Corporate stuff

The mobile phone wars got more interesting late on Tuesday as Microsoft publicly asserted for the first time that Google's Android operating system infringes on its intellectual property.

Microsoft has taken the position, according to those close to the company, that Android infringes on the company's patented technology and that the infringement applies broadly in areas ranging from the user interface to the underlying operating system.

In a statement to CNET, Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said that, although Microsoft prefers to resolve intellectual property licensing issues without resorting to lawsuits, it has a responsibility to make … Read more

Google loves to build platforms on which programs run--Android, App Engine, iGoogle, and in the biggest picture, the Web itself. But platforms are of no use, and aren't much fun, without applications on top, so Google often also kick-starts development with applications of its own.

Now it appears Google is interested in boosting development in a variety of casual gaming and entertainment areas with the acquisition of LabPixies, announced late Monday. The company offers a collection of games and lightweight utilities that run on iGoogle, Google's customizable home page, and on the iPhone and Android phones.

Terms of … Read more

Microsoft is getting a strong boost from an improving PC market as the economy continues to move toward steadier ground.

The software maker said on Thursday that it earned $4.01 billion, or 45 cents per share for the quarter, on revenue of $14.5 billion for the three months ended March 31. That revenue figure excludes $305 million in Office sales that Microsoft is deferring because of a technology guarantee program that guarantees those now buying Office a free upgrade to Office 2010 when it ships in June.

Both revenue and earnings came in ahead of what analysts had … Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched its own inquiry into whether Hewlett-Packard paid bribes to win a computer contract with a unit of the Russian government, according to a report on Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

The move by regulators here follows reports on Wednesday that Russian investigators, acting at the request of German officials, raided HP's Russian offices. According to The Wall Street Journal, German prosecutors are investigating whether HP paid $10.9 million in an attempt to sell a sophisticated computer system to the Russian prosecutor general's office.

"HP has been … Read more

Microsoft said on Thursday that it has dispatched a team of auditors to a facility in China that is accused of requiring its teenage employees to work long hours in poor conditions for take-home pay that amounts to just 50 cents an hour.

"As a company that sells a wide range of hardware and devices, we take very seriously our corporate responsibility to ensure that the manufacturing facilities and supply chain operations that we use comply with all relevant labor and safety requirements and ensure fair treatment of workers," according to a blog post from Brian Tobey, corporate … Read more

Microsoft says it has launched an investigation into labor practices at a Chinese factory following a report alleging the vendor used large numbers of teenagers working in harsh conditions for low pay to build the company's mice and other products.

The investigation follows a report from the Pittsburgh-based National Labor Committee that found the KYE facility in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China allegedly uses significant amounts of teenage labor and has workers laboring as much as 80.5 hours a week for wages that amount to just over 50 cents an hour in take-home pay.

"We are like prisoners,&… Read more

The ongoing drama between ousted Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella and ex-employer Activision has taken another twist. Monday morning, Electronic Arts announced a deal with the pair to be the sole distributor for their newly formed studio, Respawn Entertainment. According to Zampella, the new studio will be based in the same part of Los Angeles as Infinity Ward, which created the $3 billion Call of Duty series, including last year's $1 billion hit, Modern Warfare 2.

While some studios search for years for a publishing partner, Respawn already has one lined up. Electronic Arts will be … Read more

An 11th hour campaign to save Seattle's July 4 fireworks display has succeeded, thanks in large part to $125,000 donations from Microsoft and Starbucks.

Short of a needed $500,000 to run Seattle's annual fireworks display, organizers had feared they would have to cancel this year's July 4 event. However, Microsoft and Starbucks pledged to match a combined $250,000 in donations and, by Friday, other businesses and individuals raised that amount, allowing the event to proceed.

"The show will go on!" Microsoft said Friday on its corporate Twitter account. "Seattle 4th of … Read more

It's turning out to be a busy day for Microsoft's legal team.

The software maker on Thursday lost its bid to have a full appeals court review I4i's patent case in which the Toronto company was awarded both millions in monetary damages and an injunction against the inclusion of custom XML features in Word. Separately, meanwhile, the company is suing a maker of Xbox add-ons over that company's Xbox 360 controller.

In the I4i case, Microsoft said it is still figuring out its next move, which could include asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, … Read more