Encryption technology research firm PACid Technologies has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics for allegedly infringing upon its biometric patents. The complaint was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court on April 6. In it, PACid claims Samsung has violated three of its patent, two of them filed in the United States and the third in South Korea. All three relate to data encryption.
The Apple Watch, specifically its heart rate sensor technology, is at the center of the latest lawsuit targeting the company. Omni MedSci, a tech startup focused on "near-infrared and mid-infrared broadband lasers," filed a patent lawsuit against Apple on Friday, accusing them of infringing on several patents with the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor.
Less than a month after going after Facebook over alleged copyright infringement, BlackBerry is back with another lawsuit, this time taking Snap to task. As with last month's lawsuit, BlackBerry has accused Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, of infringing upon some of its messaging patents, in this case half a dozen that were issued from 2012 to 2014. Two of those six patents are part of BlackBerry's legal action against Facebook.
Just because you’ve successfully created and organized one of the biggest and most popular “augmented reality” games doesn’t exactly mean you’re well-equipped to organize a massive, real-world event. Niantic Labs learned that the hard way last year when it scheduled what should have been a great real-world Pokemon GO gathering. It not only turned into a disaster but, with the agreed settlement, has also turned into a huge financial loss for the now independent game developers.
It’s been nearly a decade and yet there is still no end in sight. No, it’s not the Samsung vs. Apple patent circus, which seems to have mostly died down. This one is between Google and Oracle and the final results could have widespread repercussions across the entire software industry. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just ruled that Google, in fact, violated Oracle’s copyrights when it used Java API in Android and could end up owing the Java owner more than $8.8 billion in damages.
It’s not unusual to hear giant companies being sued left and right, by other companies or by customers via a class action suit. And it’s also not unusual to hear about those lawsuits dragging on for years. That was indeed the case with the “fat” PlayStation 3 when Sony removed its advertised “OtherOS” feature. Six years later, Sony decided to settle the lawsuit for what is basically loose change for the company. Now those who wish to claim a part of that settlement have to do so until April or else forfeit that $65 forever.
Google Search has effectively put the world’s information at our fingertips. It is, however, a two-edged sword that may have also made it too easy for people to circumvent certain laws, particularly copyrights and trademarks. Google has always come under fire for that but things came to a head when stock photography website Getty Images lodged a complaint against it in Europe, where Google has a track record of losing. Last week, the two reached a settlement that will see Google change some things in its image search. That starts now with its removal of the “View Image” button in image search results.
Seeing consumers launch class action lawsuits against giant companies is a relatively common thing, and today, Google is in the crosshairs. Google has been hit with a class action complaint alleging that it didn't honor warranties for the original Pixel and Pixel XL when it became clear that the phones suffered from microphone defects. The complaint was filed by Girard Gibbs LLP in San Jose, the same law firm that recently handled the class action lawsuit surrounding the bootloop issue some LG phones experienced.
![LG bootloop lawsuit ends in settlement, rebate offer [UPDATE]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/play.jpg)
The booting problem may be going on and on, but the lawsuit around them is definitely over. According to law firm Girard Gibbs, LG has agreed to settle the class action suit it brought before in US courts for the singular problem that plagued its flagship phones in 2015 and 2016. Owners of these models are entitled to claim a $425 cash settlement or a $700 rebate towards a new phone, though the exact details are still shrouded by a non-functioning web page.
TiVo has announced that its Rovi company and affiliates have filed lawsuits against Comcast in the District Courts in Massachusetts and California. The lawsuits allege patent infringement on Comcast's part, saying the service provider's X1 platform infringes upon Rovi patents. Those patents cover technology including voice functionality, advanced DVR features, multi-device pausing and resuming, and more.
The last few months have seen Epic Games' Fortnite build up into one of today's most popular online multiplayer titles, especially on PC, and that means the developer is now working hard to dissuade and fight back against cheaters. Recently, that's included copyright infringement lawsuits against those who've coded their own cheats to guarantee themselves wins. But now the developer has filed a suit against a player for effectively stealing from them.
The late Steve Jobs will forever be associated with Apple (and the ill-fated NeXT), its products, and his contributions to modern computing. That, however, doesn’t mean that the eyes of the law will see things the same way. In Italy, for example, “Steve Jobs”, as a trademark, legally belongs to an Italian fashion company and, try as it might, Apple is unable to say otherwise.