the user is directly looking at. No specific dollar amount was identified. Allen's spokesman, David Postaman, told the Journal, "Paul thinks this is important, not just to him but to the researchers at Interval who created this technology." Others named in the suit include Ebay, Facebook, Netflix and Aol (Note: TUAW is owned by Aol). We'll keep an eye on this story and post any updates.
