Nokia filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission which alleged that Apple “infringes Nokia patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players and computers.” There are seven patents in question which relate to user interface software as well as camera, antenna and power management. Nokia had previously claimed that Apple had violated 10 of its patents relating to wireless technology and Apple in turn responded with a counter suit which stated that Nokia infringed 13 of its patents.
For more information visit:
http://gigaom.com/2009/12/29/nokia-steps-up-legal-fight-against-apple
Apple given access to iGuide trademark – December 29, 2009
Reports stated that in order to hold on to a second potentially tablet-related name, Apple is using a shell company, iGuide Media. Apple had claimed the “iSlate” trademark in the US and Europe using a shell organization called Slate Computing. Since December 2007, the “iGuide” trademark has been pursued. Classifications under the proposed trademark are said to be more appropriate for a tablet than the ones associated with iSlate. The trademark would cover “downloadable electronic publications in the nature of books, magazines, newsletters, journals, and blogs in the fields of entertainment, sports, science, history, culture, celebrities, news, current events, politics, technology, and education,” amongst other material.
For more information visit:
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/12/29/casts.doubt.on.importance.of.islate.name/
Unique copyright declared on Papal figure – December 27, 2009
The Vatican announced a declaration on the protection of the Pope according to the Catholic News Agency. This statement seeks to establish and safeguard the name, image and any symbols of the Pope as being expressly for official use of the Holy See unless otherwise authorized. The statement cited a “great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father” in recent years. Due to this demand, the Vatican has felt it necessary to declare that “it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church.”
For more information visit:
http://www.ag-ip-news.com/GetArticle.asp?Art_ID=7929&lang=en
Patent dispute settled between Samsung and Kodak- December 23, 2009
Samaung agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to settle a patent dispute over digital-camera technology to Kodak. The announcement comes five days after the International Trade Commission ruled that Samsung, based in Seoul, South Korea, infringed two Kodak patents. In November 2008, Kodak alleged in a lawsuit in Rochester that camera phones made by Samsung violated its patents between 1993 and 2001.
For more information visit:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091223/ap_on_hi_te/us_kodak_samsung_2
American Honda sued for trademark violation – December 23, 2009
Save the Earth Enterprises, an environmental group sued American Honda Motor Co. along with its advertising agency, Rubin Posataer & Co., for using its “Save the Earth” trademark without permission in Honda’s recent advertising campaign for the Honda Civic. Neal Pargman from Save the Earth stated that “The Honda ad campaign confused people into thinking that we endorsed Honda or were affiliated with Honda. We aren’t affiliated with them and don’t endorse them.”
For more information visit:
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2009/12/23/459859.html
Copyright piracy still “high” in China – December 22, 2009
Trade official stated in an annual report to the US Congress that copyright piracy in China remains at “unacceptably high levels,” causing “serious harm” to American businesses. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in the mandatory report on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization accession obligations that Beijing was not taking adequate steps to enforce intellectual property rights laws. The report further stated that “Despite repeated anti-piracy campaigns in China and an increasing number of civil IPR (intellectual property rights) cases in Chinese courts, counterfeiting and piracy remain at unacceptably high levels and continue to cause serious harm to US businesses across many sectors of the economy.”
For more information visit:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091223/pl_afp/uschinawtotradecopyright_20091223022704
Microsoft issues apology for Code Theft -December 16, 2009
Microsoft issued an apology amid charges that its Juku micro-blogging service for China contained code and design elements stolen from Plurk.com. Microsoft said it “assumes responsibility for this situation” and would suspend “access to the Juku beta indefinitely.” Microsoft further stated that the Chinese vendor of the software has “acknowledged that a portion of the code they provided was indeed copied. This was in clear violation of the vendor’s contract with the MSN China joint venture, and equally inconsistent with Microsoft’s policies respecting intellectual property.”
For more information visit:
http://www.newsfactor.com/news/Embarrassed-Microsoft-Apologizes/story.xhtml?story_id=100007T9KFNC&full_skip=1
Google China sued for copyright infringement–December 16,2009
A Shanghai based novelist, Mian Mian, has filed a lawsuit against Google China for copyright infringement. The Haidian District People’s Court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the case on December 29, 2009. Mian Mian stated to The China Daily that “Google earlier argued that they didn’t violate copyright law as they only displayed a small amount of text of my book, but I think their move has seriously hurt Chinese writers’ rights.” She further stated that Google had scanned her entire novel “Acid Lover” that has been published by the Shanghai Publishing Company, without either notifying her or paying her to obtain copyright permission.
For more information visit:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-12/16/content_9184029.htm
Sun Microsystems successful in obtaining favorable judgments in its Intellectual Property Cases – December 15, 2009
Sun Microsystems has been successful in obtaining favorable judgments against a U.S. counterfeiter of its products and a U.K. violator of its trademarks. Joe Faris, the primary owner of Sun Valley Technical Repair, which was a major counterfeiter of Sun Products was the defendant in the lawsuit filed in the United States. Mike Dillion, the Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Sun Microsystems stated that “Sun has invested billions of dollars in its products and the Sun brand, and Sun’s authorized partners have augmented those investments with their own money. We are resolutely committed to protecting those investments and the value of Sun’s brand.”
For more information visit:
http://www.your-story.org/sun-microsystems-wins-legal-judgments-against-intellectual-property-violators-70582/
Copyright and trademark infringement suit filed against Tila Nguyen – December 11, 2009
A copyright and trademark infringement suit was filed against Tila Nguyen by Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman. He alleged that Nguyen has posted his pictures and used his “Lights Out” trademark on her website without obtaining his permission. Merriman stated that “All I can say is there is a lot of untruths out there. It’s not fair. To a certain point, when things are said that are totally bogus, you have to stick up for yourself.” The lawsuit also alleges that Nguyen used the pictures to drive traffic to her site so that visitors would purchase goods and services such as music and jewelry and VIP Services.
For more information visit:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/dec/11/1s11merriman/
Apple files patent application for tamper resistant label – December 10, 2009
A patent application filed by Apple reveals ways in which the company’s products could be fitted with a simple label or tag that provides evidence of tampering. This application notes that it is in the best interest of an electronics manufacturer to be able to know when a device has been “compromised” and opened, thereby voiding the warranty. This technology could save manufacturers “substantial” costs according to the company.
For more information visit:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10413552-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
The9 sued for trademark infringement – December 8, 2009
Webzen Inc. stated that they had filed a trademark infringement suit against their Chinese service distribution partner The9 Limited. Webzen Inc. is the developer of popular MMORPG game ‘MU’. The lawsuit was filed in Seoul District. Webzen asserts that The9 violated the trademark transfer provision of their contract that was signed in 2003.
For more information visit:
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0566639.htm
Google asked to respect copyright – December 4, 2009
In a debate at the World Newspaper Congress, Gavin O’Reilly, the President of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) told David Drummond, the Senior Vice-President and Chief Legal Counsel of Google that “Being able to make a commercial return is essential to justify investment in content whether we are talking news or education or entertainment and that depends on having the mechanism to choose how that content is distributed, used and paid for.” He called for “a more rigorous and unambiguous acceptance” of publishers’ rights to decide how their content is used.
For more information visit:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00062.htm
“OneTouchPM” trademark granted to Burns & McDonnell – December 1, 2009
Burns McDonnell have been successful in registering their mark “OneTouchPM” in the United States Patent And Trademark Office. The application was filed on September 2, 2008. OneTouchPM was developed in response to the inherent complexity of managing large projects. OneTouchPM was developed in-house beginning in 2005 as part of a strategy for managing the $1.4 billion Middletown-Norwalk project, a highly complex transmission line upgrade spanning numerous communities in a densely populated region of Connecticut served by Northeast Utilities. The 69-mile, 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line project was completed in early 2009, nearly a year ahead of schedule and significantly under budget, due to a number of new management techniques and new technologies pioneered over the four-year duration of the project.
For more information visit:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-Patent-and-Trademark-bw-136713005.html?x=0&.v=1
