google.jpgIPNews® – Oracle Corp. must pay Google Inc. $1 million to compensate for costs incurred in Oracle’s failed patent and copyright infringement suit over the Java programming language, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Google had asked for $4 million in costs, but Judge William Alsup shot down $3 million in e-discovery cost requests. Oracle lost its two year patent and copyright battle against Google in May. To continue reading, click: Oracle Owes Google $1M For Java Copyright, Patent Suit Costs

books-stack.jpgIPNews® – Four textbook publishers settled claims Tuesday against five companies they accused of selling and distributing counterfeit copies of their copyrighted and trademarked work.

The settlements include a total of $2.6 million in payments to publishers Cengage Learning Inc., John Wiley and Sons Inc., Pearson Education Inc. and McGraw-Hill Education, as well as agreements to refrain from any further infringing behavior. The settling companies include Kentwood Industries, Texas Book Company, Sterling Educational Media, Davis Textbook and ABSnext Corp. To continue reading, click: Textbook Publishers Settle Series Of Counterfeit Book Copyright, Trademark Suits

shoes-redsoles.jpgIPNews® – Luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin won a victory in the Second Circuit on Wednesday upholding his trademark protection for his signature red-soled shoes, in a setback for rival Yves Saint Laurent in its efforts to evade Louboutin’s infringement suit.

The appeals court reversed a New York district judge’s denial of a preliminary injunction against YSL’s own red-soled shoes. The lower court was wrong to rule the trademark was probably unenforceable on the grounds that a single color cannot ever serve as a trademark in the fashion industry, the Second Circuit said. To continue reading, click: 2nd Circuit Affirms Validity Of Louboutin’s Trademark Red Soles

disney.jpgIPNews® – A Southern California party costume business is facing copyright and trademark infringement claims from Disney Enterprises Inc., DC Comics and Sanrio Inc.

The entertainment companies claim The Party Animals LLC is selling, renting and distributing costumes featuring trademarked and copyrighted characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Superman, Batman and Hello Kitty. To continue reading, click: Disney, DC Comics, Sanrio Sue California Party Costume Provider For Copyright, Trademark Infringement

pirate_flag.jpgIPNews® – Copyright enforcement agencies are directly monitoring BitTorrent file-sharing traffic on a massive scale, scanning for potentially infringing activities, a group of researchers said Tuesday.

The group claims their study provides the first definitive evidence of such direct monitoring, which is focused primarily on the most popular music and movies. The IP addresses of illegal downloaders are logged within hours of their infringing activity, the group’s paper said. To continue reading, click: BitTorrent Users Being Monitored En Masse For Copyright Infringement

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IPNews® – Michael Jackson’s estate settled a copyright infringement lawsuit it brought against a businessman working on behalf of Jackson’s mother in a $2.5 million deal Tuesday.

Defendant Howard Mann and his companies Vintage Pop Media Group LLC and Vintage Associates LLC will also be banned from further use of Jackson’s likeness without authorization. The estate sued in January 2011 over the defendants’ website michaeljacksonsecretvault.com. To continue reading, click: Michael Jackson Estate Settles Copyright Suit For $2.5M

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IPNews® – Apple Inc. was issued 26 new patents on Tuesday including patents for a multi-touch capable liquid crystal display screen and a new process for molding carbon fiber that could be used to make more durable computer housings.

The touch screen patent discloses LCD touch screens that integrate the touch sensing elements with the display circuitry. The carbon molding patent is designed to make automated mass production of consistent carbon composite parts easier. To continue reading, click: Apple Nets Patents For Multi-Touch Screen, Carbon Fiber Housing, More

apple-logo-gray.jpgIPNews® – Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S III phone and 20 other products came under attack from Apple Inc. in a new amended complaint on Friday in the electronics giants’ mountains of patent infringement litigation, just a week after Apple won a $1 billion verdict against Samsung in a related case.

Apple is asserting eight utility patents in the amended complaint, none of which were at issue in the case that just produced a verdict. Samsung is continuing to flood the market with copycat products despite the litigation, Apple says. To continue reading, click: Apple Brings Samsung Galaxy S III, Other Products Into Patent War

justice-scales.jpgIPNews® – The Federal Circuit ruled Friday that even when many different parties perform the different steps of a patented method, induced patent infringement can still exist.

The decision means Akamai Technologies Inc. will now be able to again pursue its online content delivery system patent claims against Limelight Networks Inc. McKesson Corp.’s doctor-patient electronic communication system patent claims against Epic Systems Corp. were also revived, in a related case. To continue reading, click: Federal Circuit Rules Patent Infringement Can Exist Even When Many Perform Different Steps

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IPNews® – The Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday that Marilyn Monroe’s estate cannot claim a posthumous California state law right of publicity for the famed actress’s likeness.

The estate has argued for decades in various other proceedings that Monroe was living in New York when she died, not California, so New York law must govern based on the principal of judicial estoppel, the appeals court said. The estate’s efforts failed despite a 2007 amendment to California’s right of publicity law that was specifically designed to get around a lower court’s prior decision against the estate. To continue reading, click: Ninth Circuit Shuts Down Marilyn Monroe Estate’s Likeness Claims