Articles Posted in Google

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Any antitrust concerns about Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility were satisfied in Europe and the United States today. Regulatory hurdles were cleared when the European Union and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division each approved Google’s purchase of the telecom unit.

The deal bolsters Google’s patent portfolio, and is anticipated to add substantial value to the company’s Android mobile operating system.


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Doug Whitman, the head portfolio manager at Whitman Capital, LLC, was indicted by a New York federal grand jury on insider trading and criminal securities fraud charges (read the indictment below).

The indictment alleges that in 2006 and 2007, Whitman’s firm made $900,000 in illegal profits by trading Google and Polycom stocks using material, non-public information that Whitman himself acquired to make the trades.

Whitman is also charged with buying and selling Marvell Technology Group stock and options over roughly two years using insider information.


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Montblanc, the German maker of fabled fountain pens and other luxury goods sued Google for help in unmasking the identities of alleged counterfeiters running Google AdWords campaigns on Google’s UK search engine to hawk knockoff pens.

Montblanc’s lawsuit against Google asks the court for equitable relief, i.e.,, not money but a court order granting the penmaker discovery to unmask and confirm the identity of the person or entity placing misleading ads on Google.


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Don’t the patent wars involving Apple, Samsung, and Motorola Mobility feel like they’re being waged almost daily?

Motorola Mobility filed the latest salvo with a new patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in a Florida federal court (see below).

The new case accuses Apple of, among other things, violating its patent for a "Receiver Having Concealed External Antenna." Motorola Mobility claims that it’s got a lock on all mobile phones with hidden antennas.

Really? Have they sued every mobile device manufacturer over this claim? When was the last time that you actually saw a mobile phone with a visible antenna attached?


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You would think that Silicon Valley giants would compensate their employees well, support their professional growth, and know that a time will come when they leave for greener pastures.

C-level execs at Apple, Google, Adobe, Pixar, Intel, Intuit, and Lucasfilm apparently thought, acted, and communicated differently, however, according to newly revealed legal documents in an employee class-action lawsuit (see below).


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The U.S. International Trade Commission issued an eagerly awaited determination today in the ongoing Apple iOS v. Android OS patent war, giving a win for Motorola Mobility, whose $12.5 billion acquisition by Google is pending.

ITC Administrative Law Judge Theodore R. Essex’s initial determination was that Motorola’s Droids smartphones do not violate 3 patents at issue: ‘828 ‘607, and ‘430 patents.

The decision is not final, however, because it still needs to get the official sign-off from all six ITC members.


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A company holding a patent for a “Safe Transaction Guaranty” on e-commerce Web sites sued Google, alleging patent infringement.

buySAFE, Inc. contends (read the lawsuit below) that Google’s new Trusted Stores program violates its patent for third-party certification and transactional guarantees for Internet retailers.