eu

U.K. court grants Apple reprieve on Samsung 'copy' case, for now

Apple lawyers walked away from a U.K. court and breathed a sigh of relief following a judge's decision to grant a stay on an earlier ruling forcing the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to publicly state Samsung had not copied the iPad's design.

A London court said today that Apple will not have to immediately place the notice on its Web site, reports Bloomberg, giving the iPad maker enough time to lodge an appeal in October.

U.K. High Court Judge Colin Birss ruled in an earlier case on July 18 that Samsung did not infringe the iPad's design patents … Read more

Google-EU deal getting close?

As their negotiations continue, a deal between the European Commission and Google may be near.

Google faces the prospect of large fines imposed by regulators, not to mention a prolonged legal proceeding. But reports circulated today to the effect that discussions about a potential settlement may bring to a close the Commission's year-and-a-half investigation of the company's business practices.

A representative said Google had no comment on potential violations of EU competition and consumer-protection laws. "We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission," the spokesman said. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and six state … Read more

Google pushed to change mobile services in EU antitrust probe

Just as Google was working to settle the antitrust investigation launched by the European Union, the governing body has tacked on one more demand: change your mobile services too.

According to the Financial Times, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia saved this final stipulation until settlement talks were already well into process. It's unclear what exactly Google needs to change but if the search giant doesn't concede it could lead to the settlement talks falling apart.

The EU's antitrust probe was opened in 2010 when European regulators asked the company to explain how it ranked search results and … Read more

EU investigating Microsoft over Windows 8 browser shut-out

EU antitrust regulators are looking into complaints by rival software makers that Microsoft is preventing them from installing their browsers on one version of Windows 8, Reuters reports.

Microsoft is accused of shutting out browser makers in favor of its own Internet Explorer on Windows RT, a tablet-centric version of the Windows 8 operating system designed for devices running ARM chips.

The EU watchdog is also investigating allegations that Microsoft does not provide rival browsers with access to complete APIs (application programming interfaces, which allow the OS and other programs to talk to each other) in Windows 8, according to … Read more

EU opens Microsoft antitrust probe over browser choice

Microsoft is back under the European Union antitrust spotlight after it was accused of failing to give its European customers a choice of Web browsers, following the terms of a 2009 settlement.

The European Commission said it had received complaints that Microsoft misled EU authorities over its "browser ballot" screen, which was first rolled out to Windows users in February 2010. The software giant may not have provided all customers with a screen where a choice of browser could be selected, the EU's antitrust chief said today.

The browser ballot was a mandatory update issued as part … Read more

Google does something Microsoft never does: Compromise

While Google was putting on a spectacle for developers in -- and above -- San Francisco's Moscone Center last week, more important news was being hatched around a legal table far away from its big I/O confab.

So it was that we learn that Google is now offering a grand bargain to European regulators. In May, the EC's competition chief Joaquin Almunia offered an olive branch to Google as he layed out areas of "concern" that he said involved a potential "abuse" of the company's market power. Now it seems that Google … Read more

EU: Microsoft $1B antitrust penalty stands

An EU court said today that it will uphold an 899 million euro ($1.1 billion) penalty handed out in 2008 by the European Commission, but will lower it by 39 million euros ($48 million).

The European General Court, the second highest court in the EU, said today it will lower the fine to 860 million euros ($1.07 billion) following an antitrust ruling nearly five years ago.

"The General Court essentially upholds the Commission's decision imposing a periodic penalty payment on Microsoft for failing to allow its competitors access to interoperability information on reasonable terms," the … Read more

Europe's copyright bill ACTA on last legs

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, has been rejected by the European Parliament's trade committee, the opinion of which is a major influence on the wider parliament.

INTA supported rapporteur David Martin's rejection of ACTA this morning by 19 votes to 12. Minutes before, the committee also voted 19-12 to ignore European Commission calls to postpone voting until the European Court of Justice has decided on ACTA's legality.

Trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said late last night that he would still ask the Parliament to reconsider ratifying ACTA when the ECJ ruling comes through in a year … Read more

Motorola could face European patent probe, official says

Motorola Mobility may find itself the target of an EU investigation over complaints about its patent licensing.

In a recent Washington, D.C., speech, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia specifically cited patent concerns over Motorola, lumping it in the same regulatory hot seat as Samsung.

"We have recently opened an investigation against Samsung to make sure that the company has not failed to honor the commitments it had taken back in 1998 to make its standard-essential patents for mobile phones available in fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," Almunia said in the speech. "We have also received similar … Read more