lawsuits

In your FaceTime: Apple gets sued by VirnetX -- again

VirnetX, which has already won $368.2 million in damages, isn't quite done with Apple.

The patent holding and security software company, which earlier this week won an earlier suit against Apple in a Texas court, has now slapped the electronics giant with a new lawsuit. As in the prior complaint, VirnetX is accusing Apple of infringing four of its networking patents through the use of FaceTime.

Those patents, Nos. 6,502,135, 7,418,504, 7,921,211 and 7,490,151, cover advancements for secure communication over the Internet. That includes technology for creating a virtual private … Read more

Apple walloped with $368M in damages in VirnetX patent suit

A Texas court ordered Apple to pay $368.2 million in damages to the patent holding and security software company VirnetX today. According to Bloomberg, which broadcast the news on Twitter, Apple is being fined over infringement of VirnetX's network patents.

In the suit, VirnetX claimed that Apple integrated these network patents into its products like FaceTime, according to 9to5Mac. Originally VirnetX was asking for $900 million, but apparently the jury decided $368 million was enough.

VirnetX is well known for going after major tech companies for patent infringement. In its early days, the company aggressively patented technology that … Read more

Morgan Stanley tries to stop Facebook investor arbitration

Morgan Stanley, the lead banker on Facebook's messy IPO, is attempting to stop a Facebook investor from seeking securities arbitration related to the stock offering, according to a report from Reuters.

Because the investor isn't a Morgan Stanley customer, the firm has argued in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that the arbitration shouldn't proceed. It argues the investor, Uma Swaminathan of East Brunswick, N.J., ordered shares through Vanguard Financial, according to the report.

Swaminathan, meanwhile, has said the botched IPO has cost the investor $1.9 million in damages.

Swaminathan filed a claim with … Read more

Facebook wins another round against Paul Ceglia

As if Paul Ceglia, the man claiming to own half of Facebook who was arrested on fraud charges last week, didn't have enough trouble, his civil lawsuit against the social-networking company ran aground this week.

A federal judge in New York allowed Facebook to present what appears to be a damning forensics report that concludes the purported "contract" giving Ceglia part ownership of Facebook was altered.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio on Wednesday ruled that excluding an expert witness report about the authenticity of the documents -- which Ceglia had requested -- was a "drastic … Read more

Apple takes down Samsung patent 'apology' notice

It was only a week ago that Apple lost its appeal to a U.K. High Court, where it was seeking to overturn a previous ruling that resulted in the iPad and iPhone maker being forced to publish a notice on its U.K. Web site stating that rival Samsung did not copy its products.

The notice has now been taken down, after Apple was ordered to replace it following objections from Samsung to its content.

The lengthy legal battle between Apple and Samsung, which has been fought in several countries and courts worldwide, revolves around both tech giants stating … Read more

Illegal file-sharer gets slapped with $1.5 million in damages

The damages award against illegal file-sharer Kywan Fisher will most likely send him to the poor house. Illinois federal court Judge John Lee ordered Fisher to fork out $1.5 million to adult entertainment company Flava Works this week, according to TorrentFreak.

Flava Works sued Fisher for sharing 10 movies he'd previously paid for via BitTorrent. The damages award amount was reached by fining Fisher $150,000 per movie. This is the largest damages award ever ordered in a BitTorrent case.

Flava Works caught Fisher sharing its movies by tracing the illegal copies he was accused of sharing back … Read more

Microsoft sued over Windows Live Tiles

Microsoft is already facing lawsuits related to the just-launched Windows, with an operating system technology designer accusing Microsoft of ripping of its patent for "tiles."

SurfCast, in a complaint filed yesterday in a U.S. District Court in Maine, said Microsoft infringes one of its four patents -- No. 6,724,403 -- by "making, using, selling, and offering to sell devices and software products" covered by SurfCast's patent. That includes mobile devices using the Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 operating systems as well as PCs using Windows 8/RT.

The company also … Read more

Facebook sued over social-gaming currency

Kickflip has sued Facebook, claiming the social-networking giant broke antitrust laws in the social gaming currency market, according to a report.

The company, operating as virtual currency and payment-processing provider Gambit, said Facebook's decision in 2009 to offer its own similar services to developers killed a "vibrant and competitive market," according to federal court papers examined by Bloomberg.

Such a service allows gaming providers to issue currency to players in exchange for real money or advertising offers.

Kickflip's complaint says that Facebook marginalized its competitors by "blacklisting" Gambit and forcing developers to use only … Read more

Feds arrest Paul Ceglia for alleged multibillion-dollar fraud against Facebook

The feds have arrested and charged Paul Ceglia, the man who claims he owns half of Facebook, with mail and wire fraud for allegedly doctoring a contract and creating fake emails in an attempt to cheat Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg out of billions of dollars, a U.S. district attorney revealed today.

He faces up to 40 years in prison for the two charges, which relate to Ceglia using the U.S. Postal Service and email to transmit the materials, according to the complaint (see below).

Federal agents arrested Ceglia at his home in Wellsville, N.Y., this morning … Read more

Patent holder sues Apple over Quick Look file viewer

WhitServe, which owns intellectual property but doesn't make any real products, is suing Apple over allegations that versions of the Mac OS X operating system infringe on a file viewer patent it holds.

The complaint, filed today in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, claims that Apple's Quick Look violates Patent No. 7,921,139, a system for "sequentially opening and displaying files in a directory."

Introduced in 2007 with Mac OS X Leopard, Apple's Quick Look allows users a convenient way to preview the contents of a document before opening it fully in an … Read more