court

A federal court has fined Microsoft $388 million for breaching the copyright of a rival software company. Ironically, the firm concerned was a producer of anti-piracy products. The court found Microsoft breached a patent belonging to Uniloc and ... involved the copy protection used on Windows XP and some parts of the Microsoft Office suite. Microsoft had not licensed the technology used in the activation process by which a product can be installed repeatedly on a single machine but can't be shared with other people or copied to another computer. Award Among All-Time Highs The sum is believed to ... (view more)

The Vista Capable lawsuit -- like the consumer and business market's dissatisfaction with Windows Vista -- refuses to go away. Shortly after a federal judge revoked the class-action status of the Vista Capable lawsuit, lawyers for the plaintiffs are ... now reportedly asking the judge to reconsider that decision. Originally, the class-action suit involved all parties who purchased Vista Capable PCs, but a recent court ruling narrowed it down to six individual plaintiffs. (Source: crn.com ) Plaintiffs Attempt To Recertify Class-Action Status Lawyers for the plaintiffs are attempting to recertify ... (view more)

A web server company is suing Google claiming that many of its services, including AdWords, Blogger and YouTube are all infringements of its patents. The suit by GraphOn Corporation claims all these systems copy its patented technology for "unique ... method of maintaining an automated and network-accessible database". The firm is seeking unspecified damages, plus "permanent injunctive relief" -- in other words, a court order stopping Google from using the technology. (Source: yahoo.com ) Google says it hasn't yet received official notice of the suit and therefore isn't commenting. (Source: cnet. ... (view more)

The man who once dubbed himself the 'King of Spam' is finding unsolicited messaging isn't always a cheap form of advertising. A court has ordered him to pay $6 million in damages and legal fees to MySpace. Scott Richter has already announced he ... won't appeal the award, which is just 5% of the $120 million that MySpace requested. Last month a court awarded the company a record $230 million against two men who'd sent almost 750,000 messages to MySpace members. Unfortunately, the pair no-showed the court date and went into hiding without paying the fine. Richter's fine could have been ... (view more)

The Supreme Court has ruled that merely offering to give someone else explicit images of children is illegal, even if the pictures or videos don't actually exist. The ruling applies to all means of communication, but obviously most cases today ... involve the Internet. The specific case in question involved the crime of "pandering" images of children, defined as promoting material (real or 'purported') in a way designed to convince people that it is explicit. In this case, a Florida man named Michael Williams had been arrested after using an Internet chat room and offering to trade nude pictures ... (view more)

From what I've learned about the legal profession -- as it has been derived from Law and Order repeats and My Cousin Vinny -- being held in contempt of court is not a good thing. It generally means you've done something particularly heinous to upset ... a judge, like having your cell phone go off during proceedings. That sure would irk a judge -- especially if it was his own phone. British judge Charles Byers was in mid-session this past week when -- to his chagrin -- a cell phone blurted its cacophony of rings and twings mid-session. As mentioned, in many cases this can completely bring a court ... (view more)

Rockstar Games have failed in yet another bid to get the controversial Manhunt 2 video game on British shelves. A High Court judge has ruled that the game must go back to an appeals committee for a fresh evaluation. The game was first banned in the ... United Kingdom last June when the British Board of Film Classifications (BBFC), which gives movie-style age ratings to video games, refused to give it a rating. This meant it could not legally be sold, the first such ban in 10 years. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) At the time, the BBFC's director said the game's focus on violent killings was too strong. " ... (view more)

Amazon.com's French subsidiary has recently lost a court case concerning its practice of providing free shipping on book deliveries inside France on orders worth more than 20 euros. A lower court has ruled that the company is in violation of French ... law and has ordered Amazon.fr to cease this practice . The lawsuit brought on by the French Booksellers' Union last December requires the company to pay damages amounting to 100,000 euros as well as imposing a fine of 1,000 euros per day until it has fixed its illegal practice of providing free shipping to its customers. (Source: dailytech.com ) ... (view more)

On behalf of all Florida residents, Frederick Black recently filed charges against media mogul Apple, Inc for monopolizing the digital video and music industry. The three formal counts charged against the organization include violation of Florida ... Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practice Act, attempted monopolization in violation of the Florida Antitrust Act, and monopolization in violation of the Florida Antitrust Act. While the media has focused mainly on the company's recent release of the much lauded iPhone and unprecedented stock growth, this suit serves as a bitter reality check. Three hotels ... (view more)

In a ruling that's expected to have far-reaching implications, the European Union (EU) Court of First Instance upheld European Commission claims that Microsoft abused their dominant position in the operating system (OS) market, siding with ... regulators in an antitrust case. The law suit began in early 2004. (Source: CNET News ) "The court ruling is welcome for its confirmation of the Commission's decision and its underlying policy, but nevertheless, it is bittersweet, because the court has confirmed the Commission's view that consumers are suffering at the hands of Microsoft" said Neelie Kroes ... (view more)