Apple antitrust case on brink of collapse December 6, 2014 An anti-trust lawsuit brought against tech giant Apple could soon fall apart thanks to last-minute objections raised by the company's lawyers. The case is to decide whether Apple misused its position in the digital music market between 2006 and March 2009. Apple used software that meant only music bought from iTunes could be played the [...]
Nike accuses designers who left for Adidas of stealing a “treasure trove” of confidential information and sues them for $10m December 10, 2014 The battle for sportswear supremacy has taken a Shakespearean turn after Nike sued three former designers who left for Adidas in September, accusing them of running off with a “treasure trove” of company designs and business plans. The American sportswear giant has filed a lawsuit in Oregon, where Adidas is headquartered, against Denis Dekovic, [...]
American Apparel founder Dov Charney fired from clothing brand for good December 17, 2014 American Apparel has finally said farewell to its founder and former chief executive Dov Charney, and appointed its first female chief executive in his place. The clothing brand first tried to push Charney out of the door back in June after an internal investigation found that his well-documented behavioural issues threatened to undermine the [...]
Bumble: Tinder’s ousted co-founder has hit back with her own dating app November 25, 2014 Whitney Wolfe is the Tinder co-founder who departed in a hail of allegations and lawsuits earlier this year. At the time, she accused fellow founder Justin Mateen (who quit in September) of stripping her of her "co-founder" title because her age and gender was "damaging" to the company's brand. Ouch. The sexual harassment lawsuit that [...]
Baidu wins US lawsuit dismissal March 28, 2014 Baidu, the Chinese internet search firm, yesterday won the dismissal of a US lawsuit by pro-democracy activists who complained that Baidu had calibrated its search engine to block users in the US from viewing articles and videos advocating greater democracy in China. US District Judge Jesse Furman concluded that the results produced by Baidu’s search [...]
22-year-old Skiplagged.com founder raises $50,000 to defend himself against United Airlines and Orbitz January 2, 2015 The 22-year-old founder of Skiplagged has raised more than $50,000 (£32,000) to defend himself in a lawsuit by US airlines United and Orbitz. Aktarer Zarman's site allows passengers to find the cheapest possible fare through so-called "hidden city" ticketing. Essentially, it takes advantage of the fact that it can be cheaper to buy a one-way [...]
Do patent privateers signal need for intellectual property reform? November 25, 2014 After Google sued BT over patent-infringement and details about BT’s patent strategy garnered public attention, an increasing number of commentators have started pointing to “patent privateers” as a major problem with the current system of intellectual property both in Europe and the US. As is common in high-stakes litigation involving multinational corporations, the debate has [...]
AstraZeneca loses its US patent rights for asthma drug Pulmicort Respules February 16, 2015 AstraZeneca is considering an appeal against a US court ruling that found its patent for asthma treatment Pulmicort Respules is invalid in America. The British pharmaceutical giant said it “strongly disagrees” with the decision and is considering its options. In a statement yesterday, Paul Hudson, president of AstraZeneca US, said: “AstraZeneca has full confidence [...]
Apple wins billion dollar competition trial over rival music on iTunes December 16, 2014 Apple has won a billion pound court lawsuit after a US jury found updates to its iTunes service in 2006 weren't intended to kill rivals' music. Eight Jurors took just hours to find that Apple's iTunes 7.0, which had been released in late 2006, was a genuine product improvement meaning it could not be in [...]
Four surprising discoveries from Twitter’s latest transparency data February 10, 2015 Twitter has released the latest round of its bi-annual transparency data, showing requests for removal of data, account information and copyright notices from both governments and private individuals. The company has been making its data available since 2012, when it and other tech giants complained that governments were forcing them to disclose data they'd rather [...]