legal

Business

Large, Goliath-Sized Apple Tells Small, David-Sized School to Stop Using Logo

Posted by Jack Loftus at 4:30 AM on November 3, 2008

Apple is again flexing its immense legal muscle today with a threat of legal action against a small Vancouver business school over the use of the Apple logo. The tiny Victoria School of Business and Technology, which may remind some of a certain Biblical character named David, adopted the Apple-esque logo in 2005. Apple Inc., which may remind some of an angry, Biblical giant named Goliath, has used its trademark apple icon for the past 30 years.

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Software

In Huge Shift, Court Ruling Effectively Denies Software-Only Patent Rights

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 7:45 AM on November 1, 2008

Today, a Federal court of appeals ruling definitely caught the attention of tech companies world wide: in a 9-3 ruling, the court effectively made patenting anything not directly related to an actual machine or object--most purely software-only patents, for example--against the law. As you might imagine, this has massive implications, and the battle is likely to carry on to the Supreme Court.


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Computers

Psystar to Countersue Apple, Take No Guff

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 9:30 AM on August 27, 2008

Psystar, prominent makers of "Hackintosh" PCs running Mac OS X, is set to respond to Apple's copyright infringement suit on Tuesday and file a countersuit of their own, just like we thought. Psystar owner Rudy Pedraza insists that his OpenComputer hardware is merely "providing an alternative, an option" to Apple's pricey hardware. Pedraza plans to countersue Apple under two federal antitrust laws, hoping to prove that Apple's fierce tethering of OS to hardware represents an "anticompetitive restraint of trade." It'll be an uphill battle to fight Apple's legal team, but I kind of hope they win: it's like David versus Goliath, if David and Goliath were both big nerds. [CNET]


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Games

Nintendo's Wii Classic Controller and GameCube GamePad Getting a Temporary Ban on Sales

Posted by Jason Chen at 3:00 AM on July 24, 2008

As a result of Nintendo's loss in court to a Texas-based company called Anascape, the judge ruled that all sales of the Wii Classic Controller and the GameCube controller need to be temporarily halted until funds can be placed into an escrow account. What's the impact on you, Joe or Dan Consumer? Starting today, July 23, all sales of those controllers AND GameCube systems will be placed on hold, meaning that you should really try and find a place to buy these accessories now if you need them soon. On the bright side, Nintendo's Nunchuck controller isn't affected by this ruling about analogue sticks, so you're safe if you just want to play Wii games. [1up via Kotaku]


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Networks

Telstra's Not Happy About Optus' iPhone Claims

Australian Post Posted by Nick Broughall at 12:19 PM on June 13, 2008

telstra vs optus.jpg

Telstra are a little bit miffed at Optus at the moment. Of course, they're always miffed at Optus, but what makes this particular development interesting is that it stems from the iPhone.

You see, when Optus announced that they'll be releasing the iPhone on July 11 the other day, there was a little comment in the press release that wasn't exactly, well, relevant:
"iPhone 3G is the handset Australians have been waiting for," said Paul O'Sullivan, Optus Chief Executive. "With Optus, more iPhone users can enjoy 3G services as we expand our network to 96 percent of the population by December 2008 and 98 percent by December 2009."
The problem with this little comment is that Optus are expanding their 3G network using the 900MHz spectrum - which the iPhone does NOT support. The iPhone works on the 850Mhz (used by Telstra's NextG), the 1900Mhz and the 2100MHz (the frequency Optus uses at the moment for its 3G network).

So what have Telstra done about it? Called in their lawyers.

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Business

Monster Cable Sues Monster Mini Golf For, You Guessed It, Name Confusion

Posted by Jason Chen at 2:59 AM on May 28, 2008

If people ever decide to wake up and stop paying the huge markups for Monster Cable for technology that's not even here yet, Monster can go into another business: selling balls. They've sure got an excess, seeing as they're following up a suit against another cable company because the connectors are too similar with a suit against a MINI GOLF COMPANY because their NAMES ARE TOO SIMILAR.

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Random Stuff

Legal Snafu Makes Thousands of Patent Rulings Since 2000 Invalid

Posted by Adam Frucci at 2:50 AM on May 7, 2008

Oops! According to a law professor at George Washington University, all patent judges appointed after the year 2000 have been done so unconstitutionally, making thousands of patent rulings made by said judges null and void. This will have ramifications on patents worth billions and billions of dollars, and it's not clear exactly what's going to happen.


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Press

Monster Cable Has Cojones of Steel, C&Ds Blue Jeans Cable Because Their Connectors Are Too Similar

Posted by Jason Chen at 8:40 AM on April 15, 2008

It's really, really tough to like Monster Cable as a company. Everyone knows how they mark up their prices and how a coat hanger may even be as good as their cables under short distances, but their business practices aren't much better either. They're following up up their last legal manoeuvre against a clothing company with the unfortunate name of Monster Vintage by serving Blue Jeans Cable and Tartan Cable with a cease and desist because their cable connectors are too similar. Just look at the comparison above. Do they look too similar. Would you be confused if you saw the two? Which one of them has the "Monster" logo on it again? I can't tell. [Audio Junkies]


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Press

Apple Attacks NYC Over GreeNYC Logo, Steve Jobzilla to Destroy Central Park Next

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 8:21 PM on April 3, 2008

Apple has filed a formal opposition to NYC's GreeNYC campaign over its new logo, saying that the city's looped apple infringes its own trademark. While Steve's mob says the eco-logo will "seriously injure the reputation with which [Apple] has established for its goods and services." New York's response? "The city believes that Apple's claims have no merit and that no consumer is likely to be confused."


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Games

DA on Trial For Building Kick Arse Gaming Rig With State Funds

Posted by Sean Fallon at 8:30 AM on March 15, 2008

A Rockwall County, Dallas district attorney named Ray Sumrow is being tried on charges of forgery, theft and records tampering relating to a computer he built as a backup server for his office. You see, this "backup server" he bought with state money was equipped with two hard drives, seven fans, high-end video and audio cards, WiFi and cables that glow under ultraviolet light (what, no flames paint job?).

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