Legal - SlashGear

Posts Tagged ‘legal’

UK could become key counterfeit route after trademark ruling

By Chris Davies on Friday, Aug 14th 2009 No Comments

counterfeit phones While endearingly janky devices like the Nokla E97 aren’t usually to be found on Western shelves, that could change thanks to a key High Court ruling in the UK. The case had been brought by Nokia, who alleged that Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the UK had acted unfairly when allowing a shipment of counterfeit goods bearing Nokia’s trademarks free passage through the country after discovering they were not intended for sale there.

Continued »

AT&T ban class action suits in Terms of Service [Updated]

By Chris Davies on Monday, Aug 10th 2009 No Comments

att death star logo AT&T have changed their terms of service to preclude class action suits, seemingly in an attempt to single out contrary customers and avoid facing expensive group challenges. The company’s agreement – which applies to both new and existing customers – now states that “by entering into this Agreement, you and AT&T are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action.”

Update: AT&T have commented on the situation, including pointing out that the arbitration clause has been been this way since January 2001. More after the cut

Continued »

Sharp LCD panels face US import ban over Samsung IP violation

By Chris Davies on Thursday, Jun 25th 2009 No Comments

Samsung may have managed to get several models from Sharp’s TV and monitor ranges banned from import into the US, after convincing the U.S. International Trade Commission that the products infringe one of its patents. The IP refers to LCD display technology, with sets from Sharp’s Aquos range of HDTVs named as potentially in violation.

sharp aquos 480x471

Continued »

File-sharer found guilty: $1.92m damages awarded

By Chris Davies on Friday, Jun 19th 2009 No Comments

gavel Drinks are on the RIAA this weekend, as the jury in Jammie Thomas-Rasset’s file-sharing retrial have awarded record labels a huge $1.92 million in damages. Thomas-Rasset was found to be guilty of “willfully” sharing 24 songs via Kazaa, and charged $80,000 per song; that’s more than eight-times the amount awarded in the first trial.

Continued »

Psion-Intel Netbook trademark fight settled

By Chris Davies on Monday, Jun 1st 2009 No Comments

psion netbook trademark case settled Psion have announced that other companies are free to use the netbook name, reaching an “amicable agreement” with Intel and ending their lengthy legal battle. While the full details of that agreement are unknown, Psion have confirmed that they will be voluntarily withdrawing their “netbook” trademark registrations.

Neither Intel nor Psion have accepted any level of liability in the case, which saw Psion accused of misrepresenting their hardware sales with regards what Intel perceived as a legacy device bearing the “Netbook Pro” name. Meanwhile Psion counter-sued Intel for trademark infringement, seeking to obtain not only exclusive use of the term netbook but Intel’s netbook.com domain and financial damages.

Continued »

Psystar file for bankruptcy

By Chris Davies on Tuesday, May 26th 2009 No Comments

Psystar have reportedly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, leaving it likely that the company will be steamrolled by Apple’s legal team in their ongoing court case. Having file the relevant documentation on Thursday May 21st, the bankruptcy hearing itself will take place on June 5th; unlike most such hearings, Psystar’s will be of particular interest as the company’s equity creditors will be named.

psystar open 3

Continued »

Leaked PS3 Slim photos prompt Cease & Desist notice

By Chris Davies on Tuesday, May 19th 2009 No Comments

Opinion on what were claimed to be leaked chassis images and box-art for the upcoming Sony PS3 Slim tended toward the dubious, but they’ve just received a shot in the arm courtesy of of a cease & desist letter. Sent to Engadget (who bizarrely weren’t even the first site to feature them), the letter is not from Sony but from another, so-far unnamed Chinese firm, potentially the owners of the factory in which the leaked shots were taken.

ps3 slim leaked photo 1 479x236

C&D notice after the cut

Continued »

AMD call Intel’s bluff on x86 license threat

By Chris Davies on Monday, May 18th 2009 1 Comment

intel amd logo Back in March, Intel accused AMD of breaching their x86 chip licensing agreement, and threatened to pull their license to produce processors if the issue wasn’t addressed in sixty days. The disagreement stemmed from AMD’s spinning out of chip manufacturing as part of the Global Foundries deal; now, with those sixty days past, it turns out that AMD did precisely nothing to sate Intel’s demands.

Continued »

Intel “harmed millions of consumers”: fined $1.45bn

By Chris Davies on Wednesday, May 13th 2009 No Comments

intel logo 181x168 custom Intel has been fined a record 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) by the European Commission, who deemed that the company had illegally used “hidden rebates” to push AMD and other rivals out of the CPU market. Far surpassing Microsoft’s 2004 antitrust fine of €497, Intel now have three months to pay up; the fine amounts to 4.15-percent of Intel’s total 2008 sales.

Updated with Intel’s statement after the cut

Continued »

Pirate Bay submits petition for a retrial

By Brenda Stokes on Monday, Apr 27th 2009 No Comments

Defendants from The Pirate Bay submitted a petition for a retrial today, moving forward on accusations that the trial itself was unfair and shouldn’t count. The official claim is that Judge Tomas Norstrom, who presided over the trial was biased.

picture 6 480x2521