Google Inc. said Oracle Corp. lowered its damages request to at least $2 billion in a patent and copyright dispute over Android software, according to a court filing. Google, which said the estimate includes $1.2 billion in damages for unjust enrichment in 2012 alone, asked a federal judge to exclude parts of the calculation that it says aren’t supported by the evidence.
The hunt for wireless patents may be fiercer than ever, as Google’s $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility shows. But not all intellectual property is created equally. And if Jefferies is right, Research in Motion won’t reap more than about $1 billion if it seeks to sell off its patent portfolio while continuing to make BlackBerrys.
Three Internet companies -- Nextag Inc., Yelp Inc. and Expedia Inc. -- are gearing up to attack Google Inc. on Capitol Hill, claiming the company is taking new profits for itself by unfairly punishing them on its search engine. In a preview of a Senate antitrust hearing on whether Google abuses its dominance on the Web, representatives of the sites -- which help people search for information on consumer goods, local businesses and airline flights -- said in interviews that Google has increasingly sought to drive people who use its search engine to its own specialized sites that compete with theirs.
Google Inc. and Oracle Corp. chief executive officers made little headway in negotiations aimed at resolving a lawsuit accusing the Web-search company of patent infringement, a person briefed on the talks said. The two sides, scheduled to meet again in federal court in San Jose, California, remained at loggerheads after the daylong session and were unlikely to reach a settlement soon, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
A Microsoft worker who two weeks ago tweeted about an unreleased Nokia Windows Phone is now no longer with the company. Joe Marini, who was a principal program manager for the Windows Phone team, raised a number of eyebrows two weeks ago when he tweeted his impressions of the device.
International Business Machines Corp. has offered concessions to settle an EU investigation into its business practices, which could allow it to ward off a possible fine and an antitrust infringement finding. The European Commission opened a probe into IBM in July last year after competing suppliers of mainframe maintenance services accused the U.S.-based company of discriminatory behavior.
U.S. prosecutors accused poker website Full Tilt Poker of running a Ponzi scheme in which the company's owners and board members paid themselves nearly half a billion dollars while defrauding players. The allegations were filed in a proposed amended civil complaint in Manhattan federal court, five months after a criminal indictment was unsealed on April 15.
Google Inc. and Oracle Corp. chief executive officers are squared off in court to resolve a dispute that may pose the biggest threat to Google's Android mobile software, now running on more than 150 million devices. Google's Larry Page and Oracle's Larry Ellison were ordered to appear before a federal court magistrate in San Jose, California, after tussling over patents for more than a year.
Two men from New York City drove to the Elm City to get a closer look at a car that was listed for sale on Craigslist and met a man named “Mike” in the 100 block of Dover Street, New Haven police said. While showing off the car, Mike suddenly started revving the engine and two men attacked them from behind, held them at gunpoint and took the $4,600 in cash the victims had to buy the car, as well as thousands in jewelry and a cell phone, police said.
Samsung Electronics Co is considering legal action to ban sales of Apple's new iPhone, a source familiar with the matter said, in what could be its strongest step to defend against claims by the U.S. firm that the South Korean firm had copied its product designs. The source declined to elaborate further on where Samsung planned to take legal actions and the Maeil Business Newspaper reported that the South Korean firm may seek injunction request on Apple's new iPhone in Europe.
Japan's biggest defense contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, said hackers had gained access to its computers, with one newspaper saying its submarine, missile and nuclear power plant component factories had been the target. The company said in a statement that some information could have been stolen in the first known cyber attack on Japan's defense industry.
For 18 months, the European Commission has been considering how to put into practice a 2009 law that regulates software cookies, the unique digital markers that Web sites place on visiting computers to identify consumers and deliver ads tailored to individual interests. But regulators representing E.U. member states, backed by consumers’ rights groups, are balking at a voluntary arrangement, which they argue does not adequately protect individuals from unwittingly permitting marketers to collect personal data.
Global companies are growing increasingly worried that Thailand's recent clampdown on Internet traffic might drag down the country's economic potential and make it more difficult to expand here. Internet monitoring laws introduced four years ago were designed to root out online fraud and boost e-commerce in this tropical Buddhist kingdom. But critics say the legislation is being used to police the Web for political content.
The White House is out to fight cyberphobia with an initiative intended to bolster confidence in e-commerce. The plan, called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace and introduced earlier this year, encourages the private-sector development and public adoption of online user authentication systems. Think of it as a driver’s license for the Internet.
Samsung Electronics Co. widened a sprawling global patent dispute with Apple Inc. by filing a countersuit in Australia, while also appealing a key ruling in Germany. The South Korean company said it has filed a lawsuit against Apple in Australia, alleging iPhone smartphones and the iPad2 tablet computer violate multiple wireless technology patents it holds.
Google's Eric Schmidt, the online search giant's point man for all things Washington, goes before a Senate panel this week to argue the company is not a rival-abusing bully, but in fact is struggling to stay on top. Google Inc controls more than two-thirds of the global search market. But Web technologies such as social networking and smartphone applications offer new ways for people to find information -- putting pressure on the company.
Legislation overhauling the nation's patent laws will help federal officials quickly process a fast-rising mountain of applications filed by inventors, President Obama said in signing the measure into law. Under the America Invents Act, the U.S. will award patents to inventors on a first-to-file basis instead of the first-to-invent basis, which some say is more prone to litigation.
Google Inc., the largest Internet search company, won’t have to face part of Oracle Corp.’s claim that it infringed copyrights for the Java programming language. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled that some of the material Oracle claimed was infringed isn’t protected by copyright.
Google Inc. and authors and publishers groups have about nine more months to untangle their six-year-old legal dispute over plans to create the world's largest digital library, a federal judge said. Manhattan federal court Judge Denny Chin told lawyers at a hearing that he was "still hopeful" they could reach a settlement though "you're essentially starting from scratch."
The Federal Trade Commission announced it is seeking comment on revisions to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act that would extend it to cover evolving technologies such as web and mobile platforms for children under the age of 13. The proposed changes would require operators to post notice and obtain parental consent before collecting information from children, offer a larger variety of ways to obtain that consent, and provide proof that they are capable of adequately protecting children’s personal information.
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