14th January , 2012
JV cannot use Morgardshammar Trademark
The Delhi High Court has restrained Modi group's Morgardshammar India, a rolling mill equipment manufacturer, from using the Morgardshammar trademark. This Indian joint venture (JV) firm with Sweden's Morgardshammar AB was held back from using the trademark on the view that its Sweden partner's share in the Indian firm had fell below 25 per cent to 8 per cent, depriving the Indian firm of the right to use the trademark as per the trademark license agreement.
The court was of the view that Morgardshammar AB is entitled for a decree of permanent injunction against use of its trademarks or trade name by Morgardshammar India.
In 2009 Morgardshammar India had allotted 7,50,000 shares to U K Modi and accordingly the shareholding of Morgardshammar AB was reduced to 8 per cent. Morgardshammar AB had insisted the JV to halt the use of the tradename, as it was the owner of the trademark Morgardshammar.
The Indian company had claimed that Morgardshammar AB did not have exclusive rights on the trade name Morgardshammar as the trademark was not legally assigned to it.
Apple, HTC sued by Kodak over digital image patents
The Eastman Kodak Co. has filed a related complaint with the US International Trade Commission and a New York district court, against Apple Inc. claiming infringement of four patents related to digital imaging technology. Taiwan's HTC Corp. was also sued by Kodak, alleging infringement of the same four patents including a fifth patent.
In its lawsuits, Kodak alleges that Apple and HTC are infringing the patents by selling and importing mobile camera phones, tablets and other devices, including Apple's iPad 2, the iPod touch and various iPhones. The Rochester, New York-based company has asked the ITC to stop Apple and HTC from selling these wireless devices that contain digital cameras, and has sought compensatory and triple damages.
Kodak which is on the verge of bankruptcy said it has secured licenses for digital imaging technology with more than 30 companies, including LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia. The company has a pending patent litigation against the BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion Ltd.
Cable operators barred from illegal telecast of Ind-Aus series
The Delhi High Court in a "John Doe" order has asked the cable operators not to broadcast unauthorized live telecast of ongoing cricket Test series between India and Australia.
The order was in response to a suit filed by ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd (ESIPL), which has a copyright over the broadcasting/telecasting of the abovementioned matches in India. ESIPL had sought permanent injunction against cable operators across the country against unauthorized broadcast of India's ongoing cricket tour of Australia. It has named 63 cable operators, hotels and internet websites which can access signals of ESIPL without obtaining license from the company.
The court restrained all cable operators, hotels and internet websites from showing the series illegally or in any other manner infringing the copyright/re-broadcast right of ESPN STAR Sports without obtaining any licence from ESPN. ESPN Star Sports was given a license by Cricket Australia to telecast the matches involving Indian team in Australia.
Microsoft and LG sign patent licensing deal
Microsoft and the Korean electronics manufacturer LG Electronics have signed a patent licensing agreement covering LG’s tablets, smartphones and other devices running Google's Android or Chrome operating system.
This recent deal is the 11th that Microsoft has made with a device manufacturer. Now more than 70 percent of all Android smartphones in the US get coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio. All these deals would protect Microsoft from lawsuits pertaining to Android and Chrome OS.
Microsoft has earlier inked cross-licensing patent agreements with 10 other companies, including Samsung, HTC, Acer, Quanta, Copal Electronics and Wistron, among others.
Vaclav Havel Prague International Airport Trademark Filed
Letiště Praha, a. s., the company that runs Prague’s international airport has registered Vaclav Havel Prague International Airport as a trademark in the Czech Republic. The trademark registration uses the name of the former Czech president who died last December.
The late president’s widow and more than 70,000 others had signed a petition seeking to have the airport named in the honor of the country’s first post-communist president.
The airports around the world have been named after politicians, like Indira Gandhi International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Apple sued for copyright infringement
A group of Chinese authors have filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. for allowing illegal download of copyrighted books through its online store. The group alleges that Apple has infringed on 37 works and has sought 11.91 million yuan ($1.9 million) in compensation for allegedly providing copyright-protected books for download from its App Store.
The group of nine authors, functioning through the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS), sued Apple in Beijing's No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. The group had similar disputes with Google in 2009 and its Chinese competitor Baidu in 2011 over their online book products. Baidu had deleted 2.8 million unauthorized works and and Google had issued a formal apology.
