Amazon’s IMDb wins verdict against 41-year-old actress who sued for revealing her age

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A federal jury in Seattle ruled in favor of Amazon.com’s IMDb yesterday in a case brought by a 41-year-old actress whose birthdate was revealed against her wishes on the popular movie and television database site. Texas actress Huong “Junie” Hoang originally filed her suit as a “Jane Doe,” in October 2011. She alleged that IMDb was able… Read More…

Lies, love affairs and lawsuits: MOD Systems founder Mark Phillips is out of prison and wants a new trial

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Mark Phillips is out of prison, and now he’s looking to clear his name. The 38-year-old former CEO of MOD Systems, who was sent to prison in July 2011 on fraud and money laundering charges, is back in court asking a federal judge for a new trial. He’s also filed a fresh lawsuit against a number… Read More…

Barry Diller’s Internet video startup Aereo secures key appeals court victory in ongoing fight with big media

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Just two weeks after Seattle startup Ivi lost an important chance to propel its case forward, another startup with deeper pockets is moving ahead with its plans to transform the TV industry as we know it. Aereo, the Barry Diller-backed startup, just won an important decision in the federal court of appeals. In a 2… Read More…

A win for JoeyBra: Founders of iPhone-friendly brassiere prevail in court

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Good news for women who want to carry smartphones in their bras. A federal judge has declined to award a preliminary injunction over a patent claim by a British man who filed suit last year against the University of Washington students who created the JoeyBra, a brassiere that’s designed to carry a smartphone. [Correction: We’ve updated this post… Read More…

Actress who sued Amazon’s IMDb for displaying her age can take the case to trial

Junie Hoang

The actress who sued Amazon.com for displaying her age on IMDb can proceed with her case, according to a decision this week by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman. Texas actress Junie Hoang originally filed her suit as a “Jane Doe,” in October 2011, claiming that IMDb intercepted personal information during the credit card sign up process… Read More…

Microsoft, Expedia, others file complaint over Google’s domain name ‘land grab’

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Fairsearch.org, a lobbying group whose backers include Microsoft, Expedia, TripAdvisor and Nokia, has filed objections over Google’s attempts to take control of genric top-level domains such as .search, .fly, .map and more than 100 other extensions. Calling it a domain name “land grab,” Farisearch argues in its complaint to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and… Read More…

Florida court hands victory to Expedia, other online travel companies over lodging tax

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Expedia and other online travel companies won a crucial decision this week when the The First District Court of Appeals in Florida ruled that the travel companies do not have to impose hotel occupancy taxes. “Our members maintain the same ambition now as we did prior to litigation: to successfully encourage travelers and tourists worldwide to… Read More…

Amazon, Microsoft and others take support of gay marriage to the Supreme Court

A U.S. and LGBT flag. (Photo via Wikipedia)

Three of Seattle’s largest companies — Amazon.com, Microsoft and Starbucks — are joining forces with more than 200 other businesses to urge the U.S. Supreme court to strike down language that restricts the definition of marriage to only heterosexual couples. Reuters reports that lawyers representing the companies, also including Google, Pfizer and Aetna, plan to file… Read More…

When earn-outs go bad: Cequint investors sue acquirer for interfering with deal’s potential

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Nearly three years ago, Reston, Virginia-based TNS acquired Cequint in a deal that valued the Seattle caller ID startup for as much as $112.5 million. At the time, everyone appeared happy. Cequint CEO Rick Hennessey said the acquisition “would accelerate our opportunities and improve the offering to our carrier customers,” while TNS CEO Henry H. Graham Jr…. Read More…

HTC settles FTC charges over mobile security holes

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HTC America has settled FTC charges alleging that lax security practices on its smartphones and tablets left the door open for malicious programs to hijack phones and compromise the privacy of millions of users. The FTC complaint says HTC’s use of the logging programs Carrier IQ and HTC Loggers, combined with programming flaws, created the potential… Read More…