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UK court sides with Samsung in Apple suit
Business Law Info |
2012/10/19 22:13
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Britain's Court of Appeal has backed a judgment that Samsung's Galaxy
tablet computer is "not as cool" as Apple's iPad — and therefore
doesn't infringe Apple's rights.
The panel's upholding of the findings of by a lower court endorses the
U.K. judgment which made headlines around the world when it was handed
down in July. Judge Colin Birss had then gushed over Apple's design,
while knocking back the company's case against its rival.
"The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking," Birss wrote
at the time, enthusing over its "undecorated flat surfaces," its "very
thin rim" and "crisp edge."
"It is an understated, smooth and simple product," Birss wrote, saying
that Samsung's products "are not as cool."
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal agreed unanimously with Birss, with
Judge Robin Jacob ordering Apple to publicize the court rulings to
make sure consumers knew that Samsung wasn't a copycat.
"The acknowledgement must come from the horse's mouth," Jacob said.
"Nothing short of that will be sure to do the job completely."
Kim Walker, a partner with English law firm Thomas Eggar LLP, said
that the ruling was an endorsement of Samsung's originality — if not
its design.
"It appears that you don't have to be cool to be original when it
comes to intellectual property rights," she wrote in an email. "You
just have to be different!"
The British case is just one of several in Apple and Samsung's
international copyright battle, which has raged across Europe and the
United States. |
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NC regulators hire law firm to probe Duke Energy
Business Law Info |
2012/08/15 18:16
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North Carolina utilities regulators said Wednesday they have hired a former federal prosecutor with experience digging into corporate affairs to reveal whether regulators were misled ahead of a takeover that created America's largest electric company.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission said it has hired Anton Valukas and the Jenner & Block law firm, which he heads in Chicago. The ex-prosecutor and his firm are tasked with investigating what happened before regulators approved Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp. taking over Raleigh-based Progress Energy Inc.
State law allows the costs associated with the utilities commission's investigation to be charged to Duke Energy and its shareholders rather than allowing the company to pass them along to its 3.2 million North Carolina customers.
A Duke Energy spokesman said the company was cooperating with regulators in their investigation.
The company on Wednesday separately sought to begin passing along to Carolinas energy consumers the first $89 million of $650 million in merger-related savings promised over the next five years. If that is approved, the average residential customer in North Carolina and South Carolina could save between 80 cents and 92 cents a month beginning in September. |
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FBI investigates missing $17M in trust funds
Business Law Info |
2012/07/09 22:44
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The FBI is investigating the apparent theft of $17 million from Northern California trust fund accounts.
The San Jose Mercury News says the money has vanished from the trust funds of dozens of Santa Clara County residents who relied on a money manager to oversee their life savings.
Probate court records show the investigation centers on accounts administered by Christine Backhouse. She handles more than $104 million in assets.
Court records show she doesn't have enough insurance to cover the missing funds.
Backhouse says a boyfriend secretly wired millions of dollars out of the trusts.
The Campbell money manager mostly handled private trusts with no judicial oversight of her fees for service. |
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Assembly OKs adding bank settlement into Calif law
Business Law Info |
2012/07/03 22:03
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California would become the first state to write into law much of the national mortgage settlement negotiated this year with the nation's top five banks, and expand it to all lenders, under wide-ranging legislation state lawmakers approved Monday.
Majority Democrats sent the homeowner protection package to Gov. Jerry Brown despite opposition from business and lending organizations and most Republican legislators.
The Assembly approved the legislation on a 53-25 vote, and the Senate followed by voting 25-13.
The legislation would require large lenders to provide a single point of contact for homeowners who want to discuss loan modifications. It would prohibit lenders from foreclosing while the lenders consider homeowners' request for alternatives to foreclosure. And it would let California homeowners sue lenders to stop foreclosures or seek monetary damages if the lender violates state law. |
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Solar firm that got DOE loan to declare bankruptcy
Business Law Info |
2012/07/01 22:02
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A Colorado-based solar panel maker that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration said Thursday it will file for bankruptcy, the latest setback for an industry battered by the recession and stiff competition from companies in China.
Abound Solar of Loveland, Colo., said it will suspend operations next week, after talks with potential buyers broke down. The company received about $70 million from the Energy Department before officials froze its credit line last year.
Abound is the third clean-energy company to seek bankruptcy protection after receiving a loan from the Energy Department under the economic stimulus law. California solar panel maker Solyndra and Beacon Power, a Massachusetts energy-storage firm, declared bankruptcy last year. Solyndra received a $528 million federal loan, while Beacon Power got a $43 million loan guarantee. |
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Ex-DC Council chairman pleads guilty to 2 charges
Business Law Info |
2012/06/09 18:18
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The former chairman of the District of Columbia Council pleaded guilty Friday to lying about his income on bank loan applications, the latest blow to a city government rocked by scandal.
Kwame Brown also admitted to a misdemeanor campaign finance violation, capping a tumultuous week in which he forfeited his position as one of the city's most influential powerbrokers. His departure creates more turnover on the city's governing body and follows the resignation of another councilmember who admitted to stealing public funds earmarked for youth sports programs.
Their departures this year — coupled with a federal probe of Mayor Vincent Gray's 2010 campaign that has already produced guilty pleas from two campaign aides — have sent the district government into a tailspin. And the scandals likely aren't helping efforts to gain greater budget autonomy, much less win more voting power for the district's delegate to Congress or to secure the long-sought goal of statehood. |
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