settlement

Judge mulls over Facebook's offer in 'sponsored stories' suit

It looks like Judge Richard Seeborg may be turning a corner in the lawsuit over Facebook's "sponsored stories" feature. He said today that he would review the social network's second settlement offer and would issue a ruling "very shortly," according to Reuters.

The crux of the case focuses on Facebook's use of advertising in its sponsored stories. The original five plaintiffs, which aimed at representing more than 100 million members in a class-action suit, claimed the social network violated users' right to privacy by publicizing their "likes" in advertisements without asking … Read more

When Samsung talks strategy, it thinks of Apple

Samsung's worldwide war with Apple will be one of the main focuses at the South Korean company's annual strategy meeting next month, according to a report.

Some 200 "chiefs" as well as top Samsung executives will meet in South Korea next month as part of the company's annual strategy meeting, local news outlet The Chosun Ilbo reports.

According to the report, the company plans to talk shop about its goals, which include changes to its product sales and its legal strategy with Apple.

The two rivals are currently entrenched in a massive legal battle with … Read more

Samsung won't talk settlement with Apple? Yeah, right

Samsung's insistence that it has no plans to negotiate a settlement with Apple may simply be a head fake in a long-running legal game between the two companies.

It's foolish to rule out the possibility of peace between the two given how far the fight's gone and how much is still left to sort out legally,say intellectual property and legal experts.

"When it's all said and done, they have so many litigations, in so many geographies, with billions of dollars at risk," says Richard Ehrlickman, the president and founder of patent brokerage firm … Read more

Samsung: We don't intend to negotiate with Apple

It appears Samsung Electronics won't be following in HTC's footsteps.

HTC on Saturday settled its long-running legal dispute with Apple, raising expectations that Samsung may do the same. But the Korean conglomerate's mobile chief, J.K. Shin, has told the Yonhap News Agency that the company will bank on a legal resolution instead of an out-of-court settlement.

Shin said he doesn't intend to negotiate at all with Apple, illustrating just how far apart the two companies are. While Apple scored a significant victory in the U.S., there are a number of legal clashes going on … Read more

Mozilla gets lucky, settles IRS audit for $1.5M

A nearly four-year tax audit of the Mozilla Foundation is finally over. And it looks like the foundation got off easy by handing over just $1.5 million to the U.S. government.

Mozilla Foundation Chair Mitchell Baker announced in a blog post today that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) closed its audit and agreed to settle with the company.

"I'm happy to note that we've settled the issues raised and the IRS recently closed the audit," she wrote. "We entered into a settlement, under which the Mozilla Foundation paid the IRS US $1.5 … Read more

E-book junkie? Amazon may have some money for you

If you've been a regular buyer of Kindle e-books for the last couple of years, Amazon has what might turn out to be a little good news for you.

The company has posted an FAQ about a credit that may become due to certain e-book buyers as a result of antitrust settlements reached in April between the Justice Department and the publishers Hachette, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster. (Amazon was not a party to the lawsuit in question, which involved allegations of price fixing between these publishers, two others, and Apple.)

If the settlement deals are approved by … Read more

Netflix and deaf-rights group settle suit over video captions

Netflix and the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) have come to an agreement about captions for the company's streaming videos: 100 percent must be captioned by 2014.

The agreement comes by way of a class action lawsuit filed by NAD in 2010 that alleged the streaming service was "failing to provide adequate closed captioning on 'Watch Instantly' streaming video programming," and therefore was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

After back-and-forth between the lawyers -- and Netflix working to get the case thrown out -- the two sides finally settled this week.

"We … Read more

Facebook redoes privacy settlement, offers cash to users

Facebook is taking another shot at a "Sponsored Stories" settlement, agreeing to pay affected consumers and provide a simpler way to review all Sponsored Stories interactions.

The social-networking giant first tried to settle the case several months ago, but a judge rejected the settlement in August, saying he had "serious concerns" with the pact. In particular, the judge wondered how the parties determined the $20 million settlement amount to be paid out by the social network. The amount included $10 million in legal fees for the plaintiff attorneys.

Under the new agreement, filed Friday, Facebook has … Read more

Activision and No Doubt settle Band Hero lawsuit

The pop band No Doubt claimed that the video game Band Hero turned its front woman Gwen Stefani into a "virtual karaoke circus act." Now, that circus act may have sung its last song.

Activision, the maker of Band Hero, and No Doubt settled an ongoing lawsuit this week, according to the Associated Press. The settlement was agreed upon just weeks before a jury trial was set to begin.

The legal case began in 2009 when No Doubt charged that Activision didn't tell the pop musicians that gamers would be able to unlock the band's avatars … Read more