OK, what is this??? Frivolous lawsuit week?

C’mon, seriously???

Apple Inc., a leading purveyor of premium mobile electronics and maker of the wildly successful iPhones and iPods, has shown itself to be very aggressive in attacking other firms that dare use trademarks containing apple fruit.  A while ago, it sued the city of New York for using an apple for a logo on one of the city's green projects.

Now Apple has filed an equally perplexing trademark complaint against Woolworths, Australia's largest retailer.  Woolworths innocently redesigned their logo in the shape of a 'W' that also looked like a piece of produce.  That turned out to be a potentially costly mistake as Apple's legal team quickly seized on the fact that the company's green logo bore a faint resemblance to an apple fruit.

Read the rest of the article here.

Another frivolous lawsuit

It's lawsuit time for Microsoft once again, and this time its over Xbox Live fees. Francisco Garcia of Georgia is suing Microsoft for consumer fraud, saying that Microsoft allegedly allowed his son, Silvario, to use his card to buy a one-year Xbox Live subscription worth US$ 49.99. This transaction happened in October 2005.A year later, Microsoft automatically renewed the subscription and once again charged US$ 49.99, pushing his checking account to overdraft. Garcia was subsequently charged with an additional US$ 35 penalty due to overdraft charges. While Microsoft refunded the US$ 49.99 fee, Garcia said that he wasn't reimbursed for the US$ 35.00 overdraft penalty.Garcia claimed that Microsoft pulled him into a fraudulent contract with Xbox Live by letting a minor subscribe to the service and automatically renewing the contract without his own consent.Microsoft, however, requested the Federal Court to dismiss the case with proof that Silvario misrepresented his age when he subscribed to Xbox Live.

Well, he should have just told his son to get a 1-year subscription card. Then nothing would have been charged to his credit card. If you just sign up for Live (actually almost any subscription based service), in the terms of service it says that after the 1 year (or whatever term) it will automatically renew, the onus is on you to cancel before it renews. Second, you're a grown man. Keep more than $50 in your checking account. If you can't, dont get your child a $400 gaming system that plays $60 games.