Articles Posted in Intellectual Property

Apple Faces Patent Infringement Suit Over Siri Updated: by

Apple was hit with a patent infringement lawsuit (read it below) over Siri, the Cupertino, California company's computer voice search-and-speak technology inside newer iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices. The twist in this case, however, is that patent holder Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute isn't the one suing. Instead, the plaintiff is…

Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Six Other Tech Cos. Sued for Patent Infringement Updated: by

Evolutionary Intelligence, LLC sued Apple, social media companies Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, Groupon, and Living Social, telecom Sprint Nextel, and mobile advertising network Millennial Media in federal court yesterday, claiming infringement of 2 patents. Curiously, the names of the patents are virtually identical, although the abstract and specifics are different.…

Facebook Hit With Trademark Lawsuit Over “Want” Button Updated: by

For several months, Facebook has reportedly been developing and testing a “Want” button, to supplement its ubiquitous “Like” button. Just last week, Facebook announced that several companies will be testing the new “Want” button and showed what the button would look like. On October 12, shortly after the release of…

Apple Faces Patent Infringement Lawsuit Over iPad 3, Macbook LED Technology Updated: by

Apple, Inc. was hit with a patent infringement lawsuit Thursday (read it below) alleging that the company's iPad 3 tablets and Macbook Pro computers violate four light emitting diode (LED) patents. The case was filed in in federal court in Delaware by claimed patent holder LED Tech Development LLC, a…

Apple Sued By Fashion and Beauty Photographer for Copyright Infringement Updated: by

Apple was sued for copyright infringement on Wednesday by Swiss fashion and beauty photographer Sabine Liewald. Her lawsuit (below) charges the technology company with unauthorized use of her copyrighted "Eye Closeup" photo in an advertising campaign for Macbook Pro computers, related materials, and a keynote speech, without first obtaining legal…

Apple Sued For Patent Infringement Over Passbook Updated: by

Ameranth, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Apple, Inc. earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alleging that Apple’s new Passbook product infringes on Ameranth’s patented technology. According to the complaint, Ameranth develops products to generate and synchronize menus and hospitality information across fixed,…

Apple Denied Trademark Application Because MySpace Already Owns “Confusingly Similar” Mark Updated: by

Last Tuesday, The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) upheld a decision to deny Apple’s trademark application to register its music feature mark that’s used on iPhones and other Apple products.  The reason?  The mark was confusingly similar to another mark that’s now owned by MySpace.  Both marks consist of two musical eighth…

Facebook and Apple Sued For Patent Infringement Over Data Handling Updated: by

Facebook and Apple have been hit with another patent infringement lawsuit brought by small, relatively obscure research/technology companies. Yesterday, PersonalWeb Technologies and Level 3 Communications filed a suit against both technology companies in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The two plaintiff companies allegedly each own…

Regents of the University of California, Eolas Technologies Sue Facebook for Patent Infringement Updated: by

Yesterday, the Regents of the University of California and Eolas Technologies, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Facebook in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The suit alleges that Facebook has infringed on four different patents owned by the Regents and to which Eolas has an exclusive…

Photographer Sues Twitter for Copyright Infringement Updated: by

Photographer Christopher Boffoli has filed a lawsuit against Twitter in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claiming infringement of copyrighted photographs. The complaint alleges that "Twitter users copied numerous photographs from the Disparity Series without license or permission from Boffoli . . . . [and] were…