Apple, Nestle, NBCUniversal, Netflix: Intellectual Property
Apple Inc. (AAPL), accusing Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) of misleading jurors at the start of a $2 billion trial over smartphone technology, lost its bid to show jurors how it uses three of five patents disputed in the case.
U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, rejected the Cupertino, California-based company’s claim that it deserved the opportunity after Samsung said Apple wasn’t using the intellectual property.
The case is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 12-cv-00630, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
Trademark
Cadbury’s Fight to Register Purple as Mark Ended by U.K. Court
Efforts by Cadbury, a unit of Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ), to register a distinct shade of purple as a trademark has been closed out by the U.K.’s Supreme Court, Confectionery News reported.
The high court ruling ends a 10-year dispute with Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestle S.A. (NESN), which had opposed Cadbury’s 2004 trademark application, according to the trade publication.
Neurovision Wins $30 Million Trademark-Infringement Jury Verdict
Neurovision Medical Products Inc. was awarded $30 million in a five-year-old trademark case against NuVasive Inc., a medical-device company based in San Diego.
A jury in Los Angeles federal court said April 3 that NuVasive fraudulently obtained its trademark registration and willfully infringed a trademark belonging to Ventura, California-based Neurovision.
This is the second trial related to the trademark dispute. NuVasive had successfully appealed an earlier $60 million infringement verdict. The appeals court found that improper jury instructions had been given and sent the case back for retrial.
The case is Neurovision Medical Products Inc. v. NuVasive Inc. (NUVA), 2:09-cv-06988-R-JEM, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).
Copyright
NBCUniversal’s ‘Section 6’ Is James Bond Knockoff, MGM Says
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and the producers of the James Bond franchise sued NBCUniversal Media LLC, saying a screenplay for a movie in development, “Section 6,” infringes its copyright to the 007 character.
“This lawsuit concerns a motion picture project, in active development, featuring a daring, tuxedo-clad British agent, employed by ‘His Majesty’s Secret Service,’ with a ‘license to kill’ and a 00, double-0, secret agent on a mission to save England,” Danjaq LLC, the producers, and MGM said in a redacted complaint filed April 3 in federal court in Los Angeles.
Kori Bernards, a spokeswoman for Universal, didn’t respond to an e-mail after regular business hours April 3 seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The case is Danjaq LLC v. Universal City Studios LLC, 14-02527, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles.)
Trade Secrets/Industrial Espionage
Netflix, Amazon Sued by Ex-Employee of Both Companies
Both Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. were sued by a former employee of both companies who claims that Netflix made unfounded allegations that he misappropriated trade secrets when he left to join Amazon.
In the suit, filed April 1 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Jerry Kowal, the former director of content acquisition for Netflix, says that when he left to join Seattle-based Amazon, Netflix accused him of bringing the movie-delivery company’s confidential information with him.
He also claims that Amazon wrongly terminated him, and suggests this was done to appease Los Gatos, California-based Netflix, a major Amazon customer. Kowal seeks damages in excess of $1 million.
Neither Amazon nor Netflix responded immediately to an e-mailed request for comment on the lawsuit.
The case is Kowal v. Netflix Inc. (NFLX), BC541185, Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County.
(By Victoria Slind-Flor)
Source: bloomberg
