A federal judge signed off on a $1.53 billion jury verdict in favor of Alcatel–Lucent in a digital music patent dispute against Microsoft.Judge Rudi M. Brewster of Federal District Court in San Diego concluded that Microsoft’s Windows Media Player software infringed on patents owned by Lucent Technologies, an American telecommunications equipment maker acquired last year…
Category Archives: Intellectual Property
Vonage Receives a Temporary Reprieve, But Will It Matter?
VOIP provider Vonage yesterday received a temporary stay of a court order prohibiting it from adding new customers while its appeal of an adverse ruling in its patent dispute with Verizon. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted the temporary stay, which is effective until the court can rule on Vonage’s…
End of the Line for Vonage?
The Dealmaker blog reports that a federal judge on Friday granted Verizon’s request to enter an injunction prohibiting VOIP provider Vonage’s customer’s from making calls to standard phone lines. This comes on the heels of the damages award previously entered on behalf of Verizon. Vonage vows an appeal, but I question whether the company can…
Vonage Found to Have Infringed Verizon’s Patents
A federal jury has found internet telphone provider Vonage liable for infringing on patents held by Verizon Communications, and ordered it to pay $58 million in damages, as well as a 5.5% royalty on its sales prospectively. Perhaps more ominously fpr Vonage and its customers, the federal district judge presiding over the case has scheduled…
Who Owns the Name of Your Cup of Coffee
Seems that Starbucks has gotten into a rather contentious spat with the Ethiopian government and that country’s coffee farmers over the Ethiopians’ efforts to trademark the names of certain coffee growing locations. Starbucks uses the names of some of these locations in its product names, and has resisted the effort, initially opposing the applications for…
Those Litigious Olivieri’s
Looks like the First Family of Philadelphia Cheesesteaks is back in court again. This time, Frank, Jr., now proprietor of Pat’s King of Steaks, is suing cousin Rick Olivieri, the maestro at Rick’s Steaks and self-crowned “Prince of Philly Steaks,” located at the Reading Terminal, over Rick’s allegedly unlawful use of Pat’s “crown” logo. The…
Jobs Proposal on Digital Music Draws Angry Reaction
Yesterday I posted on Steve Jobs proposal to eliminate digital copy protections from music purchased online, which would allow consumers who purchase music from online purveyors, such as Apple’s iTunes, to freely share their purchases. Today, several music industry executives dismissed Jobs’ proposal out of hand, labeling Jobs “disingenuous,” among other things, setting the stage…
Apple Does About Face on Music Copy Protection
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in a letter posted on the company’s website, has called on the largest music companies to license their music for distribution without digital anti-piracy protection. See the New York Times’ take on Apple’s move below the fold: