Activision and Electronic Arts settle law suit

Posted on May 17, 2012 by bizandlegis

Patent Law Straight from Los Angeles, the two major gaming giants Activision Blizzard Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. have settled their lawsuit. The lawsuit against Electronic Arts by other companies was over claims of executives having been employed improperly who oversaw the creation of the smash video game “Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 2”. No details about the settlement have been made public. The companies jointly released a statement saying that they had mutually decided to put this behind them.

Despite this settlement, dozens of developers of “Call of Duty” have claimed that they have cheated out of millions in bonuses. Activision had sought $400 million from Electronic Arts claiming that they had met secretly with two leading executives while they were still under contract and working for Activision. Activision fired both the executives who formed a new company Respawn Entertainment LLC. The duo later sued Activision for almost 36 million in bonuses but the Santa Monica based gaming company said the duo were fired for insubordination and for handing over company secrets to Electronic Arts.

This settlement does not affect the upcoming trials against Activision by the two executives and almost 40 other developers over claims of bonuses towards the “Call of Duty” series. Activision has indicated that the bonuses can run upto $1 billion. They had requested a delay in the commencement of the trial scheduled for My 29 to prepare for the trial but it has been denied by Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle. The attorney appearing for Activision is Beth Wilkinson.

Activision and Electronic Arts settle law suit.

Also Read : Patent lawsuit by Worlds Inc vs Activision Blizzard

Apple in trouble over E-book lawsuit vs Amazon

Posted on May 16, 2012 by bizandlegis

Apple and five major publishers are facing lawsuits after there were claims that they colluded to fix the prices of e books. It has been alleged that Apple wants to loosen the monopoly of Amazon’s kindle in the E book market and give a boost to its own Ipad.

Apple E-book lawsuit Amazon

The US Department of Justice and the European Union have all joined forces against Apple and the publishers with a couple of consumers and about 30 US states and have launched lawsuits to recover what they call unfair charges from Apple and the publishers. All the cases center on the agency model of e book pricing. Here the publishers are allowed to fix the prices of the books as long as they transfer 30 % of the profits to the retailer.

The “multi-state” filing includes a note to publishers, purportedly from late Apple chief executive Steve Jobs who explains why it would be better to “throw in” with Apple and “hold back your books from Amazon”.

It is to be seen whether such a charge would hold in a higher court.

Also Read: Apple legal war against Samsung

Mom’s legal battle to keep children

Posted on May 16, 2012 by bizandlegis

Earlier today, in Queensland, Australia a mom requested a family court to urgently intervene to prevent her daughters from being sent to Italy to live with their abusive father. The same court had on a previous occasion ruled that the four girls aged between 9 and 14 be sent to Italy to live with their father. Their mother had brought them to Australia in 2010 without their fathers consent. To prevent the proceedings the mother had filed a last minute stay application, while the four girl’s great aunt brought in a separate application. Now the whereabouts of the girls are currently unknown. They are said to be in hiding with her great grandmother and their mother claims she does not know where they are. It is clear that the girls cannot go into hiding without adult help and that it is being done to prevent them from being taken to Italy. The Department of Communities said that it could also not grant any assurance that on production of the children at court they could hold off ‘putting the children on the plane’ given the outstanding court order. The children’s father who also did not want to be named arrived in Australia today from Italy. Judge Forrester said he would pronounce a judgement at 2:15pm. But, he added, in the meanwhile as the girl’s father was in town the family should find a way to negotiate forward.

Legal battle by mom to keep children

Apple legal war against Samsung reaches new heights

Posted on May 15, 2012 by bizandlegis

The ongoing battle of the titans has reached new heights. The US appeals court ruled that Apple Inc could press its bid for acquiring an immediate injunction. Apple wanted an injunction against the sale of the tablet made by Samsung stating that the tablet infringed patent. The present decision is regarding one patent. The court of appeals stated that the judge in the district court has erred in deciding that that Apple failed to show that it was likely to succeed on the merits and sent the case back to the district count for further review.

Apple legal war against Samsung on Patents

The two giants have been involved in a legal battle regarding 20 patent related cases. Both of them are racing to reach the top as far as smart phones and tablets are concerned. The Patent ruling on Monday concerned the design of the Samsung tablet 10.1. The US District Court for the Northern District of California had found that the design patent could have been challenged as “obvious,” which means it should never have been granted. The appeals court disagree. The Appeals court stated that the lower court was right in refusing the right to grant injunction based on the first three patents. Those patents had nothing to do with the design and the third was about scrolling. The ruling in Washington is however part of a larger legal proceeding in California. Apple sued Samsung last year stating that the South Korean company’s galaxy line of products copied the iphone and the ipad.

One of the three judges hearing the case dissent from part of the majority decision, saying that the finding for Apple in the tablet design patent should not result in a ruling returning the issue to the lower court but that Apple should have been granted its injunction.

Apple legal war against Samsung reaches new heights

Child Health Care Center threatens legal action

Posted on May 14, 2012 by bizandlegis

A Whangarei childcare centre has threatened legal action against the New Zealand Aids Foundation for slander. The centre had allegedly turned away a four year old boy when his mother told them that her son was HIV positive. When asked about the same the centre claimed that they only sent the boy home for a period while it developed a child care plan. The RNZAF consequently has championed the boy’s rights. They said that the Mokopuna Early C E and Care Centre, run by He Puna Marama Trust should have ideally already had a care plan in place for children that are HIV positive. Moreover the HIV content in the boy’s blood was found to be so negligible as to not be spreadable to other children. The RNZAF said that the centre really needed to acknowledge the really poor quality of its decision. HIV is a non notifiable disease which means that parents of children with HIV are not required to declare that at schools or early childcare centres.

Also it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing illnesses.

The Childcare centre said that these allegations were slanderous and part of the centre’s attempt to gain media attention and increased funding.

Child Health Care Center threatens legal action

Is law a product like any in the market

Posted on May 14, 2012 by bizandlegis

Legal The legal profession has always been known to be a noble profession. Now a debate has arisen as to whether law has just become another product that we find in the market. The answer is yes and no. The debate surrounding the Legal Services Regulations Bill in Ireland is precisely on this topic. Legal services unlike other professions have not subjected itself to any regulatory authority. They are not scrutinized for the way they function or have not been told the do’s and don’ts of the trade. But the legal profession unlike other professions cannot be subjected to the scrutiny of a higher authority because lawyers using the law are often involved in tussles with the state and authorities. Therefore subjecting them to scrutiny of such an authority would be antithetical to their functioning.

Legal Services Regulations Bill

But is law just another product? Is it possible to argue that a person who is a victim of a medical mishap and requires compensation to go ahead with his treatment a ‘consumer’ of legal services. A young man who is wrong accused of murder and whose liberty is at stake can also not be called a consumer. So is the family who is threatened with foreclosure by a bank when they are not able to repay their mortgage payment. All these people are not voluntary consumers of the legal services. However to the corporate world legal services is just another product that it buys to run its affairs. They need legal services all the time to draw up contracts, to assist in employment disputes, to negotiate mergers, to acquire or rent property, to secure payment for services, to deal with banking and taxation matters . . . the list goes on. The corporate legal world is all but too competitive. This bill will hugely help their cause and bring some regulation into this highly messy affair.

However it is less obvious how this bill is to help the vast majority of Irish citizens for whom law is not something that helps them make their lives smother but something that helps them out of a crisis.

Sex Change surgery a legal right

Posted on May 11, 2012 by bizandlegis

Argentina has made sex change surgery a legal right for those who want it. People would now be able to get then as part of their private or public health care plans. This is all part of the new gender laws approved on Wednesday.

This new law gives people the right to specify what their gender would be in the civil registry. This law was passed with an overwhelming 55-0 margin with one absentee.

Sex Change surgery became a legal right in Argentina

Any person can officially change his sex without the hassle of seeking the approval of the state or a doctor. Argentina citizens who want to alter their body will be helped by health care companies. They will have to provide them with surgery and hormone therapy. Treatments like surgeries and therapies for changing the gender will be included in the so called Obligatory Medical Plans.

As people will be able to change their identities on paper they would not be forced to make surgical changes, this makes the process reversible in case there is a change in self image later. Argentina is one of the countries which are in the forefront of such rights.

Children are also given a place in the law. Those below eighteen who wish to change their gender identity are allowed to do so. So are children who might be forced by their parents to change their gender protected by the law.

Sex Change surgery a legal right

Law degree online – Law school plans for masters degree

Posted on May 9, 2012 by bizandlegis

It’s a web revolution era that we’re living in. And now to add another feather to its cap, we’re going to have online courses to do programs in law. It is being designed to impart quality education to those who desire it, but who cannot uproot their lives and relocate to the United States for the same. There will be teacher-student webcam classes and self paced study courses and online material. This all new venture is being organized for the first time by the Law School of Washington University in collaboration with 2tor an education technology company based in Maryland.

The vision is an entirely online course intended for a master’s degree in United States law meant for lawyers practicing overseas. Law is one of the last minute stragglers who haven’t caught up with the education revolution using technology. This collaboration between a law school and a technology company is a novel concept and one of the only ones of its kind.

online masters law degree

The new course is not going to make the student eligible to write the nationwide bar exam. It will prepare students to take California bar exam though. Largely due to the stringent rules of the American Bar Association, only those with a Juries Doctor degree from institutions recognized by the bar can take the nationwide bar examination. Beyond that the different state rules apply on who can take the bar exam.

Class sizes have been fixed at around 20 odd students to a batch. The university hopes to induct the first batch and begin training by January 2013. They plan on having four small batches a year. This small class size ensures that students get in personal attention and quality time with the professor.

Law degree online – Law school plans for masters degree

Long legal battle for the 9/11 accused

Posted on May 8, 2012 by bizandlegis

The United States of America is set for a long legal battle to bring the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks to book. One of the lawyers went to the extent of saying that the issue might never be resolved. The military tribunal is not expected to start the trial until next year. The preview to the trial so far has been strewn with disputes about torture and the appropriateness of a military trial. The defendants have so far refused to enter plea and demanded a full reading of the charges levied against them. The next hearing has been kept for June 12^th.

“However long the journey … the United States is committed to accountability under law for those who have plotted to attack our nation and to kill innocent people,” said the judge army colonel James Pohl.

9/11 planners defiant in court

The charges that military tribunals are inappropriate were dealt with by stating that the system was endorsed by the President and the United States Congress. An issue that has constantly been discussed has been whether the terrorists should be tried in a civilian court or a military court. Another problem has been the refusal of the defendants to accept the legitimacy of the courts and far so far refused to answer the judges.

There have also been accusations of torture by the military. Officials have stated that torture tainted evidence would not be used. However they also stated that the alternative ways not to let the perpetrators to walk scot free. Other evidence must be gathered so that justice may be arrived at.

Long legal battle for the 9/11 accused

Oracle gets partial win in Oracle Java vs Google Android case

Posted on May 8, 2012 by bizandlegis

In the copyright violation case filed against Google by Oracle, the verdict came out in favour of Oracle; in the first of what could be a three-chapter legal battle. The courts have said that Google has violated the copyright laws when it employed Java APIs to design its Android operating system. It was held that Google had violated the overall structure of the software copyrights held by Oracle but had not violated other parts like Java. While this victory is a partial win for Oracle it doesn’t seem like Oracle is in for a huge sum in lieu of damages, with respect to the copyright infringement case.

Oracle Java vs Google Android

Google has claimed the defense of ‘fair trial’ and has asked for mistrial. While it is accepted that Google had infringed the copyrights of Oracle it has yet to be decided whether it constitutes an acceptable level of ‘fair use’ as has been claimed by Google. The opposition said that copyright protection did not contemplate the functional computer programming but what can be created with such functional programming languages. Oracle says that every major commercial enterprise has a license for Java but Google does not because that would make Oracle influential in the next versions of Android and Google wants to avoid this. At the end of the day Oracle may receive only a modest payment for the infringement which Google claims is minor. The setback for Google is however that it may need to get a license for Java from Oracle for future purposes.