infringe

Facebook's Timeline, the newest and most dramatic change yet to its famous profile pages, hasn't even rolled out publicly yet, but it's already under legal attack.

Timelines.com, a small Chicago based company, filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit yesterday against Facebook. Timelines.com, an online social-scrapbooking company, has been in business since 2008 and is claiming that Facebook's newest platform product could destroy its livelihood.

According to the complaint, which TechCrunch has embedded, the Chicago startup is seeking damages and an immediate injunction to prevent being "rolled over and quite possibly eliminated by the unlawful action … Read more

Apple is looking to put on hold two lawsuits involving Motorola, arguing that the handset maker has lost its patent rights as a result of its acquisition deal with Google.

The company filed motions in two separate U.S. District courts last Friday to delay the suits. Apple contends that under the merger agreement with Google, Motorola is limited in its ability to enforce its own patents or negotiate any legal settlements, explained Florian Mueller, founder of the Foss Patents blog..

In Apple's view, moving forward with the two lawsuits would potentially be a no-win situation for itself. If … Read more

Oracle's Larry Ellison and Google's Larry Page are expected to face each other on September 19 in an attempt to settle the year-long patent infringement case between their respective companies.

After trying to skirt any appearances by promising to send other people to the conference table, the two CEOs were ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal last Friday to attend the settlement talks themselves.

"The party representatives required to attend this and any further conferences include, but are not limited to, Larry Ellison of Oracle and Larry Page of Google," according to a copy of the court order … Read more

Apple is asking a court in Japan to block the sale of certain Samsung mobile devices there.

In the latest shot fired in the ongoing patent war between the two companies, a lawsuit filed by Apple in Tokyo District Court seeks to ban sales in Japan of Samsung's Galaxy S and S II smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 7 tablet, according to Reuters.

Citing information from "sources close to the matter," Reuters reported that the first hearing took place yesterday. This latest legal squabble kicked off on August 23 when Apple filed the suit against Samsung in … Read more

In addition to being extremely touchy-feely, Apple can sometimes be just touchy.

So when my almost-regular reading of Go Cheng Doo brought up an example of Apple reportedly being a little upset, I wasn't entirely surprised.

In this case, the company is apparently objecting to the logo of the Sichuan Fangguo Food Co., Ltd. Naturally, it will be down to aesthetes and lawyers to decide just what resemblance this logo has with that of the world's most famous company.

But to some gazes, it might be LG, rather than Apple, which might ask a few questions. It really … Read more

Google and Oracle's patent infringement case is heating up considerably as it gets closer to the scheduled Halloween trial date over.

Not only is the trial commencement time possibly up in the air, but a settlement between the two Silicon Valley giants could actually happen.

Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a brief order on Friday afternoon revealing that he might order the "top executive officers" of both companies to come to court for a day or two.

That means we could potentially see Oracle CEO Larry … Read more

A ban that prevented sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Europe has been lifted, according to the Dutch publication Webwereld.

Citing confirmation from Peter Schutz, spokesman for the Dusseldorf District Court, IDG's Webwereld (English translation) said Samsung can now resume sales of its Galaxy Tab tablet throughout Europe, with the exception of Germany. The court ruled that the German court does not have the power to ban sales of the tablet except within its own country.

In response to the new ruling, Samsung sent CNET the following statement:

"Samsung welcomes the Dusseldorf District Court'… Read more

Samsung and Apple are prepping themselves for a key battle later this month over the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

On August 25, a German court will hear arguments on whether it should overturn a temporary ban on the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the European Union.

Earlier this week, the court granted Apple a preliminary injunction banning the sale of Samsung's tablet in all European Union countries, except for the Netherlands. Apple, obviously pleased with the result, reissued a statement it has released several times over the last few months, charging that Samsung knowingly copied the … Read more

Those look-alike Apple retail stores that have been gaining attention over the past month? They appear to have caught the eye of Apple too.

In a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, Apple has taken aim at three companies and some 52 other individuals. One of those is Apple Story Inc., believed to be the match of a similarly named Apple retail look-alike in Flushing, New York.

The details of the case, which was found by AppleInsider today, are unknown since it remains sealed for all except … Read more