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.

Will Jack Thompson ever go away???

Jack Thompson, the disbarred crusader against violent video games, has sued Facebook, alleging site users posted violent threats against him. In a Facebook group called "I Hate Jack Thompson", one post in particular was singled out and mentioned in the lawsuit. The posting stated, “Jack Thompson should be smacked across the face with an Atari 2600.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Just for the record.  I joined the group.  And I’d really like to smack him in the face with and Atari 2600.  C’mon WWE, let’s get this rolling.

iPhone developers are not happy right now

While Apple keeps bragging about one billion iPhone apps sold, some developers are fed up with their outrageous payment delays. Some cases are dramatic, deeply affecting indie developer's families in the middle of the crisis:

30 something year old family man with bills to pay owed 1,000's (soon to be 10's of thousands if March is missed also) here.

I'm with you. I am a 30 year old work-from-home Dad of 2 kids. I'm owed probably about $10k at this point ($2k from past months, $8k from the month with no payments or financial reports yet).

This is a BIG deal for me and my family.

Over $10,000 here. Family, kids, mortgage etc. Mails unanswered etc. In dispair. No where to go. They don't reply to emails and there is no number. Can't do anything physically because I'm in the European Union.

Apple still owes me more than $7,500 since September 2008 for US and World regions. I supplied them with a new SWIFT code and a intermediary bank they could use last month, but still nothing. Sent them tons of emails but I never got to know what is really wrong/faulty so I just tried to give them another SWIFT code that DNB (Biggest bank in Norway) uses. All other region payments have been OK.

Apple owes me near $2000 since Feb. Zero payment received. Zero email replies.

Apple acts as a distribution channel for all iPhone OS-based software through their iTunes App Store. They get the micro-payments from the customers, getting a 30% share of each sale. Every month they add the totals and pay developers the 70% in a single money transfer, which—according to the developer contract—should arrive within 45 days of the end of the month.

As you can see, this has not been the case in the quotes above and apparently many others. Months have passed in many instances, and there's still no sign of the money. In fact, according to developers, the situation is so bad that some are threatening to sue Apple for breach of contract.

If you are a developer and have some horror—or good—stories to share about this, you know where we are. [iphonedevsdk forums and iphonedevsdk forums via TechCrunch via Gizmodo]

The 1.5 Million Dollar Album

Yeah, like any album made in the last 10 years is worth that much. Give me a break.

The amount that the RIAA gets in statutory damages in filesharing lawsuits is already completely bananas, but they still aren't happy. The problem? Compilation CDs. A rascally pirate could rip 10 tracks from 10 CDs, say they came from a compilation and then only be culpable for one album. That's not right! The RIAA would then be cheated out of money they could use to polish the rubies on the ends of their walking sticks!

So what are they doing? Pushing the PRO-IP Act through Congress that'll increase the statutory damages for compilation albums to a whopping $1.5 million. Yes, if you get busted sharing a soundtrack or compilation album with multiple artists on it, the RIAA wants to count each track as its own album. You know, just for the heck of it.

With statutory damages already so out of the league of the rational and the justifiable, increasing the damages this much might actually happen. I mean, if they could justify $150,000 an album before, is it really such a leap to make that $1.5 million?

The moral of the story? Be careful and don't get busted. That and the RIAA makes Mr. Burns look more like Mr. Rogers

[Gizmodo via Ars Technica]

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.

Sony Sued For PS3 Cell Processor

Looks like everybody wants to sue everybody this week!!!

Sony finds its self on the wrong end of a lawsuit again, as Parallel Processing Corporation (PPC) is claiming that the "Cell" processor used in the PS3, is based off of their patent. PPC states that they filed the patent in 1991 for "synchronised parallel processing with shared memory", and that Sony broke that patent by developing the "Cell" processor. Not only does PPC demand money, but they also want "impounding and destruction" of all infringing units.

I find it a little odd that PPC is only going after Sony, when the "Cell" was a joint venture along with Toshiba and IBM. And I do find it hard to believe that all three of these huge companies 'missed' the patent boat, considering how much money was involved. But if Sony has to pay up for this infringement, the PS3 will become even less profitable.

Not good Sony.

Leap for the entire article. [Gamespot via Gizmodo]

RIAA Takes On Disabled Woman: Gets Sued

A woman in Beaverton, Oregon has filed a federal lawsuit against the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The RIAA accused her of illegally downloading music and violating copyright laws. The lawsuit that Tanya J. Andersen, 44 filed alleges that the RIAA used “abusive legal tactics, threats and illegal spying" against her and her 10 year old daughter.

This disabled single mother claims that she received a letter in 2005 from a Los Angeles law firm, she contacted the Settlement Support Center as directed. She informed them that she hadn't downloaded any illegal music, but was told that she must pay $4000-$5000 or she would be ruined financially. She even told them they could inspect her computer.

RIAA refused to drop the lawsuit even after their own experts said that the computer wasn't used for that purpose. Anderson states that they threatened to interrogate her 10 year old daughter, and went so far as to have a woman pose as her grandmother and contact her school about her attendance.

The lawsuit was finally dropped.

I'm not a huge fan of lawsuits, but I hope she takes the pants on this one!!!

Read the entire mess after the jump. [Oregonlive.com via G4TV]

LG Sues Hitachi: 'Hands off my patent you damn dirty ape!'

LG has filed suit in Texas against television-manufacturer Hitachi, claiming that the company is violating patents LG holds. LG is seeking the big bucks and an injunction to halt the sale and production of any television sets that violate patents.

The dispute is over patents relating to plasma display panel development, which I’m assuming has to do with the displays of several TVs.

Read the entire article after the jump. [Reuters]

Connecticut Sues Best Buy

We all know Best Buy sucks. That’s just common sense. But did you know that Best Buy has been trying to scam customers into paying higher prices for crappy electronics? Last month, Best Buy was caught with their pants down trying to make customers pay higher prices via an in-store Internet site that was similar to BestBuy.com.

Now the state of Connecticut has filed a lawsuit against the company, stating that they engaged in deceptive business practices. Connecticut is looking to have Best Buy reimburse customers for the inflated prices they paid, which is what they should do. But Best Buy is currently claiming its innocence, saying the charges are absurd, etc.

Yeah right Best Buy.

We hear karma is a real bitch.

Read the entire article after the jump.