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‘legal’ Stories

Malaysia passes law requiring all restaurants in Kuala Lumpur to have WiFi

Shane McGlaun, Jan 3rd 2012 Discuss [11]

A new law has been passed in the largest city in Malaysia called Kuala Lumpur. The new law requires all restaurants to have WiFi when they apply for a license. The law makes WiFi access for customers a requirement for food operators when applying for a new license for a restaurant or renewing an existing license. Read The Full Story

Google, Facebook and more mull anti-SOPA blackout

Chris Davies, Jan 2nd 2012 Discuss [19]

Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal and other big-name sites are contemplating a complete, coordinated blackout in an attempt to call users to arms over SOPA, the Stop Online Privacy Act. “There have been some serious discussions about that” Markham Erickson, head of the NetCoalition group of anti-SOPA organizations told CNET, with the so-called ‘nuclear option’ also being considered by Wikipedia and others.

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Verizon axes $2 convenience fee upon possible FCC probe

Rue Liu, Dec 30th 2011 Discuss [4]

Verizon recently confirmed that it plans to charge its wireless customers a $2 convenience fee for certain methods of credit card payments, news that sparked immediate criticism from consumers. It has even caught the attention of the FCC, which now intends to take a closer look into Verizon's actions. And that was enough for Verizon to retreat on the plan altogether. Read The Full Story

Samsung, Sharp, and other LCD makers paying $553 million to settle price fixing claims

Rue Liu, Dec 27th 2011 Discuss [1]

LCD makers Samsung, Sharp and five other manufacturers have agreed to pay $553 million to settle a multi-state class action lawsuit accusing the companies of price fixing. The lawsuit alleged that the companies conspired to inflate prices for LCD displays used in TVs, notebook computers, and computer monitors between 1996 and 2006. Read The Full Story

Google’s Andy Rubin optimistic about Apple’s ITC win against HTC

Rue Liu, Dec 22nd 2011 Discuss [6]

Google's Android chief Andy Rubin is optimistic about the recent ITC ruling that found Android partner HTC in violation of two claims on one of Apple's patents. Rubin believes that the ruling marks the beginning of patent settlements that will lead to a "quick path to settling" the patent disputes currently being lodged against Android. Read The Full Story

Apple complaint over Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N rejected

Chris Davies, Dec 22nd 2011 Discuss [7]

Apple has had its complaints about the redesigned Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N rejected in German courts today, with the judge deciding the tweaked slate differs enough from the iPad aesthetic. "According to the court's assessment, the defendant has moved away sufficiently from the legally protected design," Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann told the court today, Reuters reports, with a full ruling expected on February 9 2012. Read The Full Story

ASUS sued over Transformer Prime toy trademark

Chris Davies, Dec 22nd 2011 Discuss [15]

ASUS has had no shortage of attention for the Transformer Prime, most of it positive, but toy and game manufacturer Hasbro isn't so impressed: it has sued ASUS over trademark infringement. Hasbro alleges that the name Transformer Prime overlaps with its own Transformer toy trademarks, paidContent reports, and is seeking a ban on sales in the US. Read The Full Story

Verizon facing governmental scrutiny over cable spectrum negotiations

Paul Fang, Dec 20th 2011 Discuss [0]

Reportedly just in today from Bloomberg, Verizon Wireless’s current negotiations for spectrum with cable companies are under governmental scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department, for their possibility of being detrimental to competition in both the cable and wireless industries. The Justice Department is allegedly looking at whether Verizon would have too much control of the spectrum, and whether some components of the deal would potentially violate antitrust laws. Read The Full Story

ITC initial ruling finds Motorola infringing on Microsoft patent

Rue Liu, Dec 20th 2011 Discuss [12]

The US International Trade Commission has issued its initial ruling favoring Microsoft in the patent feud with Motorola. The initial determination finds that Motorola's Android products are infringing four claims of a Microsoft patent. However, a final review and ruling is still required to pass through the full Commission. Read The Full Story

Google FTC inquiry demanded by antitrust senators

Chris Davies, Dec 20th 2011 Discuss [5]

Google faces renewed attention from the US Federal Trade Commission this week, as the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee reiterates demands for the search giant to be investigated over potentially unfair practices. "A key question is whether Google is using its market power to steer users to its own web products or secondary services and discriminating against other websites with which it competes" chairman Senator Herb Kohl and panel member Senator Herb Kohl wrote to the FTC today, Bloomberg reports, with the company's behavior being seen to "warrant a thorough investigation by the FTC." Read The Full Story

T-Mobile USA details “record high break-up fee” from AT&T

Chris Davies, Dec 20th 2011 Discuss [18]

T-Mobile USA owner Deutsche Telekom has gleefully set out exactly what it can expect from AT&T as its break-up fee, after the collapse of the acquisition deal this week. AT&T was originally to pay $39bn for T-Mobile USA; now, with regulators frowning on the deal, the carrier will be forced to cough up what Deutsche Telekom describes as a "record high break-up fee" of $3bn in cash and "a large package" of AT&T's AWS spectrum. A long-term US-wide UMTS roaming agreement is also mandatory. Read The Full Story

HTC: ITC Apple decision “is a win for HTC”

Chris Davies, Dec 20th 2011 Discuss [7]

HTC may have been banned from importing some of its smartphones into the US, but the company is still describing the outcome of its patent suit with Apple as a success. The US ITC "declared an actual victory for HTC" the company told the FT, because out of the ten infringements Apple alleged, only one was found to be valid. Meanwhile half of the claims on a previous ruling have also been rejected. Read The Full Story