Hank Azaria v. Craig Bierko et al., (US District Court, C.D. California)
Actor Hank Azaria, well-known for his voice actor roles in “The Simpsons” television show, filed a copyright lawsuit seeking declaratory relief against actor Craig Bierko in a dispute over the voice and other rights of ‘Jim Brockmire,’ a baseball announcer character.
Hank Azaria Sues Over a Character Voice, E.W.com (11/16/12)
The People of the State of California v. eBay, Inc., (US District Court, N.D. California)
United States of America v. eBay, Inc., (US District Court, N.D. California)
The U.S. Department of Justice filed this antitrust lawsuit against eBay because of its an agreement between the online marketplace company and Intuit, a software company that develops financial and tax preparation software. The non-competition agreement between the two companies prohibits either from hiring employees from the other company. The two companies otherwise compete directly for highly specialized computer engineers and research scientists. California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a lawsuit against both companies under California law, citing the state’s stricter restrictions against anticompetitive behavior.
eBay, Intuit Signed Noncompetitive Agreement, Government Alleges, The Huffington Post (11/16/12)
Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated v. International Securities Exchange, LLC (US District Court, N.D. Illinois)
The Chicago Board Options Exchange filed a $525 million dollar patent infringement lawsuit against a competing options exchange, International Securities Exchange, alleging that three of its Quote Risk Monitor patents are being infringed.
CBOE Sues International Securities Exchange Over Patents, Bloomberg BusinessWeek (11/13/12)
A.K. v. Google, Inc., (US District Court, S.D. Illinois)
The A.K. case is one of a series of class-action lawsuits against Google over the way Gmail scans emails to deliver personalized ads. Although the primary lawsuit on this matter is being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the A.K. lawsuit is marginally different in that it alleges violations by Google specifically against minors.
Google Sued (Again) Over Gmail Scanning, This Time by a Minor Child (11/16/12)
NovelPoint Tracking LLC v. Apple Inc., (US District Court, E.D. Texas)
NovelPoint Tracking LLC v. Ford Motor Company, (US District Court, E.D. Texas)
NovelPoint Security LLC v. Apple, Inc., (US District Court, E.D. Texas)
In the NovelPoint cases, Texas company NovelPoint Tracking LLC filed lawsuits against Apple, Ford, and other companies over their GPS location services. Ford’s location service is a joint venture between Ford and Microsoft called SYNC and is a prominent feature of many of its newer models of cars.
Apple Sued for Patent Infringement Over Location Services (11/13/12)