Hedge fund manager David Einhorn to Apple: You’ve got a ‘cash problem’ (too much of it)

David Einhorn

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn has taken shots at Microsoft in the past, noting that the software giant should can CEO Steve Ballmer. Now, Einhorn is taking a shot at Apple, for an entirely different reason. It has just too much gosh-darned cash on the books. Einhorn, who runs Greenlight Capital and owns 1.3 million… Read More…

Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures settles with Microsemi, turns them into a customer

Nathan Myhrvold

Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures has entered into a settlement agreement with Microsemi, resolving the patent suit that it filed against the company in December 2010. Settlement terms were not revealed. But Microsemi, a maker of semiconductor systems for the communications, defense and aerospace industries, has agreed to license portions of Intellectual Ventures’ patent portfolio going forward. Intellectual… Read More…

FTC closes Google investigation, says search giant will change business practices

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The Federal Trade Commission has closed its antitrust investigation into Google, announcing what regulators describe as “landmark agreements” to change the search giant’s business practices in areas including patents and online advertising. The deal clears Google of allegations of bias toward its own products in its search results. “Google’s primary reason for changing the look… Read More…

Legal lessons from Amazon’s ‘noncompete’ battle with Google

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As Geekwire reported last week, a federal judge in Seattle has pretty much rejected Amazon’s recent attempt to restrict what a former Amazon Web Services sales exec might do in his new job at Google. Amazon had been asking the judge to enforce the full scope of the noncompete covenants that the exec, Daniel Powers,… Read More…

Judge: Former Amazon sales VP can work for Google with minimal restrictions

Daniel Powers, the former Amazon Web Services sales chief, has taken a new job with Google, sparking a legal battle with his former employer.

A federal judge in Seattle has largely rejected Amazon.com’s attempt to restrict the work of former Amazon Web Services global sales vice president, Daniel Powers, in his new job at Google. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones ruled yesterday that Daniel Powers “may not directly or indirectly assist in providing cloud computing services to any current, former, or… Read More…

Trulia takes aim at Zillow patent suit: ‘Abstract ideas and principles are not patentable’

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San Francisco online real estate company Trulia has filed its initial response to Zillow’s patent lawsuit, arguing that the case should be dismissed because the business method in question — Zillow’s online home valuation tool known as the Zestimate — is not patentable. The Zestimate utilizes multiple factors in order to assign automated home values… Read More…

MOD Systems founder wins reversal on mail fraud conviction, loses in other areas

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The continuing saga of MOD Systems co-founder Mark E. Phillips, who was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2011 on fraud and money laundering charges, has taken another unusual turn. According to court documents released this week, Phillips has won a reversal of the mail fraud charge that he was originally convicted on…. Read More…

A first: AG sues Florida firm for blasting residents with unwanted text message spam

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Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna has filed a lawsuit against Florida-based Dinav Holding, which allegedly sent tens of thousands of text messages to residents during a period in May with offers to receive “quick cash” from payday loans. It marks the first lawsuit by an Attorney General against text message spammers. “Consumers pay for text… Read More…

Yikes, somebody else is suing The Oatmeal now

Matthew Inman

Matthew Inman, the Seattle-based webcomic artist better known as The Oatmeal, responded to a threat of litigation earlier this year by launching a campaign to raise $20,000 for charity and drawing a picture of the threatening lawyer’s mother getting friendly with a bear. Ultimately he raised more than 10 times that amount for the National Wildlife… Read More…

Amazon settles suit over alleged manipulation of IE browser settings

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Amazon.com has entered into a settlement agreement in a 20-month-old case which alleged that it circumvented a user’s attempts to block the company’s website from tracking online activity. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court documents filed last week. The case was filed in March 2011 by Nicole Del Vecchio and Ariana Del Vecchio… Read More…